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Medicare spending on GLP‑1 drugs: $39.3 billion gross in 2025 (preliminary)

Medicare Part D recorded $39.3B in gross GLP-1 spending in 2025 (preliminary), up 42.8% from 2024, before rebates. By drug, from CMS data.

Research

Published Aug 16, 2026 · Updated Oct 25, 2026

Quick answer

Medicare Part D recorded $39.3 billion in gross spending on GLP-1 drugs in 2025 (preliminary), before rebates. That is up 42.8% from $27.5 billion in 2024, according to a glp1.health analysis of CMS data. Ozempic was 41.1% of the 2025 total and Mounjaro 35.8%. Rebates are not public, so the net cost to Medicare is lower and not known.

Medicare Part D recorded $39.3 billion in gross spending on GLP-1 drugs in 2025 (preliminary), before rebates.1 The 2024 figure (final) was $27.5 billion.2

How much does Medicare spend on GLP‑1 drugs?

Medicare Part D recorded $39.3 billion in gross spending on GLP-1 drugs in 2025 (preliminary), before rebates.1 That is up 42.8% from $27.5 billion in 2024.2 Claims rose to 29.9 million, from 21.8 million in 2024.13 A claim is one fill, not one person. CMS publishes one row per drug and no GLP-1 total, so the total is our sum of 12 GLP-1 products.

Medicare Part D gross spending on GLP-1 drugs, before rebates · $ billion · as of CMS data loaded 25 October 2026

CMS marks 2025 as preliminary. Its method says figures for a preliminary year "may change with each new release due to claims lag".4 CMS moves a year to the annual file when it has a full year of claims with enough run-out.4

KFF set the method we follow, and it published the series from 2019 to 2024. KFF reached the same 2024 total, and it calls that total "a five-fold increase from 2019".5

How much does Medicare spend on Ozempic?

Ozempic was the largest product: $16.2 billion in gross spending in 2025 (preliminary), or 41.1% of the GLP-1 total.1 In 2024 it was $13.0 billion, or 47.1%.3 CareSet reported Ozempic's 2025 Part D spending on 3 July 2026.7

Mounjaro came second, at $14.1 billion (35.8%).1 Mounjaro more than doubled from $6.3 billion in 2024.3 Together the two products are 76.9% of the 2025 total. Trulicity fell, from $5.5 billion to $4.8 billion.13

Gross spending by drug, 2025 (preliminary) · $ billion · as of CMS data loaded 25 October 2026

Is that what Medicare actually pays?

No. In CMS's words, gross spending is "total spending for the prescription claim, including amounts paid by the Medicare Part D plan and beneficiary payments".4 It is before manufacturer rebates. CMS says its figures "do not reflect any manufacturers' rebates or other price concessions as CMS is prohibited from publicly disclosing such information".4 We publish no net figure.

KFF gives one example, for 2024 only: "Assuming rebates of 50% across all GLP-1 products in 2024 would mean net spending of around $14 billion in 2024."5 That is KFF's assumption, not a measure. KFF bases it on MedPAC estimates that "negotiated rebates for diabetic therapy were equal to or greater than 50% in 2023".5 Diabetic therapy is a wider class than GLP-1s.

The total also leaves out two things:

  • The Medicare GLP-1 Bridge. CMS says the Bridge runs "between July 1, 2026, and December 31, 2027" and "will operate outside of the Medicare Part D benefit’s coverage and payment flow".6 Both years end before the Medicare GLP-1 Bridge began.
  • Other payers. The data covers Part D only. Medicaid, commercial insurance and cash prescriptions are not in it. Medicaid's side is on the Medicaid GLP-1 spending page.

How much of the spending is for weight-loss drugs?

Wegovy and Zepbound are the two brands in the data with an obesity indication. Together they were $2.1 billion in gross spending in 2025 (preliminary), or 5.2% of the GLP-1 total.1 In 2024 they were $301.5 million, or 1.1%.3

That is not a weight-loss figure. KFF writes that "Medicare currently covers GLP-1s for type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and sleep apnea, but coverage for weight loss drugs is prohibited by law".5 The CMS file has no diagnosis per claim, so it cannot show why a drug was prescribed.1 KFF notes that the FDA approved Wegovy for cardiovascular disease and Zepbound for sleep apnea in 2024.5 For what the Bridge covers, see Medicare GLP-1 coverage.

Spending by product, 2025 (12)

Each row is one CMS product row, named as CMS writes it. The 2025 figures are preliminary. "No row" means CMS has no row for that product in 2024.

#ProductGross spending, 2025Claims, 2025Share of 2025 totalGross spending, 2024
1Ozempic$16,153,040,29712,398,56441.1%$12,965,808,790
2Mounjaro$14,076,460,35610,626,44935.8%$6,334,739,185
3Trulicity$4,826,044,1393,726,41412.3%$5,452,031,864
4Rybelsus$2,029,222,0641,249,6035.2%$1,889,261,891
5Zepbound$1,035,655,326903,0042.6%$387,343
6Wegovy$1,026,459,977714,3852.6%$301,160,734
7Liraglutide$92,147,459195,2360.2%$48,084,632
8Bydureon Bcise$37,843,51333,9610.1%$215,268,334
9Victoza 3-Pak$4,910,2225,558under 0.1%$203,005,403
10Victoza 2-Pak$3,442,2395,359under 0.1%$77,803,679
11Byetta$2,351,9622,129under 0.1%$15,862,662
12Exenatide$2,116,2731,938under 0.1%No row

How this figure is derived

The 2025 total, $39,289,693,826, is our sum of the national rows for 12 GLP-1 products in the latest CMS quarterly Part D Spending by Drug file, loaded on 25 October 2026.1 A GLP-1 product is any row whose generic name is a GLP-1 medication, so the sum includes both Victoza pack sizes, Bydureon BCise and generic liraglutide. The insulin combinations Soliqua and Xultophy are not in it.

The change compares two Spending by Drug files: the 2025 total against the annual file's 2024 total of $27,513,350,128.12 CMS advises "using caution when comparing between the annual and quarterly datasets".4 The per-product 2024 figures come from the national rows of the CMS prescriber file, which sum to $27,503,414,515.3 Both round to $27.5 billion.

MedPAC's public meeting slides of 3 September 2026 also chart monthly gross Part D spending on GLP-1s for 2024 and 2025.8 The slides give no annual total, so we do not compare them with ours.

Before quoting this number

  1. It is gross spending, before rebates. CMS does not publish rebates, so the net cost is lower and not known.
  2. The 2025 figure is preliminary. CMS revises it with each quarterly release.
  3. It is Part D only, and it is not a weight-loss figure. The file has no diagnosis per claim.

Next step

For what Medicare covers for you, read Medicare GLP-1 coverage. To pay cash instead, compare the cheapest GLP-1 programs and programs that take insurance.

How to cite this page

glp1.health. “Medicare Spending on GLP-1: $39.3B in 2025 (Preliminary).” Data as of October 25, 2026. https://www.glp1.health/blog/medicare-part-d-glp1-spending. Licensed CC BY 4.0.

Related pages
Total reimbursed for Medicaid GLP-1 drugs in 2025: about $11.95 billion, before rebates. California paid $3.46 billion of it.
Does Medicare Cover Ozempic, Wegovy or Zepbound in 2026?
Data sources
  1. 1.
    CMS Medicare Quarterly Part D Spending by DrugGross spending and claims per drug, nationally, for each full year the quarterly file holds. Preliminary. July 2026 release (file QDD_PTD_RQ2603_P01_V10_DQT2601_20260708.csv)Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Servicesretrieved Oct 25, 2026↩
  2. 2.
    CMS Medicare Part D Spending by Drug, annualGross spending and claims per drug. Data year 2024, final (June 2026 release, file DSD_PTD_RY26_P04_V10_DY24_BGM.csv)Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Servicesretrieved Oct 25, 2026↩
  3. 3.
    CMS Medicare Part D Prescribers — by Geography and DrugClaims and total drug cost per drug, nationally and per state. Data year 2024 (May 2026 release)Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Servicesretrieved Oct 25, 2026↩
  4. 4.
    Preliminary Medicare Quarterly Part D Spending by Drug MethodologyWhat the spending figures count, rebates, and the status of preliminary dataCenters for Medicare & Medicaid Servicesretrieved Oct 25, 2026↩“This data is updated quarterly and may change with each new release due to claims lag. Once a full year of data is available with a sufficient run-out period, it will transition from the preliminary quarterly dataset to the annual dataset. Due to the preliminary nature of the quarterly dataset, we advise using caution when comparing between the annual and quarterly datasets.”
  5. 5.
    Recent Trends in GLP-1 Use and Spending in MedicareJuliette Cubanski, published 30 January 2026. Gross and net Part D spending on GLP-1s, 2019 to 2024KFFretrieved Oct 25, 2026↩“Assuming rebates of 50% across all GLP-1 products in 2024 would mean net spending of around $14 billion in 2024.”
  6. 6.
    Medicare GLP-1 Bridge: information for Part D plansPage last modified 6 August 2026Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Servicesretrieved Oct 25, 2026↩“The Medicare GLP-1 Bridge is a short-term demonstration run by CMS that will provide eligible Medicare Part D beneficiaries with access to certain GLP-1 drugs between July 1, 2026, and December 31, 2027. The Medicare GLP-1 Bridge will operate outside of the Medicare Part D benefit’s coverage and payment flow.”
  7. 7.
    Medicare launches $50 GLP-1 pilot as utilization soarsPublished 3 July 2026CareSetretrieved Oct 25, 2026↩
  8. 8.
    Issues and potential policy directions in Part DMedPAC public meeting slides, 3 September 2026Medicare Payment Advisory Commissionretrieved Oct 25, 2026↩

NADAC figures are pharmacy acquisition costs, not retail prices and not what you will pay. This content is educational and is not medical advice.