The Trump administration has added 160 more medicines to its drug-price transparency platform and will allow eligible Medicare beneficiaries to access certain GLP-1 weight-loss drugs for $50 a month from 1 July, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Dr Mehmet Oz announced on Monday. Speaking at a White House briefing in Washington, Oz said the move takes the total number of drugs listed on the federal pricing portal to more than 750.

Key Announcements

Oz said the administration had negotiated with 17 major pharmaceutical companies under what he described as a “most favored nation drug pricing strategy”. The Council of Economic Advisers has estimated savings of nearly $600 billion over the next ten years from the negotiated program, he said.

“Almost 1 in 3 Americans, when they go to a pharmacy to pick up a medication that their doctors prescribe for them, leave empty-handed because they can't afford the medication,” Oz told reporters.

GLP-1 Weight-Loss Drugs at $50

From 1 July, eligible Medicare patients will be able to obtain GLP-1 weight-loss products for $50 a month — a steep cut from current list prices that often exceed $1,000 a month, according to Oz. He said wider access could help reduce obesity-linked conditions including diabetes, hypertension, kidney disease, heart disease, and strokes.

Pricing Portal Traffic

Oz said the transparency website has drawn about 12 million unique visitors in the two weeks since the previous announcement, with estimated consumer savings of roughly $500 million. The portal allows users to compare prices before filling prescriptions.

Call for Legislative Backing

The CMS chief urged the US Congress to codify the negotiated pricing agreements, warning that the current arrangements would lapse once the Trump administration leaves office. “We still believe it makes sense for Congress to codify what we've been able to achieve because it's been so helpful,” he said.

Wider Healthcare Agenda

Oz said the administration was also pursuing reforms to pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), insurance transparency, and simplification of healthcare pricing. “We want plain English insurance policies so you can actually understand the document that you're being given,” he said. He argued that Americans pay roughly three times more on average for the same drugs produced in the same facilities as those sold in Europe and Asia. The next phase of disclosures and Medicare rule changes will determine whether the cost cuts hold beyond the current term.