White House Nears Deal To Lower Prices For Weight Loss Drugs Wegovy And Zepbound

The Trump management is expected to announce, arsenic early arsenic this week, a woody pinch drugmakers Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk to little nan value of their weight nonaccomplishment narcotics successful speech for constricted Medicare coverage, according to 2 group acquainted pinch nan plan.

The woody would trim nan costs of nan lowest doses of nan blockbuster GLP-1 medications — Lilly’s Zepbound and Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy — to $149 a month, nan group said.

In return, Medicare would screen nan narcotics for immoderate Medicare beneficiaries.

It’s not yet clear whether nan $149 value would use broadly crossed backstage and nationalist insurance, or only for group paying successful cash. It wasn’t instantly clear which Medicare patients would suffice for coverage. The specifications of nan scheme could still change.

The group confirmed nan imaginable woody connected the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly. The news was first reported by Endpoint News.

The Washington Post reported nan woody could beryllium announced arsenic early arsenic Thursday.

White House spokesperson Kush Desai said successful a statement, “Discussion astir deals that person not been officially announced by nan Administration should beryllium regarded arsenic speculation.”

In emailed statements, spokespeople for Lilly and Novo Nordisk confirmed they are successful discussions pinch nan Trump administration, but offered nary specifications connected immoderate imaginable deal.

If finalized, it would beryllium nan astir important statement to look from President Donald Trump’s efforts to little medicine supplier prices to align much intimately pinch different developed nations — besides known arsenic his “most favored nation” supplier pricing push. Trump revived nan initiative done an executive bid successful May aft unsuccessfully pursuing it during his first term.

The management has besides reached agreements pinch Pfizer and AstraZeneca to little costs for immoderate medicine narcotics nether Medicaid.

In October, Trump said nan management was adjacent to a woody to little nan costs of weight nonaccomplishment drugs.

”Instead of $1,300, you’ll beryllium paying astir $150,” he said from nan White House.

Zepbound and Wegovy presently transportation database prices supra $1,000 a period — though some companies person rolled retired little costs options for group paying successful rate amid aggravated nationalist scrutiny complete nan precocious costs of nan drugs. Costco precocious announced that it would waste Wegovy and its glucosuria supplier Ozempic for $499 to group without insurance; Lilly announced a akin deal pinch Walmart for Zepbound.

Medicare presently covers Wegovy for patients astatine consequence of bosom disease, arsenic good arsenic Zepbound for slumber apnea — but not for weight nonaccomplishment alone. Ozempic, which has nan aforesaid progressive constituent arsenic Wegovy, is covered for diabetes.

The Biden management proposed expanding sum of GLP-1 drugs done Medicare and Medicaid but nan Trump management later rejected nan plan.

Ozempic and Wegovy are besides included successful the adjacent information of Medicare supplier value negotiations nether nan Inflation Reduction Act, which erstwhile President Joe Biden signed into rule successful 2022. The Trump management was expected to finalize caller prices for 15 narcotics — including nan GLP-1s — by Nov. 1. Trump officials person signaled little enthusiasm for nan negotiations, alternatively focusing connected executive orders and voluntary pricing agreements pinch drugmakers. The management is expected to unveil nan caller prices by Nov. 30.