Millions of Medicare beneficiaries struggling with obesity could soon see the cost of weight-loss drugs plummet, as a new federal pilot program launching July 1 expands access to GLP-1 medications like Wegovy and Zepbound for eligible seniors.

Through a new trial called Medicare GLP-1 Bridge, the federal government is now offering a selection of the brand-name medications to certain Medicare and Medicare Advantage beneficiaries for $50 a month, The Associated Press reported.

The covered medications include drugmaker Eli Lilly’s Foundayo tablets and Zepbound KwikPens and Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy injections and tablets, all of which have been FDA-approved for weight loss, according to the report.

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The temporary program is set to run until the end of 2027.

This is the first time GLP-1s (glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists) will be covered by insurance when used solely for weight loss.

Prior to this new Medicare pilot, seniors who wanted to access GLP-1s for obesity alone paid about $1,350-$1,650 per month for Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy (semaglutide) and about $1,086 monthly for Lilly’s Zepbound (tirzepatide). However, both manufacturers offered some cash-pay options that significantly reduced those prices for eligible patients.

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There are some parameters surrounding the coverage — older adults must have had a body mass index (BMI) of 35 or higher when they started GLP-1 therapy, or a BMI of 27 or higher alongside another health condition, such as a past heart attack or stroke or prediabetes.

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Those who already have insurance coverage for other diseases, such as diabetes and sleep apnea, are not eligible for the program.

There are more than 70 million Americans currently enrolled in Medicare, 10 million of whom are overweight or obese, according to Juliette Cubanski, vice president and director of the program on Medicare policy at the healthcare research nonprofit KFF.

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“For many older Americans living with obesity, this is a moment they and their families have been waiting for,” Jamey Millar, Novo Nordisk’s executive vice president of U.S. operations, said in a press release.

“The Medicare GLP-1 Bridge program offers a new, affordable path to an FDA-approved treatment that was previously not covered.”

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Dr. Mehmet Oz, administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, said he hopes the program can help his agency collect data to potentially work toward longer-term coverage, while providing immediate relief to cash-strapped older Americans, AP reported.

“The sheer cost of these medications is a huge barrier to access,” he said in a call with reporters. “That ends today.”

Oz told reporters that CMS plans to “carefully track participation and outcomes” to see whether an extension of the Bridge program or another solution is the best way to move forward. He told AP a federal law permanently allowing the coverage is “not essential right now” but something “for Congress to debate amongst themselves.”

“We can’t decide what’s going to happen long term with Bridge until we see some of the data,” he said, adding that there are ongoing talks with drug companies to lower costs.

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One potential concern is that older patients tend to have more adverse effects to medication in general , according to Dr. Micah Eimer, a clinical assistant professor of cardiology at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.

“Specifically, in our research, older patients on blood pressure medications were more likely to experience hypotensive side effects, such as fainting and dizziness, after starting a GLP-1,” he said in a statement.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Federal health officials are attempting to track down the source of a microscopic parasite that triggers prolonged gastrointestinal illness, as domestic cases begin to climb for the summer season.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had confirmed 145 cases of cyclosporiasis across 17 states as of mid-June 2026, all linked to infections acquired in the U.S.

The culprit is Cyclospora, a microscopic parasite known to cause cyclosporiasis.

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The hallmark symptom of the infection is watery, often “explosive” diarrhea that can last for weeks or even months if left untreated, the CDC says.

Other symptoms include severe abdominal cramping, bloating, nausea, fatigue and significant weight loss.

The official outbreak season for the parasite runs from May 1 through Aug. 31, a window where warmer temperatures historically coincide with a spike in infections, according to the CDC.

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Cases have cropped up in states ranging from Texas to Alaska. New York has been hit the hardest so far, reporting between 31 and 80 cases, followed by Texas and Illinois, which have each reported between 11 and 30 cases.

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While the infection can sometimes clear up on its own, it frequently requires antibiotics. Out of the 145 confirmed cases, 20 patients have required hospitalization, per the CDC.

No deaths have yet been reported. Patients range from 5 to 86 years old, though the median age is 42, and women make up 61% of the reported cases, data shows.

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The CDC, alongside the Food and Drug Administration and state health officials, is actively investigating several multi-state clusters, but they have yet to find a cause behind the spread.

“There is currently no evidence of a single, multistate Cyclospora outbreak linking all cases,” the CDC noted in its surveillance report.

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The CDC advises anyone experiencing symptoms of cyclosporiasis to contact a healthcare provider for testing and treatment.