Trump's Weight Loss Drug Deal Promises Big Savings — But Some Details Are Murky

President Donald Trump hailed his deal to slash nan value of blockbuster weight nonaccomplishment drugs arsenic a crippled changer, promising to make Wegovy and Zepbound much affordable for millions of Americans.

But awesome gaps successful nan scheme could blunt its impact, supplier argumentation experts say: Some of nan narcotics nan management has promised discounts connected haven’t been approved yet by nan Food and Drug Administration; nan little prices for group paying retired of pouch only look to use to nan lowest doses of nan drugs; and nan woody doesn’t grow Medicare sum to group seeking curen for weight nonaccomplishment alone.

“It’s a business wherever we person much questions than answers,” said Juliette Cubanski, lawman head of nan Medicare argumentation programme astatine KFF, a nonpartisan wellness argumentation investigation group. “Based connected what we didn’t hear, that suggests to maine that there’s a batch that nan management itself hasn’t moreover ironed retired arsenic of yet.”

“It conscionable feels,” she added, “a small spot excessively squishy correct now.”

U.S. President Donald Trump, joined by members of nan pharmaceutical manufacture and management officials, delivers remarks connected lowering supplier prices successful nan Oval Office astatine nan White House connected November 06, 2025 successful Washington, DC. Andrew Harnik / Getty Images

The announcement marks 1 of nan astir eager efforts yet to tackle nan precocious costs of weight nonaccomplishment narcotics successful nan U.S. Wegovy and Zepbound carry database prices supra $1,000 a month, a costs that both Republicans and Democrats person criticized arsenic acold excessively high, particularly compared pinch what different countries pay.

Administration officials opportunity there’s still clip to robust retired specifications earlier nan little prices return effect. The little prices that will beryllium disposable done the administration’s self-pay platform, TrumpRx, aren’t expected to spell unrecorded until nan extremity of nan year, and nan Medicare and Medicaid changes won’t rotation retired until mid-2026.

“I deliberation nan management deserves in installments for continuing to effort to push nan letter cover connected uncovering ways to little medicine supplier prices successful nan U.S.,” Cubanski said. She said KFF polling shows that wellness attraction costs, including medicine drugs, are a apical interest for Americans.

Art Caplan, nan caput of nan section of aesculapian morals astatine NYU Grossman School of Medicine successful New York City, said nan deal, while ambitious, lacks important details.

“It’s conscionable murky arsenic to really this will return shape, really nan programs will work,” Caplan said. “You can’t really show from what’s going on.”

Unapproved drugs

Several forms of nan narcotics included successful nan woody haven’t yet received FDA approval. That includes oral versions of nan weight nonaccomplishment narcotics — which are still nether improvement aliases FDA reappraisal — and Eli Lilly’s caller multidose injection pens, which haven’t been approved but nan drugmaker says are nan versions included successful nan pricing agreement.

Lawrence Gostin, head of nan O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law astatine Georgetown University, said that makes nan administration’s promises premature, since those little prices can’t return effect until nan products are connected nan market.

“It is reckless to discuss pricing deals connected products which nan FDA person not yet approved arsenic safe and effective,” Gostin said. “The management is getting measurement retired up of its ain information agency.”

An oral type of Wegovy, from Novo Nordisk, is being reviewed by nan FDA. A determination is expected successful nan coming weeks.

A multidose type of Zepbound is nether reappraisal by nan FDA, Lilly said. The institution hasn't submitted its weight nonaccomplishment pill, orforglipron, to nan agency yet.

Lilly CEO David Ricks told NBC News’ Tom Llamas connected “Top Story” that nan FDA would reappraisal nan pill quickly. “As portion of nan deal, they’ve agreed to springiness america an expedited approval,” Ricks said.

Different doses, different prices

The White House said that some nan pills and nan injection pens will beryllium disposable for discounted prices for group who salary retired of pocket.

Starting doses of weight nonaccomplishment pills will costs $149 for a month’s supply, and nan shots will costs an mean of $350 for a month’s supply, nan White House said. The value of nan injections is expected to autumn to astir $250 wrong 2 years, it said.

But group whitethorn extremity up paying more.

When group commencement connected a weight nonaccomplishment drug, they commencement pinch nan lowest dose imaginable — nan starting dose — to let nan assemblage to get utilized to nan drug. Over nan people of respective months, however, they summation nan dose until they get to a dose that’s effective for weight loss. Wegovy comes successful 5 doses and Zepbound comes successful six, pinch nan astir weight nonaccomplishment seen astatine nan highest doses.

Administration officials said nan starting doses of GLP-1 pills will costs $149 a month, but did not opportunity what higher doses would be.

For nan injections, nan nonstop White House connection was vague: The shots will initially person a “weighted average” value of $350 a month. Lilly, however, said Zepbound will beryllium disposable astatine nan lowest dose for $299 a month, pinch further doses priced up to $449. A spokesperson for Novo Nordisk didn’t opportunity whether doses would person different prices, but said it plans to people an update connected costs “in nan coming weeks.”

That intends patients paying done TrumpRx could extremity up paying acold much than nan administration’s advertised prices — particularly if patients don’t enactment connected nan lowest doses for long, Caplan said.

Limited coverage

As portion of nan deal, Lilly and Novo Nordisk will complaint Medicare and Medicaid $245 for a month’s proviso of nan shots, a move that will apt supply savings for nan programs. Medicare enrollees will person their costs capped astatine $50 a month. Medicaid enrollees often don’t person copays.

But not everyone connected Medicare aliases Medicaid is eligible.

Under nan deal, Medicare will proceed to screen nan weight nonaccomplishment narcotics for group who are overweight aliases obese and person different qualifying condition, specified arsenic bosom aliases kidney disease. The statement doesn’t grow sum to group utilizing nan narcotics for weight nonaccomplishment alone. Medicare, by law, is barred from covering weight nonaccomplishment drugs, Cubanski, of KFF, said.

The deficiency of expanded sum is simply a important omission, said Stacie Dusetzina, a wellness argumentation professor astatine Vanderbilt University successful Nashville, Tennessee.

Medicare is 1 of nan largest payers successful nan country, and without broader coverage, millions of patients will stay priced retired moreover arsenic nan management touts little costs.

“You would person to alteration nan rule aliases spell done respective regulatory steps to beryllium capable to connection sum extracurricular of an already covered indication,” Dusetzina said.

A White House spokesperson said nan management wanted to first little prices for patients who would astir benefit, specified arsenic those pinch consequence factors associated pinch obesity.

It’s imaginable nan management could yet grow Medicare sum done a aviator program. Ricks, nan CEO of Lilly, said astatine a briefing Thursday that nan authorities plans to motorboat 1 successful outpouring 2026 that would beryllium voluntary for Medicare plans.

Still, location are issues Medicare plans would person to weigh, Dusetzina said.

“The plans will person to deliberation astir really galore much group mightiness beryllium willing successful enrolling and utilizing these narcotics and really that would impact their costs,” she said. “So, again, it’s not wholly clear to maine really that will get operationalized and really soon Medicare beneficiaries would expect to spot little prices.”

Ricks said nan aviator would beryllium “at nary cost” to nan plans.

Dr. Shauna Levy, a master successful obesity medicine and nan aesculapian head of nan Tulane Weight Loss Center successful New Orleans, said nan woody is “a measurement successful nan correct direction” but she worries if nan management is overstating nan imaginable savings.

“As an obesity community, I deliberation we will stay skeptical of this woody until we spot really it really plays out,” Levy wrote successful an email.