Drugstores say Medicare's $50 obesity drug program is catching on
A new Medicare pilot program called the Bridge program is seeing high demand for obesity medications, with major pharmacy chains filling hundreds of thousands of prescriptions. The program provides a $50 monthly cost for eligible patients, bypassing standard Medicare restrictions on weight-loss drugs.
Why it matters
This program addresses the growing demand for GLP-1 weight-loss drugs among seniors, highlighting a shift in Medicare's approach to obesity treatment.
Starting in July, Medicare began allowing eligible beneficiaries to get obesity drugs for $50 a month. Less than two months in, CVS and Walgreens tell NPR they've each filled around 100,000 such prescriptions.
The prescriptions were made possible as part of a pilot called the Bridge program.
By law, Medicare is barred from paying for weight loss drugs, but the administration came up with a workaround. Medicare will cover the drug, if a person meets certain conditions, such as having obesity combined with high blood pressure that's hard to control .
However, beneficiaries are ineligible if they have sleep apnea or Type 2 diabetes, because Medicare part D should already cover GLP-1 drugs for those conditions. The Bridge program is set to run through the end of 2027.
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