The Trump administration is planning a pilot program to cover “miracle” weight loss drugs under the government health insurance systems for low-income people and retirees, Medicaid and Medicare, in a move aimed at tackling the US’s chronic obesity problem.

Such a plan was previously proposed by the Biden administration in its final months before Donald Trump re-entered the White House after winning a second term in office in the 2024 election.

Now the Trump administration intends a five-year experiment where the Medicaid program and Medicare drug coverage plans will have the option of covering the cost of drugs selling under the names Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro and Zepbound for “weight management” purposes,