President Donald Trump announces plan to expand access to IVF
President Donald Trump announced plans to expand access to IVF, including employer coverage options and deep discounts on fertility drugs.
The Trump administration is expected to announce agreements with Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk that will lower the price of some weight loss drugs to less than $150 for a month’s worth.
The negotiated agreement is expected to expand Medicare and Medicaid coverage of obesity drugs, The Wall Street Journal and Endpoint News reported.
The deal, to be announced Nov. 6, includes Lilly and Novo’s weight-loss drug, which is extremely popular but unaffordable for some consumers due to limited insurance coverage and high list prices.
Endpoints News and the Wall Street Journal reported that Lilly and Novo will offer the lowest dose of the weight loss drug for $149 per month. In return, the drugs would be covered by Medicare, the federal health insurance program for people over 65 or with disabilities.
Two popular weight-loss drugs, Lilly’s Zepbound and Novo’s Wegovy, are not currently covered by Medicare as obesity drugs.
Separately, the Wall Street Journal reported that the Trump administration is in talks with Lilly and Novo to sell some obesity drugs through TrumpRx, the government’s direct-to-consumer website, scheduled to launch in 2026.
Novo Nordisk said in a statement that the company is “engaging in constructive discussions with the government.” Representatives for Lilly did not respond to questions about negotiations with the administration.
This isn’t my first time using weight loss drugs. President Donald Trump has already announced deals with several drug companies to sell other drugs at discounted prices to federal health programs and TrumpRx.
The president is pressuring drug companies to lower prices to what patients are paying in other countries, a concept known as most-favored-nation pricing. On September 30, President Trump announced that he had entered into a most-favored-nation agreement with Pfizer to sell drugs more cheaply through Medicaid.
President Trump also said last month that EMD Serono, the nation’s largest maker of fertility drugs, had agreed to reduce the price of commonly used IVF drugs.
Most insurance companies do not cover obesity drugs
Doctors who prescribe weight-loss drugs say it’s critical to expand Medicare coverage for older adults and make drugs more affordable for younger consumers.
“These drugs really change the lives of so many people,” said Dr. Angela Fitch, past president of the Obesity Medicine Society. “It’s very difficult for people to afford the current prices.”
Weight loss drugs known as glucagon-like peptide-1 drugs (GLP-1) suppress the user’s appetite, leading to weight loss.
While insurance companies often cover GLP-1 drugs prescribed for diabetes and heart disease, more than half of employer insurance plans refuse to cover drugs to treat obesity. Mercer, a benefits consultant, said 44% of all large employers will have GLP-1 drug coverage for obesity in 2024, up from 41% in 2023.
In November 2024, the Biden administration announced plans to expand Medicare and Medicaid coverage of obesity drugs, including Wegovy and Zepbound. Under the rules proposed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Biden administration estimates that 3.4 million Americans enrolled in Medicare will be eligible for drugs starting in 2026.
An additional 4 million Medicaid recipients will gain coverage under the Biden administration. But those reports will only happen once the Trump administration finalizes the rules.
Contributed by: Reuters
