Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services will run a voluntary model to let Medicare Part D plans and state Medicaid programs cover GLP‑1 drugs for weight management, a step toward wider public coverage of obesity medicines, the agency said Dec. 24. The pilot is designed to assess operational and budgetary impacts of covering high‑cost GLP‑1 therapies. The announcement follows industry and policy debate over who pays for GLP‑1 drugs and how broad access should be. Separately, some large drugmakers with White House pricing deals appear positioned to avoid mandatory Medicare demonstration price cuts, raising concerns about the reach and equity of forthcoming pilots. If successful, the CMS model could reshape benefit design for chronic obesity management across public programs; stakeholders will watch enrollment criteria, payment models, and manufacturer participation closely.