The federal government is adding costly blockbuster drugs that help patients lose weight to the list of medications for which Medicare plans on negotiating lower prices in the coming years.
The move announced Friday by the Biden administration marks the next phase in Medicare’s drug price negotiation program, which currently includes 10 medicines and could now add 15 more. Among the additions: Ozempic and Wegovy — drugs that have driven billions in new spending and become household names amid social media testimonials and fanfare from celebrities.
The medications are in a class called GLP-1 that has stressed health care budgets because of their expense and popularity while also giving new hope to millions of patients trying to get healthy and avoid other costly treatments.
Medicare Part D paid for nearly 2.3 million people to use the selected GLP-1 medications during the 12-month period ending October 2024, making them by far the most popular of the 15 new drugs being added to the list. Precise figures weren’t available, but covering the tab for seniors using the drugs cost the government billions.
“Today, we take another historic step toward lowering the price of some of the most widely used, costly medications with the announcement of even more drugs that will be subject to Medicare negotiations,” U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., said in a statement.
“The incoming administration must continue these efforts to fully implement this law so millions of Americans can benefit from these life changing savings.”
Medicare enrollees, however, still won’t be able to access the drugs for obesity under a federal law that prohibits the program from paying for weight loss treatments. Currently, Medicare will only cover Ozempic and Wegovy when used to treat diabetes or lower blood sugar.
A rule that the Democratic Biden administration proposed — and the administration of President-elect Donald Trump administration will decide whether to implement — would cover the popular anti-obesity medications for weight loss.