Trump, Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk unveil deals to lower obesity drug prices
US President Donald Trump attends an event to make an announcement from the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, DC, USA, November 6, 2025.
Jonathan Ernst | Reuters
President Donald Trump announced deals with on Thursday Eli Lilly And Novo Nordisk to cut prices for some of its obesity drugs, including upcoming pills, in a groundbreaking attempt to expand access to the costly blockbuster treatments.
The deals will lower prices for 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 called TrumpRx.gov that the Trump administration is launching in January.
That means Medicare will cover obesity drugs for some patients for the first time starting in mid-2026, a long-awaited move that could expand the market for these drugs and encourage more private insurers to cover them. Certain Medicare patients pay a $50 per month copay for all approved uses of injectable and oral GLP-1 medications, including the treatment of diabetes and obesity.
The starting dosage of Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk’s upcoming obesity pills, pending approval, will be $149 per month for anyone who gets them through Medicare, Medicaid or TrumpRx, a senior administration official who did not want to be named told reporters during a briefing Thursday.
Novo Nordisk’s oral version of its obesity shot Wegovy could hit the market by year’s end, while Eli Lilly’s pill Orforglipron could hit the market next year. The Food and Drug Administration announced Thursday that it has issued priority review vouchers that shorten review times for Eli Lilly’s pill.
Starting doses of existing shots like Novo’s Wegovy and Lilly’s Zepbound will be $350 a month at TrumpRX, but will “drop” to $245 a month over two years, 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 in Washington, DC on November 6, 2025.
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Wegovy and Zepbound were not covered by Medicare for weight loss, “and they were rarely covered by Medicaid,” Trump said in the Oval Office. “They have often cost consumers more than $1,000 per month, some much more. … That ends today.”
The deals are among the most politically significant announcements yet in the Trump administration’s efforts to rein in high drug costs in the United States by tying them to the lowest prices abroad. He has announced deals as part of the president’s “most favored nation” policy Pfizer, AstraZeneca and EMD Serono to sell certain drugs directly to patients at a discount in exchange for exemptions from proposed drug tariffs.
“This is the biggest drug in our country, and that’s why it’s the most important of all.” [most favored nation] “This will have the greatest impact on the American people.” All Americans, including those not on Medicaid or Medicare, will be able to get the same price for their medications and their GLP-1.”
Kennedy claimed the American public would lose £125 million by this time next year and said expanded access would have a “dramatic impact on human health” in the US
The event was delayed when a man standing behind Trump fainted.
President Donald Trump stands by as participants help a man after he collapsed during an event to lower drug prices in the Oval Office at the White House November 6, 2025 in Washington, DC.
Andrew Harnik | Getty Images
The list prices of existing obesity drugs — about $1,000 to $1,350 per month before insurance — represent a major hurdle for patients, many of whom could benefit from their ability to promote weight loss and alleviate other related health complications, such as cardiovascular risks and sleep apnea. Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk already have programs in place to sell their weight loss drugs directly to cash-paying consumers at a discount, but the new agreements appear to take these efforts to improve access a step further.
Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly have agreed to reduce the price Medicare pays for GLP-1 drugs it already covers for diabetes and other indications, as well as obesity drugs, to $245 a month. The companies agreed to extend lower federal prices for their GLP-1 drugs — $245 per month for all other non-starting doses — to all 50 Medicaid programs for all covered uses. States must opt in to these prices, meaning some may not.
But Medicare coverage could have a larger impact on who gets the drugs, since the program covers about 66 million people and is the primary source of coverage for people age 65 and older. The new obesity drug coverage is made possible through a pilot program designed to cover the majority of beneficiaries under Medicare Part D, the program’s prescription drug plans.
Another senior administration official said about 10% of Medicare recipients would be eligible for GLP-1 drugs for obesity and cardiovascular and metabolic benefits. Eligible patients will be divided into three cohorts. The first includes people who are overweight, have a body mass index of more than 27, or have prediabetes or existing cardiovascular disease.
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The second group is people with obesity – with a BMI over 30 – and uncontrolled high blood pressure, kidney disease or heart failure. The third group is patients with severe obesity or people with a BMI over 35.
GLP-1s for weight loss are approved for a much broader population: people who are obese or overweight and have an associated medical condition. The administration official said: “We are limiting access to patients who will clinically benefit from it. We have worked very hard to find a balance between broad access that only ensures that patients who will clinically benefit from it are captured.”
As part of the deals, Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk also made similar commitments to other drugmakers under Trump’s MFN agreement. The companies guarantee MFN treatment on all new drugs they bring to market, make that pricing available to every state Medicaid program, offer at least U.S. net prices or MFN on almost all primary care drugs at TrumpRx, and share savings from foreign drug price increases on existing products, a senior administration official said.
Also on Thursday, Eli Lilly announced it would cut prices by $50 on its own direct-to-consumer platform LillyDirect, which Zepbound already offers at a discount for cash-paying patients. Zepbound’s multi-dose pen will be available in the lowest dose for $299 per month, with additional doses costing up to $449 per month.
Once approved, Eli Lilly’s pill will be available at its lowest dose, starting at $149 per month.
A big price change
In a statement Thursday, Eli Lilly CEO David Ricks said the deal represents “a pivotal moment in U.S. health care policy and a critical milestone for Lilly” focused on “improving outcomes, strengthening the U.S. health care system and contributing to the health of our nation for generations to come.”
Eli Lilly CEO David Ricks speaks in the Oval Office during an event on weight loss medications at the White House in Washington, DC on November 6, 2025
Andrew Caballero Reynolds | Afp | Getty Images
In a separate statement, Novo Nordisk CEO Mike Doustdar said, “Today’s announcement will bring semaglutide medications to more American patients at a lower cost.” Semaglutide is the active ingredient in Wegovy and Ozempic.
It’s not the first time the government has disclosed Medicare coverage of obesity medications. Former President Joe Biden proposed a rule at the end of his term that would have allowed the program to cover these treatments, but the Trump administration declined to finalize the measure in April.
Biden’s proposal would have expanded access to about 3.4 million Medicare beneficiaries. However, it was controversial at the time because it would cost taxpayers up to $35 billion over nine years, a congressional analysis found.
However, some health experts believe that covering the drugs could save on the downstream costs associated with treating obesity-related conditions.
Semaglutide is also included in the next round of Medicare drug price negotiations under the Inflation Reduction Act, which Biden signed into law in 2022. Trump is expected to announce the new prices of the 15 drugs selected for these discussions by November 30.
Tirzepatide, the active ingredient in Eli Lilly’s Zepbound and diabetes injection Mounjaro, likely won’t be eligible for these negotiations until the end of the decade.
