For years, seniors paid for weight loss drugs on their own. That bill ran into the hundreds each month.
On July 1, it drops to just $50. The change opens a huge new market, and two drugmakers want to own it.
Medicare is testing a new program. It lets some members get GLP-1 drugs for $50 a month.
GLP-1s are the drugs that curb hunger, like Wegovy and Zepbound. They kicked off the weight loss boom.
Not everyone can join. A person needs a Part D drug plan and a weight-related health risk.
Even so, the new pool of buyers is huge. And it lands in front of two fierce rivals at once.
Eli Lilly says Humana will handle the requests. That should make sign-ups easy.
Both Lilly and Novo are racing now. They want seniors to know the option is there.
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The timing is big for Novo Nordisk. It says its Wegovy pill has already topped 3 million prescriptions.
That took just five months on the U.S. market. Its CEO called that real speed, not a fluke.
Lilly is selling well too. Its boss says pill scripts are well above the 20,000 it reported in the spring.
Novo is leaning on extra health perks to win seniors over. Its Wegovy pill can lower the risk of heart attacks and strokes.
It can guard the kidneys and liver too. The pitch is simple: the same weight loss as the rival, with perks built in.
Lilly is selling ease instead. Its pill, Foundayo, can be taken any time, with food, water, or other pills.
Novo's pill is fussier. It needs an empty stomach and a 30-minute wait.
Picture one pill as a grab-and-go snack. The other is a recipe with strict steps.
For a busy senior, the easy one wins.
Both firms are lining up stronger drugs. Lilly showed data on a shot called retatrutide.
People on it lost about 28% of their weight. That is a big jump.
Novo has a new drug too, called CagriSema. A U.S. ruling is due late this year.
So far it has let down investors. Its results look close to Lilly's Zepbound, not ahead.
Not every payer is sold. Cigna will stop covering these drugs for its own staff, a reminder that cost is still a sore spot.
The Medicare plan is really a test. Can obesity care become normal health care?
If it works, more insurers may pay for it.
Lilly's boss, Dave Ricks, says that is the whole point. Seniors will decide if the pitch lands.
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