Which GLP-1s the makers give free
Can you get a GLP-1 free through a patient assistance program?
Read on 2026-09-14 from each program's own eligibility page and, for Novo, its product list. A patient assistance program is not a copay card: the medicine is donated, not discounted, and it is means-tested. The copay cards are on the savings pages.
| Drug | Free through | Cheapest verified price otherwise |
|---|---|---|
| TrulicityLilly | Lilly Cares, Group 1: no insurance or Medicare Part D, household income up to 300% of poverty | $389 a month |
| OzempicNovo Nordisk | Novo Nordisk PAP: uninsured patients only | $349 a month |
| ZepboundLilly | Not on the Lilly Cares list | $449 a month |
| MounjaroLilly | Not on the Lilly Cares list | $499 a month |
| WegovyNovo Nordisk | Not on the Novo Nordisk PAP list | $349 a month |
| SaxendaNovo Nordisk | Not on the Novo Nordisk PAP list | no verified price |
| RybelsusNovo Nordisk | Not on the Novo Nordisk PAP list | no verified price |
Lilly Cares: the income ceiling for Trulicity
Trulicity is in Lilly Cares' Group 1, open to people with no insurance or with Medicare Part D whose household adjusted gross income before tax is at or under 300% of the 2026 federal poverty guidelines. Alaska and Hawaii residents are told to call for their limits. Applications for Trulicity are being accepted again and, the site says, no longer need a medical exception request.
| People in household | Income up to |
|---|---|
| 1 | $47,880 |
| 2 | $64,920 |
| 3 | $81,960 |
| 4 | $99,000 |
| 5 | $116,040 |
| 6 | $133,080 |
Ruled out: anyone enrolled in Medicaid, the full Low-Income Subsidy (Extra Help) or VA benefits, anyone with private commercial insurance, and members of plans that make applying to Lilly Cares a condition of coverage — its insurance terms name five such programs. Enrollment generally runs 12 months, or to the end of the calendar year on Part D, and the medicine ships to your home or your prescriber's office. Lilly Cares: 1-800-545-6962.
Novo Nordisk PAP: Ozempic, uninsured only
Novo's program is open to US citizens and legal residents with Medicare or no insurance, but its product list marks every Ozempic pen “available for uninsured patients ONLY”, and its eligibility page says Medicare beneficiaries with drug coverage are no longer eligible for Ozempic through it. Anyone eligible for Medicaid or the Low-Income Subsidy has to send the denial letter with the application.
Novo does not print an income ceiling. Its page points to the federal poverty guidelines as listed on NeedyMeds, and the application checks income electronically, with a soft credit check the applicant signs for. Approved uninsured patients are enrolled for 12 months; each shipment is up to a 120-day supply, sent to the prescriber's office, not to the patient. Novo Nordisk PAP: 866-310-7549.
If your drug is not on either list
For Zepbound and Wegovy the routes that remain are coverage and price. Medicaid covers weight-loss GLP-1s in some states; Medicare's rules are separate; and the makers' own cash prices, ranked here, are often below what a pharmacy pays to stock the same pen, as the NADAC figures show.
Where these come from
Each program's own eligibility page, read the day this was published, and Novo's product list PDF.
- Lilly Cares Foundation Patient Assistance Program: how to apply — Which Lilly medicines the foundation gives free, in which income group, and the household income ceiling for each.
- Novo Nordisk Patient Assistance Program, NovoCare — Who can get Novo Nordisk medicines free, and the product list that says which ones, with Ozempic marked uninsured only.
Questions
- Is Zepbound free through Lilly Cares?
- No. Zepbound is not on the Lilly Cares medication list, and neither is Mounjaro. The only GLP-1 Lilly Cares gives free is Trulicity, in its Group 1, for people with no insurance or with Medicare Part D and a household income up to 300% of the 2026 federal poverty guidelines — $47,880 for one person. Read from lillycares.com on 2026-09-14.
- Can I get Wegovy free from Novo Nordisk?
- No. Wegovy is not on the Novo Nordisk Patient Assistance Program's product list, and neither are Saxenda or Rybelsus. The one GLP-1 on it is Ozempic, and the list marks Ozempic as available to uninsured patients only.
- Can I get Ozempic free if I have Medicare?
- Not through Novo's program. Its eligibility page says Medicare beneficiaries with prescription drug coverage are no longer eligible to receive Ozempic through the Patient Assistance Program, and the product list marks Ozempic uninsured only. Trulicity through Lilly Cares is the GLP-1 that remains open to Medicare Part D enrollees.
- Does private insurance rule me out?
- From both programs, yes. Novo's page says a patient with private or commercial insurance is not eligible. Lilly Cares' insurance terms say you must have no private commercial insurance, and it bars members of alternative funding programs — plans that route patients to Lilly Cares as a condition of coverage — by name.
- What does applying involve?
- A prescriber has to take part. Lilly Cares takes an online or paper application with a prescriber section and a prescription, and enrolls for generally 12 months, or to the end of the calendar year for Part D. Novo ships up to a 120-day supply to the prescriber's office, verifies income electronically with a soft credit check, and enrolls uninsured patients for 12 months. Neither charges a fee, and both say so because paid enrollment services exist.