Trump unveils deal to expand coverage and lower costs on obesity drugs

WASHINGTON AP President Donald Trump unveiled a deal Thursday with drugmakers Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk to expand coverage and reduce prices for their popular obesity treatments Zepbound and Wegovy The drugs are part of a new generation of obesity medications known as GLP- receptor agonists that have soared in popularity in fresh years But access to the drugs has been a consistent complication for patients because of their cost around a month for higher doses and insurance coverage has been spotty Coverage of the drugs for obesity will expand to Medicare patients starting next year according to the administration which stated specific lower prices also will be phased in for patients without coverage Starting doses of new pill versions of the treatments also will cost a month if they are approved It will save lives improve the robustness of millions and millions of Americans explained Trump in an Oval Office announcement in which he referred to GLP- s as a fat drug Thursday s announcement is the latest attempt by the Trump administration to rein in soaring drug prices in its efforts to address cost-of-living concerns among voters Drugmakers Pfizer and AstraZeneca in recent times agreed to lower the cost of prescription drugs for Medicaid after an executive order in May set a deadline for drugmakers to electively lower prices or face new limits on what the regime will pay As with the other deals it s not clear how much the price drop will be felt by consumers Drug prices can vary based on the competition for treatments and insurance coverage Obesity drugs have become increasingly popular but are costly The obesity drugs work by targeting hormones in the gut and brain that affect appetite and feelings of fullness In clinical trials they helped people shed between and of their body weight up to pounds or more in plenty of cases Patients taking these drugs usually start on smaller doses and then work up to larger amounts depending on their necessities Because of obesity being considered a chronic affection they need to take the therapy indefinitely or danger regaining weight experts say The fast-growing treatments have proven especially lucrative for drugmakers Eli Lilly and Co and Novo Nordisk Lilly commented just now that sales of Zepbound have tripled so far this year to more than billion But for a multitude of Americans their cost has made them out of reach Medicare the federally funded coverage campaign mainly for people ages and over hasn t covered the treatments for obesity President Donald Trump s predecessor Joe Biden proposed a rule last November that would have changed that But the Trump administration nixed it last spring Sparse state and federally funded Medicaid programs for people with low incomes offer coverage And employers and insurers that provide commercial coverage are wary of paying for these drugs in part because of the large number of patients that might use them The monthly price for higher doses of the treatments also makes them unaffordable for those without insurance doctors say Medicare now covers the cost of the drugs for conditions such as type diabetes and cardiovascular syndrome but not for weight loss alone Trump showing he is in touch with cost-of-living concerns The effort to lower costs fences to popular GLP- drugs comes as the White House is looking to demonstrate that Trump is in touch with Americans frustrations with rising costs for food housing physical condition care and other necessities Trump is the friend of the forgotten American reported Medical and Human Services Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr at Thursday s announcement Obesity is a infection of poverty And overwhelmingly these drugs have only been available for people who have wealth Kennedy had previously expressed skepticism to GLP- s in fighting obesity and diseases related to the condition But he was full of praise for Trump for pushing to help a broader segment of Americans have access to the drug The announcement came after Republican gubernatorial candidates in New Jersey and Virginia faced a drubbing in Tuesday s voting in which dour voter outlook about the market appeared to an animating factor in the races Roughly half of Virginia voters noted the business sector was the top issue and about in of these voters picked Democrat Abigail Spanberger for governor powering her to a decisive win according to an AP voter poll In New Jersey Democrat Mikie Sherrill won about two-thirds of voters who called the financial market the top issue facing the state the poll revealed She defeated a Trump-endorsed Republican candidate Jack Ciattarelli More than half of New York City voters declared the cost of living was the top issue facing the city The Democratic mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani won about two-thirds of this group The White House sought to diminish the effort by the previous Democratic administration as a gift to the pharmaceutical industry because the proposal did not include adequate price concessions from the drug makers Trump instead consummated a belt and suspenders deal that ensures that Americans aren t unfairly financing the pharmaceutical industry s innovation claimed a senior administration official who briefed reporters ahead of Thursday s Oval Office announcement by Trump Another senior administration official noted coverage of the drugs will expand to Medicare patients starting next year Those who qualify will pay copays for the medicine Lower prices also will be phased in for people without coverage through the administration s TrumpRx initiative which will allow people to buy drugs directly from manufacturers starting in January The authorities commented lower prices also will be provided for state and federally funded Medicaid programs And starting doses of new pill versions of the obesity treatments will cost a month if they are approved The personnel briefed reporters on the condition of anonymity under ground rules set by the White House Doctors applaud the price drop Dr Leslie Golden says she has roughly patients taking one of these treatments and or more struggle to afford them Even with coverage specific face copayments for refills Every visit it s How long can we continue to do this What s the plan if I can t continue noted Golden an obesity medicine specialist in Watertown Wisconsin Certain of them are working additional jobs or delaying retirement so they can continue to pay for it Both Lilly and Novo have already cut prices on their drugs Lilly announced earlier this year it would reduce the cost of initial doses of Zepbound to Dr Angela Fitch who also treats patients with obesity revealed she hoped a deal between the White House and drugmakers could be the first step in making the treatments more affordable We need a hero in obesity care in the current era commented Fitch founder and chief clinical officer of knownwell a weight-loss and anatomical care company The group has faced relentless walls to accessing GLP- medications which has ultimately come down to the price despite the evidence we have supporting their effectiveness