In this articleLLYMTSRNOVO.B-DKPFEFollow your favorite stocksCREATE FREE ACCOUNTU.S. President Donald Trump attends an event to make an announcement from the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S. Nov. 6, 2025. Jonathan Ernst | ReutersPresident Donald Trump on Thursday announced deals with Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk to slash the prices of some of their obesity drugs, including upcoming pills, in a landmark effort to expand access to the costly blockbuster treatments.The agreements will cut prices of so-called GLP-1 drugs for Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries in 2026 and offer the treatments directly to consumers at a discount on a website the Trump administration is launching in January called TrumpRx.gov.That means Medicare will start covering obesity drugs for some patients for the first time starting mid-2026, a long-awaited move that could broaden the market for the medicines and spur more private insurers to cover them. Certain Medicare patients will pay a copay of $50 per month for all approved uses of injectable and oral GLP-1 drugs, including diabetes and obesity treatment.Starting doses of upcoming obesity pills from Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk, pending approvals, will be $149 per month for everyone getting them through Medicare, Medicaid or TrumpRx, a senior administration official who declined to be named told reporters during a briefing Thursday.Novo Nordisk’s oral version of its obesity injection Wegovy could enter the market by year-end, while Eli Lilly’s pill orforglipron could launch next year. The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday said it has awarded priority review vouchers, which expedite the review timelines of Eli Lilly’s pill. Starting doses of existing injections like Novo’s Wegovy and Lilly’s Zepbound will be $350 per month on TrumpRX, but will “trend down” to $245 per month over a two-year period, another senior administration official said during the briefing.Charts showing drug prices and information are displayed as U.S. President Donald Trump delivers remarks on lowering drug prices in the Oval Office at the White House on Nov. 6, 2025 in Washington, DC.Andrew Harnik | Getty ImagesWegovy and Zepbound have not been covered by Medicare for weight loss, “and they’ve only rarely been covered by Medicaid,” Trump said in the Oval Office. “They’ve often cost consumers more than $1,000 per month, some a lot more than that. … That ends starting today.”The deals are among the most politically significant announcements to date in the Trump administration’s push to rein in high U.S. drug costs by tying them to the lowest prices abroad. As part of the president’s “most favored nation” policy, he has announced deals with Pfizer, AstraZeneca and EMD Serono to sell certain drugs directly to patients at a discount, in exchange for exemptions from planned pharmaceutical tariffs.”This is the biggest drug in our country, and that’s why this is the most important of all the [most favored nation] announcements we’ve made,” Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said during the briefing. “This is going to have the biggest impact on the American people. All Americans, even those who are not on Medicaid, Medicare, are going to be able to get the same price for their drugs, for their GLP-1s.”Kennedy claimed the American public will lose 125 million pounds by this time next year, saying the expanded access will have “dramatic effects on human health” in the U.S.The event was delayed when a man who was standing behind Trump fainted.President Donald Trump stands by as attendees help a man after he collapsed during during an event on lowering drug prices in the Oval Office at the White House on November 06, 2025 in Washington, DC.Andrew Harnik | Getty ImagesThe list prices of existing obesity drugs – roughly $1,000 to $1,350 per month before insurance – are a huge barrier for patients, many of whom could benefit from their ability to promote weight loss and ease other related health complications such as cardiovascular risks and sleep apnea. Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk already have programs to sell their weight loss drugs at a discount directly to cash-paying consumers, but the new agreements appear to take those efforts to boost access a step further. Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly have agreed to cut the price Medicare pays for GLP-1s it already covers for diabetes and other indications, along with those drugs for obesity, to $245 per month. The companies agreed to extend lower government pricing for their GLP-1 drugs – $245 per month across all other nonstarting doses – to all 50 Medicaid programs for all covered uses. States will have to opt into those prices, meaning some may not.But Medicare coverage could have a bigger impact on who gets the drugs because the program covers about 66 million people, and is the primary source of insurance for people ages 65 and above. The new obesity drug coverage will be enabled through a pilot program designed to cover a majority of beneficiaries under Medicare Part D, which are the program’s prescription drug plans.Another senior adminis …
