Millions of Medicare beneficiaries struggling with obesity could soon see the cost of weight-loss drugs plummet, as a new federal pilot program launching July 1 expands access to GLP-1 medications like Wegovy and Zepbound for eligible seniors.
Medicare GLP-1 Bridge Program
The Medicare GLP-1 Bridge program offers a selection of brand-name medications to certain Medicare and Medicare Advantage beneficiaries for $50 a month. The covered medications include Eli Lilly’s Foundayo tablets and Zepbound KwikPens and Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy injections and tablets, all of which have been FDA-approved for weight loss.
Prior to this new Medicare pilot, seniors who wanted to access GLP-1s for obesity alone paid about $1,350-$1,650 per month for Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy and about $1,086 monthly for Lilly’s Zepbound. However, both manufacturers offered some cash-pay options that significantly reduced those prices for eligible patients.
To be eligible for the program, older adults must have had a body mass index (BMI) of 35 or higher when they started GLP-1 therapy, or a BMI of 27 or higher alongside another health condition, such as a past heart attack or stroke or prediabetes.
Dr. Mehmet Oz, administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, said he hopes the program can help his agency collect data to potentially work toward longer-term coverage, while providing immediate relief to cash-strapped older Americans.
Original reporting: Fox News (HLL/CB) — read the source article.
