Novo cuts Wegovy prices, but doctors still see cost challenges for patients

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Novo cuts Wegovy prices, but doctors still see cost challenges for patients

2025-11-17 22:47 Last Updated At：11-18 15:24

Novo Nordisk is chopping prices again for Wegovy, but doctors say the expense will remain challenging for patients without insurance.

The drugmaker said Monday that it has started selling higher doses of the injectable obesity treatment for $349 a month to patients paying the full bill. That’s down from $499, and in line with terms of a drug pricing agreement outlined earlier this month by President Donald Trump’s administration.

Novo also started a temporary offer of $199 a month for the first two months of low doses of Wegovy and the drug’s counterpart for diabetes, Ozempic. The new pricing will be available at pharmacies nationwide, through home delivery and from some telemedicine providers.

Rival Eli Lilly also plans price breaks for its weight-loss drug Zepbound once it gets a new, multi-dose pen on the market. Lilly has said it will sell a starter dose of Zepbound for $299 a month and additional doses at up to $449. Both represent $50 reductions from current prices for sales directly to patients.

Obesity treatments like Zepbound and Wegovy have soared in popularity in recent years. Known as GLP-1 receptor agonists, the drugs work by targeting hormones in the gut and brain that affect appetite and feelings of fullness.

In clinical trials, they helped people shed 15% to 22% of their body weight — up to 50 pounds or more in many cases. But affordability has been a persistent challenge for patients.

A recent poll by the nonprofit KFF found that about half of the people who take the treatments say it was hard to afford them.

Both Lilly and Novo announced price cuts earlier this year that brought the cost of higher doses of their treatments down to around $500 a month.

Previous research has shown that people have difficulty paying for a medication when the cost rises above $100 per month, said Stacie Dusetzina, a Vanderbilt University Medical Center professor and prescription drug pricing expert.

She said Novo's new prices are “not going to really move the needle for a person who doesn’t have a pretty reasonable amount of disposable income.”

Dr. Laura Davisson said the medication would still be unaffordable for patients on Medicaid in states where the government-funded program for people with low incomes doesn’t cover the drug.

The bigger issue is expanding coverage of the treatments, said Davisson, a West Virginia University obesity specialist.

“We’ve had hundreds of people lose coverage over the last couple of years, and we keep seeing more and more insurers drop coverage,” she said, adding that her practice has started a group support program to help those who have lost coverage.

Coverage is slated to improve starting next year for at least one big payer under a deal announced by the Trump administration. The federally funded Medicare program, mainly for people ages 65 and older, will begin covering the treatments for people who have severe obesity and others who are overweight or obese and have serious health problems.

Those who qualify will pay $50 copays for the medicine.

Administration officials also said lower prices for the drugs that they negotiated for Medicare also will be provided for Medicaid programs.

That will help expand coverage, according to Dave Moore, Novo's executive vice president for U.S. operations. He said Medicaid programs in 20 states cover the drug for obesity.

Novo officials expect around 40 million more Americans will gain access to their drug through coverage expansions for Medicaid and Medicare.

Neither Moore nor representatives for Eli Lilly would say whether they plan additional price cuts. Both companies also are seeking approval of pill versions of the drugs, which would come with new prices.

Lilly spokesperson Courtney Kasinger said the company believes obesity treatments should be covered just like those for any other chronic condition.

“We're going to continue to work to improve coverage as much as we can across all channels, all stakeholders,” she said.

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

A US military refueling plane crashed in Iraq. Here's what to know

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — The U.S. military says a KC-135 refueling aircraft supporting operations against Iran crashed in western Iraq and rescue operations are underway.

The U.S. Central Command, which oversees the Middle East, said the crash followed an unspecified incident involving two aircraft in “friendly airspace,” and that the other plane landed safely.

Here’s what is known so far about the tanker, which is the fourth publicly acknowledged U.S. aircraft to crash during the war against Iran:

The KC-135 Stratotanker is a U.S. Air Force aircraft used to refuel other planes in midair, allowing them to travel longer distances and maintain operations longer without landing. The plane is also used to transport wounded personnel during medical evacuations or conduct surveillance missions, according to military experts.

Based on the same design as the Boeing 707 passenger plane, the tanker has been in service for more than 60 years, supporting the U.S. Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps as well as allied aircraft, according to an Air Force description. The aging plane is set to be phased out as the air force receives a full complement of next-generation KC-46A Pegasus tankers.

Despite upgrades over the years, the KC-135s' age has fueled concern about their reliability and durability.

“The last of these planes were produced in the 1960s,” said Yang Uk, a security expert at South Korea’s Asan Institute for Policy Studies. He added that the transition to the KC-46A has progressed more slowly than expected.

According to the Congressional Research Service, the Air Force last year had 376 KC-135s, including 151 on active duty, 163 in the Air National Guard and 62 in the Air Force Reserve.

A basic KC-135 crew has three people: a pilot, co-pilot and boom operator. Nurses and medical technicians are added in aeromedical evacuation missions.

Refueling typically happens at the back of the plane, where the boom operator is located. A fuel boom is lowered to connect with fighters, bombers or other aircraft. On many of the planes, the boom operator works lying face down while looking out of a window on the underside of the plane.

Some KC-135s can also refuel planes from pods on their wings. The tankers also have room above the fuel stores to carry cargo or passengers if needed.

Refueling tankers could play an increasingly important role if the Iran war drags on, as U.S. aircraft may need to fly longer missions to pursue Iranian forces retreating deeper into the country, said Yang.

It was not immediately clear if there were any casualties from the crash in Iraq. A U.S. official, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to discuss the developing situation, said the plane was carrying at least five crew members.

A second U.S. official, who also spoke on condition of anonymity, said the other plane involved in the incident was also a KC-135. Yechiel Leiter, the Israeli ambassador to the U.S., wrote on X that the other plane landed safely in Israel.

The U.S. Central Command did not elaborate on the circumstances of the crash, but said it “was not due to hostile fire or friendly fire.”

Yang said it would be rare for a refueling tanker to be downed by enemy fire because such operations are usually conducted in the rear of combat zones.

The crash came after three U.S. F-15E fighter jets were mistakenly downed last week by friendly Kuwaiti fire.

KC-135s have been involved in several fatal accidents. The most recent happened on May 3, 2013, when a KC-135R crashed after takeoff south of Chaldovar, Kyrgyzstan while taking part in the war in Afghanistan.

In that crash, the crew experienced problems with the plane’s rudder, according to a U.S. Air Force investigation. While they struggled to stabilize the plane, the tail section broke away and the plane exploded midair, killing all three crewmembers onboard.

The most serious mid-air collision involving the plane happened in 1966, when a B-52 bomber carrying nuclear bombs struck a tanker near Palomares, Spain.

The accident caused the tanker to crash, killing four onboard. The disaster led to an extensive decontamination effort to clean up nuclear material dispersed when conventional explosives in the hydrogen bombs detonated after hitting the ground.

Schreck reported from Bangkok. AP writers Ben Finley and Konstantin Toropin in Washington contributed.