Millions of older Americans could soon pay far less for weight loss drugs under a new federal pilot. The Medicare GLP-1 Bridge program will let eligible Medicare beneficiaries get certain GLP-1 medications, including Wegovy and Zepbound, for a flat $50 a month.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced the demonstration project as a way to test broader access to obesity treatment within a program that has historically excluded weight loss drugs from coverage. It starts July 1 and is scheduled to run through December 31, 2027.
Why Medicare Is Testing This Now
Medicare has long drawn a hard line on GLP-1 drugs: coverage was available only when the medication treated an approved condition like type 2 diabetes or heart disease, not obesity on its own. That distinction has left a large share of beneficiaries paying full price even as GLP-1s gained recognition for their effect on weight and related health outcomes.
Chris Klomp, who directs Medicare and serves as chief counselor at the Department of Health and Human Services, framed the pilot as an attempt to smooth out that inconsistency. In the announcement, he said the goal is to make getting these medications simpler and more predictable across the program, while improving value for the health system overall.
Health policy research group KFF, using 2023 data, estimates roughly 3.8 million Medicare beneficiaries could qualify. Klomp has offered a more conservative early estimate of