{"id":91101,"date":"2026-06-09T13:14:57","date_gmt":"2026-06-09T19:14:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/?p=91101"},"modified":"2026-06-12T10:23:25","modified_gmt":"2026-06-12T16:23:25","slug":"medicare-weight-loss-drugs-glp-1-50-dollars-who-qualifies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/medicare-weight-loss-drugs-glp-1-50-dollars-who-qualifies\/","title":{"rendered":"Millions of older Americans soon could get popular weight loss drugs for $50 a month, far less than today’s prices"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"GLP-1
GLP-1 weight loss drugs can help people lose significant amounts of weight and reduce risks for heart disease and other conditions. A new Medicare initiative could expand access by lowering costs to about $50 a month for some patients. Photo: Getty Images.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Older people who are struggling with obesity soon will be able to get highly effective weight loss drugs for $50 a month, far less than popular drugs like Zepbound and Wegovy currently cost.<\/p>\n

These drugs are what’s known as GLP-1s, just like Ozempic, the popular diabetes medication that kicked off a revolution in the pharmaceutical industry and inspired as many as 12% of people in the U.S. to try using weight loss drugs<\/a>. (GLP-1 stands for glucagon-like peptide-1, a natural hormone that people produce in their guts. It helps slow digestion and reduce food cravings.)<\/p>\n

Millions of people in the U.S. could be eligible to participate in the new Medicare pilot program, which is scheduled to begin on July 1 and is called the Bridge program<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Altogether, 70.1 million Americans currently are enrolled in Medicare<\/a>, the federal government health insurance program for adults ages 65 and older. And in the U.S., nearly 70% of adults are either overweight or obese<\/a>. Not every overweight Medicare recipient will qualify for the new, cheaper weight loss drugs, so it will be important for patients and their doctors to pay attention to all the details.<\/p>\n

But the impacts of this new drug coverage likely will be dramatic as millions of Americans flock to their primary care providers to seek new GLP-1 prescriptions or to switch to the Bridge program to save hundreds of dollars a month on weight loss drugs.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a big step forward in prevention of health challenges for our Medicare population. These drugs have incredible potential benefits,\u201d said Dr. Annie Moore<\/a>, an internal medicine doctor who is board-certified in obesity medicine and has extensive experience prescribing GLP-1 weight loss medications to her patients.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis pilot will be a huge social and healthcare experiment. Never before have we rolled out drugs like this to so many people,\u201d Moore said.<\/p>\n

We talked with Moore to learn more about how the new Bridge program will work and to answer your top questions.<\/p>\n

Who qualifies for Medicare GLP-1 weight loss drugs for $50 a month?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

To qualify for the Medicare GLP-1 Bridge program, patients must be classified as \u201cobese,\u201d meaning they have a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or greater.<\/p>\n

\"Dr.
Dr. Annie Moore is an internal medicine doctor and an expert on obesity medicine. She expects new, more affordable access to GLP-1 weight loss drugs to have profound, long-term effects on the health of older Americans. Photo by Cyrus McCrimmon, for the University of Colorado Anschutz School of Medicine.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cThe program is covering medications only for people who meet the definition of obesity, not for those who are overweight,\u201d Moore said. \u201cI\u2019m supportive of that because carrying a little extra weight when you\u2019re 65 or older is not a bad thing. And the health risks related to obesity really start to increase with BMIs of 30 or greater.\u201d<\/p>\n

Moore cares for patients at\u00a0CU Internal Medicine \u2013 Cherry Creek<\/a> in Denver and also\u00a0is a professor<\/a> at the University of Colorado Anschutz School of Medicine<\/a>. She researches best practices in patient care through the Brown Moore Endowed Chair for Excellence in Patient Experience.<\/p>\n

Moore studied obesity medicine before the recent GLP-1 revolution in weight loss drugs, has practiced medicine for nearly 40 years and has been prescribing GLP-1 drugs to many of her patients over the past 5 years.<\/p>\n

Obesity has been a growing epidemic in the U.S. for decades.<\/p>\n

About 40% of adults in the U.S. are obese, with BMIs of 30 and higher. Among those people, about 10% are severely obese, meaning they have BMIs of 40 or greater. An additional 25% of U.S. adults are overweight, with BMIs of 25 to 29, according to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The percentage of obese adults climbs to 68% if medical experts consider waist size along with BMI.<\/p>\n

Eligibility details for Medicare GLP-1 weight loss drugs under the new Bridge program:<\/strong><\/h3>\n