Medicare GLP-1 Bridge: $50 a month for Wegovy, Zepbound, Foundayo

The short answer. Starting July 1, 2026, Medicare will furnish Wegovy, Zepbound, and Foundayo for a flat $50 a month to Part D beneficiaries who meet specific BMI and health criteria, under a demonstration program called the Medicare GLP-1 Bridge. It runs through December 31, 2027. If you qualify, $50 a month for a branded GLP-1 beats every cash-pay program on our chart, where prices run $99 to $649 a month. The catch is the word eligible: the criteria are narrower than most coverage headlines suggest, and the program only applies when the prescription is for weight management.

What the Medicare GLP-1 Bridge is

The Bridge is a short-term CMS demonstration, not a permanent Part D benefit change. It operates outside the normal Part D coverage and payment flow. That design has three practical consequences CMS spells out directly: your Part D deductible does not apply to Bridge prescriptions, the $50 copay does not count toward your true out-of-pocket (TrOOP) total, and the low-income subsidy does not reduce the $50. Everyone who qualifies pays the same $50.

Your Part D plan does not need to opt in. CMS runs prior authorization, claims, and pharmacy payment through a single central processor. Your prescriber submits the prior authorization request to that processor, and requests are not accepted before July 1, 2026.

Who qualifies

Per CMS's May 7, 2026 announcement, a Part D beneficiary qualifies on any one of three clinical paths:

• BMI of 35 or higher, or
• BMI of 30 or higher plus a diagnosis of heart failure, uncontrolled hypertension, or chronic kidney disease, or
• BMI of 27 or higher plus a diagnosis of pre-diabetes, a previous heart attack, a previous stroke, or symptomatic peripheral artery disease.

The prescription must be for weight management. That sounds like a formality, but it is the program's sharpest edge, covered next.

Why might I be excluded even if my BMI qualifies?

If you have type 2 diabetes, obstructive sleep apnea, or noncirrhotic MASH, CMS says you are ineligible for the Bridge even when you meet the BMI criteria. The reasoning: GLP-1s prescribed for those diagnoses are already eligible for regular Part D coverage, so those prescriptions stay in your Part D plan. The Bridge only covers GLP-1s prescribed solely for weight loss or weight maintenance. Whether your regular Part D copay is better or worse than $50 depends on your plan's tier placement and your deductible status.

Is $50 a month cheaper than cash-pay telehealth?

For branded medication, yes, by a wide margin. The cheapest branded route without insurance is the oral Wegovy pill at $149 a month through NovoCare; branded Zepbound vials run $299 to $449 a month through LillyDirect. Full cash programs on our chart run $99 to $649 a month, with the under-$200 tier almost entirely compounded rather than branded. $50 a month for branded Wegovy or Zepbound is cheaper than every cash option we track. If you are on Medicare and meet the criteria, the Bridge should be the first option you price, before any telehealth program including the ones we rank.

What should I do before July 1?

Confirm you are enrolled in a Part D plan, since the Bridge is only open to Part D beneficiaries. Get your diagnosis documentation in order with your doctor, because the prior authorization runs on the clinical criteria above. Then have your prescriber submit the prior authorization to the central processor on or after July 1, 2026. CMS has posted the form for reference but will not accept requests before that date.

If you do not qualify

The three-path criteria leave out a large group: BMI 27 to 35 with none of the listed conditions, anyone not on Part D, and anyone under 65 without Medicare. For that group the cash market is still the market. Our cheapest-programs ranking starts at $99 a month, the senior hub covers Medicare-specific GLP-1 questions beyond the Bridge, and the insurance guide covers commercial coverage and appeals. Prices checked every Monday.