Sidney Lupkin

The Food and Drug Administration approved a Wagovi pill at the end of 2025, and it will become available this year.

A competing pill made by Eli Lilly could soon follow.

Meanwhile, direct-to-consumer GLP-1s sold by the drug companies to patients who don't use their insurance could continue to grow in popularity.

Those discounted prices have dropped over time.

But the drug's sticker prices haven't dropped, and insurance coverage for the injectables has actually gotten more restrictive when it comes to weight loss.

For example, some plans only cover obesity drugs for patients with a body mass index over 40, even though obesity is classified as having a BMI of 30 or higher.

Sidney Lepkin, NPR News.

Yeah, the administration says it can do a better job at negotiating the prices Medicare pays for drugs. It's not clear from the action exactly how that would be the case. And I have to say that a lot of the savings on drug prices are

Yeah, the administration says it can do a better job at negotiating the prices Medicare pays for drugs. It's not clear from the action exactly how that would be the case. And I have to say that a lot of the savings on drug prices are

Yeah, the administration says it can do a better job at negotiating the prices Medicare pays for drugs. It's not clear from the action exactly how that would be the case. And I have to say that a lot of the savings on drug prices are

baked into the biden administration law that gave medicare negotiating power in the first place it allowed 10 drugs to be negotiated last year and 15 more this year next year another 15 should be up for negotiation so over time the savings should add up but the executive action asks the health secretary and congress to fix what the administration sees as a flaw in the law

baked into the biden administration law that gave medicare negotiating power in the first place it allowed 10 drugs to be negotiated last year and 15 more this year next year another 15 should be up for negotiation so over time the savings should add up but the executive action asks the health secretary and congress to fix what the administration sees as a flaw in the law

baked into the biden administration law that gave medicare negotiating power in the first place it allowed 10 drugs to be negotiated last year and 15 more this year next year another 15 should be up for negotiation so over time the savings should add up but the executive action asks the health secretary and congress to fix what the administration sees as a flaw in the law

It treats prescription pills like some cancer drugs differently from more complex biotech drugs like the blockbuster rheumatoid arthritis drug, Humira. The pills are eligible for Medicare negotiation sooner, seven years after FDA approval, compared with 11 years for drugs like Humira. The proposal would level the playing field, but it would require a change in the law.

It treats prescription pills like some cancer drugs differently from more complex biotech drugs like the blockbuster rheumatoid arthritis drug, Humira. The pills are eligible for Medicare negotiation sooner, seven years after FDA approval, compared with 11 years for drugs like Humira. The proposal would level the playing field, but it would require a change in the law.

It treats prescription pills like some cancer drugs differently from more complex biotech drugs like the blockbuster rheumatoid arthritis drug, Humira. The pills are eligible for Medicare negotiation sooner, seven years after FDA approval, compared with 11 years for drugs like Humira. The proposal would level the playing field, but it would require a change in the law.

Yeah, it does. There's a lot in the executive action. It has 14 different sections. It takes aim at middlemen called pharmacy benefit managers, which handle drug coverage for health insurance. The order tells officials to look for ways to increase transparency into how they're compensated. The companies have been criticized for not passing on savings to consumers.

Yeah, it does. There's a lot in the executive action. It has 14 different sections. It takes aim at middlemen called pharmacy benefit managers, which handle drug coverage for health insurance. The order tells officials to look for ways to increase transparency into how they're compensated. The companies have been criticized for not passing on savings to consumers.

Yeah, it does. There's a lot in the executive action. It has 14 different sections. It takes aim at middlemen called pharmacy benefit managers, which handle drug coverage for health insurance. The order tells officials to look for ways to increase transparency into how they're compensated. The companies have been criticized for not passing on savings to consumers.

It also instructs the FDA to streamline its generic drug approvals process and to better facilitate state programs to import lower-cost drugs from Canada. The drug importation push actually started under the first Trump administration, and it just hasn't gotten much traction.