Medicare Launches Two-Year Pilot Covering GLP-1 Weight Loss Drugs

Medicare will begin a short-term GLP-1 Bridge pilot on July 1, 2026, offering select weight loss drugs to eligible Part D enrollees for a $50 monthly copay.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services program will run through December 31, 2027 and cover pill and injectable Wegovy, the KwikPen formulation of Zepbound, and the Foundayo pill when prescribed for weight loss. Eligibility generally requires Medicare Part D enrollment plus either a body mass index of at least 27 with certain health conditions or a BMI of 35 or higher.

Instead of using standard Part D processes, doctors will submit prior authorization requests to a central system run by CMS contractor Humana; once approved, patients will pay a flat $50 copay at the pharmacy regardless of dose. The pilot is intended to "bridge" access to GLP-1 obesity drugs ahead of a possible longer-term Medicare coverage model in 2028, in a break from past rules that barred Medicare from paying for weight loss treatments.