During a recent episode of the All-In Podcast, Dr. Mehmet Oz, the current administrator for CMS (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services), revealed significant developments regarding GLP-1s and their pricing for American consumers.
The conversation began with host Jason Calacanis sharing his personal experience with it. Influenced by friends in the biohacking space, Calacanis described how early adopters experimented with Ozempic long before it became widely known.
At the time, he was steadily gaining weight despite a history as a marathon runner, adding a few pounds every year for nearly two decades. Eventually, curiosity and frustration pushed him to talk to his doctor. He described GLP-1s as “a miracle d**g,” pointing out that tens of millions of Americans have since experienced similar outcomes.
Dr. Oz then delivered the major announcement: “About two months ago in the Oval Office, the president basically did that. He said that we’re going to take the prices of these d***s, which are now prohibitively high for many Americans, $1,200 cash pay. It’s going to be a starting price of around $200.”
Even more notable, Oz revealed that the first FDA-approved GLP-1 pills are expected to launch as early as this month. He stated: “And with the pills, it’s $150 and the pills will come out. The first FDA approved pills will start this month.”
Dr. Oz explained the economic rationale: “At that price, we will within two years return money to the American taxpayer. It’s going to save us so much money from reducing hypertension, diabetes, and the downstream illnesses, the four horsemen of the apocalypse that you mentioned that we will save money. That we spend over half the money I believe within healthcare on these chronic illnesses driven by obesity.”
The administrator provided specific details about the program. He said that they have already reached pricing agreements with the two dominant players in the GLP-1 market: Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly. As part of the rollout, a new initiative called Trump RX is set to launch next week, allowing Americans to access these at the newly negotiated prices.
He stated, “We will launch next week Trump RX with those products. So you can cash pay at a price that is completely affordable. And here’s the good news. Every Medicare patient gets it for $50 co-pay. Every Medicaid patient gets it for nothing.”
Dr. Oz emphasized the equity aspect: “The people who need it the most, the folks that are most vulnerable. When people say the president doesn’t want to protect Medicaid, he doesn’t love and cherish Medicare, it drives me bonkers. Because he’s doing more for underserved Americans than any other president ever has. Giving Americans where the obesity epidemic lives, underserved Americans, vulnerable Americans who are on Medicaid, access to these dr**s for no out of pocket costs truly democratizes the weight loss issues.”
He also highlighted the current imbalance in access, pointing out that wealthy areas like Manhattan’s Upper East Side dominate GLP-1 usage today. In those zip codes, they are often used for cosmetic weight loss rather than medical necessity. This is a stark contrast to lower-income communities where obesity-related illness is far more prevalent but treatment remains financially out of reach.
The conversation then shifted to what these developments reveal about future medical innovation.
Dr. Oz addressed formulation improvements: “The other thing I would say is the form factor matters. Sending someone an injection that goes bad in the warm weather, that a lot of wastage, and you don’t know the exact dose. The pills make it like most other d**gs. And now the price point is much lower as well. So it’s easier for us to deliver that at scale to the American people.”
He also stated that the GLP-1 initiative is tied to a broader pharmaceutical strategy focused on long-term innovation rather than short-term fixes. He explained that the administration is pushing to manufacture domestically, hire American workers, and continue advancing next-generation treatments.
