For years, weight-loss drugs were a luxury. Most seniors paid for them out of pocket.
That changes in July. Then, millions on Medicare can get GLP-1 drugs for $50 a month.
GLP-1 drugs include Wegovy and Zepbound. They help people lose weight and cut some health risks.
Medicare did not cover them for weight loss before. So seniors often paid hundreds a month.
Drop that to $50 a month, and the door swings open. A huge new group of buyers can now afford them.
Two firms rule this market, and for them the change is a land grab. Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly both sell pills now.
The shift could pull in millions of new patients. That is a fresh market opening almost overnight.
We follow the drug stories that actually move stocks like Novo and Lilly in Market Briefs - five minutes a morning, plus a free investing masterclass when you sign up.
Novo leans on health perks. Its Wegovy pill has topped 3 million scripts in about five months.
The firm points to heart and stroke help as the reason to pick it. That is its edge.
Lilly leans on ease instead. Its pill, Foundayo, can be taken any time of day with food.
Novo's pill is fussier, since it needs an empty stomach and a 30-minute wait. Both still want to prove obesity care should count as health care.
Most seniors already juggle a daily pill case. Lilly is betting its once-a-day pill slots right in.
The drugs are still pricey, and not every payer wants the bill. Cigna said last week it would stop covering them for its own workers.
Lilly also showed off a new drug, retatrutide. In a late trial, patients lost 28% of their weight on average.
Nearly half lost more than 30%, close to what some surgery delivers. It hints at where these weight-loss drugs are headed.
Novo has its own next drug, CagriSema, with a U.S. ruling due late this year. So far, its results have let investors down.
Lilly says fewer than 20% of its own staff use the drugs to lose weight. It is now studying the long-term costs.
The Medicare plan starts in July, with Humana handling requests. It runs as a test through the end of 2027.
Novo's CEO took over about a year ago, after a shake-up that cut thousands of jobs. He is betting the pill keeps Novo's comeback going.
The bigger prize is insurers. Will they decide obesity drugs are worth the cost?
Employers have balked at the price for years. Many workers drop the drugs once they hit their goal.
That one call could shape years of sales. Both Novo and Lilly are counting on a yes.
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