Medicare’s $50 obesity drug program is proving popular : NPR

Key Points:

• Starting in July, Medicare began a pilot program called Bridge allowing eligible beneficiaries with obesity and uncontrolled high blood pressure to access obesity drugs for $50 a month, with CVS and Walgreens each filling around 100,000 prescriptions in under two months.
• The program excludes beneficiaries with sleep apnea or Type 2 diabetes since Medicare Part D already covers GLP-1 drugs for those conditions, and it is set to run through the end of 2027.
• Walgreens and CVS report strong demand, with about half of Walgreens' patients new to GLP-1 drugs; Walmart also notes growing Bridge program prescriptions across its pharmacies nationwide.
• An estimated 4 million Medicare recipients might qualify for the program, and early uptake suggests 5-10% of eligible beneficiaries have accessed it quickly, though CMS has not released official usage figures.
• Cost estimates for the 18-month program range from $1.3 billion to $10 billion, but experts emphasize evaluating the long-term value of these medications in reducing healthcare costs and improving quality of life by preventing disease progression.