An early look at the rollout of Medicare's pilot program for GLP-1s

On July 1, Medicare patients gained access to GLP-1s for just $50 a month. The 18-month program’s success, so far, depends on who you ask.

The pilot, known as GLP-1 Bridge, covers drugs like Eli Lilly’s Foundayo and Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy for weight loss. Previously, Medicare patients could only get coverage for GLP-1s for other indications, like diabetes or sleep apnea, through their Part D plans.

This program may potentially expand GLP-1 access to millions of patients. This could add to growing evidence about the broader health impacts of these drugs, and even provide data to help employers decide whether to start covering GLP-1s for obesity treatment. KFF’s 2025 employer health benefits survey found just 1 in 5 employers with 200+ workers cover GLP-1s for weight loss.

Eli Lilly and Company and Novo Nordisk executives both said during August earnings calls that Bridge’s rollout was going well so far. Derek Asay, SVP of government strategy and federal accounts at Eli Lilly, told Healthcare Brew over email the company is “hearing encouraging feedback from healthcare providers.”

A Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) spokesperson said the program has “allowed thousands of eligible beneficiaries to access GLP-1 medications for weight loss” and the rollout so far has been “positive,” with the majority of prior authorizations being completed in under 12 hours. CMS also offers educational materials, a dedicated GLP-1 Bridge call center for providers, and a pharmacy help desk.

Cate Varney, obesity medicine director of the University of Virginia’s UVA Health and a trustee on the Obesity Medicine Association board of directors, told Healthcare Brew over email she’s observed “significant concerns.”

Varney told us that even one month after the program’s July 1 launch, there was still limited awareness among pharmacists, and the program was creating additional work for providers.

This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

Do you have any feedback—good or bad—about the rollout process?

I’ve heard, and personally experienced, significant concerns about the program’s rollout. While individual practices have made efforts to prepare, many clinics lacked sufficient knowledge, guidance, or resources to adequately plan for implementation. As a result, there has been considerable variability in readiness across healthcare settings. One of the most significant challenges has been at the retail pharmacy level. We’ve encountered numerous pharmacies where staff were unfamiliar with the Medicare Bridge program and uncertain about the necessary processes.

In some cases, pharmacists reported receiving only a general corporate email among many other communications, with little or no dedicated training provided. This has created a substantial bottleneck in the patient access process. Because the pharmacy’s submission to the Bridge program is a rate-limiting step that must occur before prior authorization can be initiated, any delay or confusion at the pharmacy level directly impacts a patient’s ability to access treatment. Even when the prescribing clinician has completed all required documentation and submitted the prescription, progress can stall if the pharmacy is not prepared to navigate the program.

Has the program created additional work for you?

Since the program launched just three weeks ago, I estimate that it has added approximately six to eight hours of work to my schedule each week. Much of my time has been spent responding to patient portal messages, answering questions about eligibility and enrollment, troubleshooting pharmacy and coverage issues, and addressing patient frustrations related to delays in approval or medication access. Many patients expected a smoother process after hearing announcements about expanded coverage, and we’ve been left to be the primary point of contact when there is confusion about next steps. While increasing access to obesity treatment is an important and worthwhile goal, the additional administrative workload placed on clinicians and staff should not be underestimated. Without dedicated support resources, these responsibilities can quickly become challenging for practices to absorb and sustain over time.

Do you feel confident you’ll be able to handle demand from patients who qualify via this program?

I am confident that our team will be able to manage the increased demand associated with the Medicare Bridge program, but we are fortunate to have substantial institutional resources and dedicated personnel to support these efforts. Not every practice is in the same position. I’ve already been communicating with smaller clinics, and I’ve heard significant concerns about long-term sustainability. Many practices are already operating with limited staff and administrative support, making it difficult to absorb the additional workload associated with benefit investigations, pharmacy coordination, prior authorizations, appeals, and ongoing patient communication.

Reducing administrative complexity and providing additional support to community-based practices will be critical to ensuring that access to care is not determined by the size or resources of a patient’s healthcare organization.

Do you think patient health data from this program could be used to study indirect benefits of GLP-1s, like their potential impact on substance use or mental health disorders?

This is my hope. The data generated through this program have the potential to demonstrate on a larger scale what those of us in obesity medicine have seen for years. Not just improvement with the number on the scale, but significant improvement in overall health, quality of life, and obesity-related complications like high blood pressure and prediabetes. Over time, these improvements will lead to reduced healthcare costs. I am hopeful that the outcomes from this program will provide irrefutable evidence for policymakers, employers, and insurers that obesity treatment should be considered a standard covered benefit.