Obesity Drugs Seen Costing Medicare $35 Billion Through 2034 (1)

Giving older Americans access to weight-loss medicines through the US Medicare program would cost $35 billion over nine years, according to a congressional analysis.

Expanding coverage of weight-loss drugs like blockbusters from Eli Lilly & Co. and Novo Nordisk A/S would make 12.5 million more people in the US program eligible for them by 2026, according to a long-awaited Congressional Budget Office analysis released Tuesday. The CBO estimated the drugs’ costs from 2026 through 2034.

About 52 million older or disabled Americans get retail prescription drug coverage through Medicare, which doesn’t cover drugs specifically for weight loss. Drugmakers and ...