The price of GLP-1 drugs is changing. So is how you take them.

List prices are falling, a new pill is here and a stronger drug is on the way, but some employers are dropping coverage, so what you pay depends more than ever on your insurance.

For years, the price tag has been one of the biggest barriers to GLP-1 medications like Ozempic and Wegovy. That is starting to change, though not in the same way for everyone.

In February, Novo Nordisk, the maker of Ozempic and Wegovy, announced it will cut U.S. list prices starting January 1, 2027. According to reports, the list price of Wegovy will drop 50%, from $1,349.02 a month to $675. Ozempic will drop 34%, from $1,027.51 a month to the same $675.

That list price is not necessarily what patients pay at the pharmacy. People with standard commercial insurance may already pay as little as $25 a month, depending on their plan, so the cut may mean little change for them. The biggest savings are expected for people on high deductible plans or coinsurance, where out-of-pocket costs are tied more closely to list price. Yahoo Finance reports that roughly one-third of workers with employer insurance are enrolled in high deductible plans.

Patients also have a new option that does not involve a needle. On April 1, the FDA approved Eli Lilly's Foundayo, a daily GLP-1 pill for weight loss that can be taken any time of day with no food or water restrictions. In clinical trials, people on the highest dose lost an average of 27.3 pounds, or 12.4% of their body weight, according to Lilly.

What Foundayo costs depends on coverage. Lilly says people with commercial insurance can pay as little as $25 a month with a savings card. Medicare Part D patients can pay $50 a month starting July 1, 2026. Without insurance, the lowest dose starts at $149 a month. Dr. Deborah Horn, director of the Center for Obesity Medicine at McGovern Medical School, said in Lilly's announcement that a daily pill with no food or water restrictions can give patients more flexibility.

Dr. Harold Urschel, cofounder of EnterHealth in Van Alstyne, told NBC 5 during an interview on GLP-1 and addiction treatment that he expected prices to keep falling as pills became more common.

"I think the cost will be significantly less, although it's a lot cheaper now than it was two years ago. We'll probably have the advent of the GLP pills that will probably work pretty well. So access to more people," Urschel said.

Not every trend is moving toward easier access. As drugmakers cut prices, some employers are dropping coverage of GLP-1s for weight loss. Bloomberg reported this week that PepsiCo and Cigna are among them.

Cigna ended weight loss coverage for its own employees on July 1, according to Becker's Payer Issues. "As availability has increased and new options have emerged, we've made the decision to end our plan's coverage for GLP-1s for weight loss," a company spokesperson said. The change does not affect coverage for diabetes or the plans Cigna manages for other employers.

PepsiCo will end coverage of weight loss drugs like Wegovy and Zepbound for employees in October, Bloomberg reports. In a message to employees, the company said prescription weight loss medications "have become one of the fastest-growing costs in the PepsiCo plans." The company will still cover the drugs for employees who use them to manage diabetes. Employees can still buy the drugs out of pocket.

Several new drugs are also on the way. The one drawing the most attention is retatrutide, from Eli Lilly. It is often called a "triple G" drug because it acts on three hormones, while Wegovy acts on one and Zepbound acts on two. In a trial called TRIUMPH 1, patients lost about 30% of their body weight over two years, BioPharma Dive reports. Lilly plans to ask the FDA for approval in the first quarter of 2027. The most common side effects were stomach-related, including nausea, diarrhea, constipation and vomiting.

Novo Nordisk's next drug, CagriSema, combines semaglutide with a second hormone called amylin. The company submitted it to the FDA in December 2025, and a decision is expected by late 2026.

Amgen is testing MariTide, which is designed to be taken once a month or less often, instead of weekly. In an earlier trial, patients with obesity lost an average of 16.2 percent of their body weight, according to Fierce Biotech. Results from larger trials are expected in 2027.

Over the next few years, that could mean more pills instead of needles, monthly shots instead of weekly ones, and stronger drugs overall. More competition is also one reason prices have started to fall.

Drugmakers are also building to meet demand. On Monday, Eli Lilly broke ground on a $6.5 billion manufacturing campus at Generation Park in northeast Houston. The plant will make active ingredients for Lilly medications, including Foundayo.