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• Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk have agreed to sell their weight-loss drugs, Wegovy and Zepbound, through the new TrumpRx program.
• The portal site is expected to launch in early 2026 and will provide consumers the ability to buy prescription drugs directly from manufacturers at reduced prices.
• Experts say that most prescription medications will likely remain more affordable to consumers through traditional health insurance plans.

TrumpRx, the White House’s new prescription drug pricing program, will connect consumers to pharmaceutical companies that will sell certain prescription medications at significantly reduced prices.

Consumers who don’t have or don’t want to use health insurance to pay for these prescription drugs can purchase them directly from the pharmaceutical companies.

The White House has already signed deals with Pfizer, AstraZeneca, Eli Lilly, and Novo Nordisk to sell medications at reduced prices.

Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk will make their weight loss drugs Zepbound and Wegovy available through the TrumpRx platform.

TrumpRx is expected to launch in early 2026; however, experts say that most Americans will likely not benefit from the prescription drug cost-reduction program. Here’s what you need to know.

Will TrumpRx lower out-of-pocket costs?

Trump’s prescription drug pricing program may provide some benefits, particularly that weight-loss drugs will be available to people whose health insurance doesn’t cover these medications.

“These medications are usually costly to pay for out of pocket, so any savings passed on to patients are beneficial,” said Kanwar Kelley, MD, a specialist in otolaryngology, head and neck surgery, obesity medicine, and lifestyle medicine, and co-founder and chief executive officer of Side Health in Orinda, CA.

“This new program lays out a pathway for both medical use of these therapies and lower costs for patients seeking more general weight loss,” added Kevin Schulman, MD, a professor of medicine at Stanford University.

Nevertheless, experts suggest that most consumers will likely find it more cost-effective to purchase prescription medications through traditional health insurance plans.

“Though prices may be lowered for Americans who do not use insurance, the TrumpRx program likely will not influence most Americans,” Kelley told Healthline.

“The TrumpRx platform focuses on cash-pay deals that can be found on the manufacturer’s website. Although organizing the information may make the public more aware of better prices, most will likely default to using their insurance to pay for the medication.”

“Most people with insurance are likely to continue to pay lower out-of-pocket costs getting their drugs under their insurance than buying directly from a manufacturer,” added Juliette Cubanski, PhD, MPH, the deputy director of the Program on Medicare Policy for the research organization KFF.

“Some people without insurance, or who don’t have coverage for specific medications, might be able to secure lower pricing on certain medications, but for most Americans, it’s probably not a long-term solution to the affordability challenges they face when it comes to prescription drugs,” Cubanski told Healthline.  

Experts also point out that, at least initially, a limited number of prescription medications will be available through TrumpRx.

“It’s highly doubtful that all of the drugs people take will be for sale through this channel,” Cubanski said.

“TrumpRx focuses on select medications from specific manufacturers, rather than all pharmaceuticals,” Kelley said.

Kelley added that other issues, including the duration of medication availability through TrumpRx, need to be resolved. He said that medications purchased through the White House website are unlikely to be counted toward deductibles or out-of-pocket payment limits.

“Overall, the plan is ambitious, but most, if any, benefits will have to be determined after it is functioning,” Kelley said.

Savings expected from Pfizer, other pharmaceuticals

The TrumpRx program will essentially serve as a portal connecting consumers with the websites of pharmaceutical companies.

Consumers will be able to log into the site and search for prescription medications that are available under the program. The doctor’s prescription would need to be verified through the site.

The website is part of a broader initiative the Trump administration says is aimed at bringing prices paid by U.S. consumers more in line with those paid in other developed countries. They include this endeavor under their most-favored-nation pricing programs.

In exchange, pharmaceutical companies get access to a wider audience for their products. They are also exempt for three years from tariffs that the White House plans to levy against pharmaceutical companies.

At least four pharmaceutical companies have agreed to participate so far.

In September, White House officials announced that Pfizer had signed a contract to sell its medications directly to consumers at reduced prices through the TrumpRx portal.

In a statement, Pfizer officials said “primary care treatments and some select specialty brands will be offered at savings that will range as high as 85% and on average 50%.” They added that specific terms of the agreement remain confidential.

“By working closely with the administration, we are lowering costs for patients and enabling greater investment in the U.S. biopharmaceutical ecosystem by ending the days when American families alone carried the global burden of paying for innovation,” said Albert Bourla, chairman and chief executive officer of Pfizer, in the statement.

Weight loss drugs at discounted prices

In October, AstraZeneca reached a similar agreement to sell prescription medications through TrumpRx.

In a statement, officials at AstraZeneca, which is based in the United Kingdom, said their prescription medication prices on TrumpRx will be reduced by as much as 80%.

They said their drugs for sale via TrumpRx will include inhalers such as Bevespi Aerosphere for people with COPD and Airsupra for people with asthma. AstraZeneca officials also announced plans to expand drug manufacturing and research in the United States.

Last week, President Donald Trump announced that his administration had also reached an agreement with Eli Lilly to sell its weight-loss drug, Zepbound, as well as an arrangement with Novo Nordisk to sell its weight-loss medication Wegovy.

In a statement, White House officials said the price for Wegovy will fall from between $1,000 and $1,350 per month to $350 for purchases through TrumpRx. They said the price for Zepbound would drop from $1,086 per month to $346 per month.

In addition, the White House said that under this deal:

• Eli Lilly will offer Emgality — a treatment for migraine — at $299 per pen, a discount of $443 off the list price.
• Eli Lilly will offer Trulicity, a commonly used diabetes medication, at $389 per month, a discount of $598 off the list price.
• Novo Nordisk will offer widely used insulin products, including NovoLog and Tresiba, at a monthly supply cost of $35.

The White House added that “the agreement also provides that Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk will guarantee [most favored nation] prices on all new medicines that they bring to market.”

Experts said that while lower prices might bring relief to some consumers, many people may still be unable to afford these medications.

“These drugs have high price tags and, for many people, the cost has placed them out of reach,” Cubanski said. “Even at discounted prices of $150 or $250 or $350 through the TrumpRx website, these drugs will remain unaffordable for many people without insurance coverage.”

Experts noted that the TrumpRx deals may encourage pharmaceutical companies to continue negotiating lower drug prices.

“Hopefully, this negotiation will be a step in addressing the larger issue of the pharmaceutical prices in the U.S. market,” Schulman told Healthline.

“Targeting high-profile medications may signal that pharmaceutical companies are willing to discuss other medications for significant price reductions,” Kelley said.

TrumpRx not a solution to high drug prices

Pharmaceutical companies have been entering into agreements with retailers to sell prescription drugs through their pharmacies.

In early October, Costco signed a pact with Novo Nordisk to offer Wegovy and its other weight loss drug, Ozempic, to consumers.

A few weeks later, Walmart announced an arrangement with Eli Lilly to sell Zepbound to its customers.

The TrumpRx plan is separate from a program initiated by the Biden Administration in 2022 to allow Medicare officials to negotiate drug prices with pharmaceutical companies.

It also differs from the Cost Plus website launched in 2022 by entrepreneur Mark Cuban. That site sells generic prescription drugs at discounted prices. Consumers buy products from Cost Plus, not the pharmaceutical companies. The prices have been negotiated by Cost Plus with those companies.

However, experts say these programs and the TrumpRx plan still aren’t enough to address the overall problem in the United States of high prescription drug prices.

“Direct-to-consumer drug sales are not likely to be the solution to high drug prices for most patients in the U.S.,” said Cubanski. “For most Americans, [the TrumpRx program] is probably not a long-term solution to the affordability challenges they face when it comes to prescription drugs.”

Officials at America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP), a national trade association representing 1,300 health insurance companies, are particularly critical of prescription drug prices.

“As drug makers relentlessly lobby for a blank check to keep overcharging Americans, continued bipartisan action to lower drug prices is critical — including common sense reforms to stop drugmakers’ abuse of the patent system, restore competition, and move toward pricing based on clinical value and not on the lavish tax-deductible marketing campaigns brand drug makers use to drive up consumer demand for high-priced drugs and raise costs for everyone,” an AHIP spokesperson said in a statement shared with Healthline.