Popular Eli Lilly weight-loss drug Zepbound can be covered by Medicare plans to treat sleep apnea after it received Food and Drug Administration approval last month.

It opens the door for broader coverage and access to Zepbound, which is not currently covered by Medicare and many other insurance plans for weight loss.

Zepbound is a dual-activating medication that combines glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP) and glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) mechanisms to tackle the root causes of obesity. It suppresses appetite and reduces caloric intake, making it particularly effective for individuals whose OSA symptoms are exacerbated by excess weight.

Medicare has announced the expansion of coverage for Eli Lilly’s Zepbound, a breakthrough drug in the treatment of autoimmune conditions. Find out how this move impacts patients and healthcare accessibility.

Eli Lilly's obesity drug Zepbound can now be covered by government-backed Medicare insurance plans for use in sleep apnea, broadening access to the blockbuster weight-loss treatment. The Wednesday statement from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services comes after Zepbound in December became the first drug approved in the U.

Medicare now covers Eli Lilly's Zepbound for obstructive sleep apnea, FDA-approved for obesity and sleep apnea treatment, reducing apnea events by 62.8%.

According to BMO Capital Markets, Medicare coverage of Lilly’s Zepbound opens the door to using secondary indications to secure CMS coverage for obesity drugs.

Both Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly are studying their weight loss drugs to treat fatty liver disease, chronic kidney disease, sleep apnea and more. To be covered, these drugs would need to have late-stage trial results and then seek FDA approval for these uses.

The FDA has approved Lilly's Zepbound, a glp-1 agonist, for the treatment of sleep apnea, which affects 25 million Americans and is often treated with a CPAP machine, but is often declined due to its cumbersome nature.