Getting access to popular weight loss drugs will be simpler and cheaper for some.
Health insurer Cigna (CI) announced a new deal for copay caps on Eli Lilly (LLY) and Novo Nordisk (NVO) weight loss drugs. The deal caps copays at $200 a month through employer healthcare programs.
Evernorth, the health services division of The Cigna Group, announced the benefit that will make popular weight loss medications Wegovy and Zepbound more available to patients. Through direct negotiations with the medications’ manufacturers, Evernorth announced that it has ensured that patients’ monthly cost will not exceed $200.
Cigna is listed by the National Association of Insurance Carriers as the nation’s eighth largest health insurer. The insurer touted the lower costs in a press release on Wednesday.
“We are reimagining pharmacy benefits to reduce costs and better serve patients,” said Adam Kautzner, Pharm D, President of Evernorth Care Management and Express Scripts, in the release.
Evernorth did not respond to a request from Quartz for comment.
The company also highlighted other savings from the new arrangement, including savings of as much as $3,600 per year compared to buying these medications directly from manufacturers or through consumer programs. Customers will also notice a simplified and automated process for faster access.
The news from Cigna comes as the FDA is cracking down on compounding pharmacies that have been offering cheaper copies of the popular weight-loss drugs Ozempic and Wegovy. Compounding pharmacies may offer compounded drugs — which aren’t regulated by the FDA—as an alternative during times of a declared national shortage. But in a memo released on Feb 21, the FDA declared “that the semaglutide injection product shortage is resolved.”
Starting May 22, the FDA will begin enforcing action against pharmacies still dispensing the drugs.
Cigna shares were trading down just below 1% in mid-morning activity.
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