President Donald Trump earlier this year bought as much as $680,000 in stock of Eli Lilly, the maker of blockbuster obesity drugs, as the agencies he oversees undertook an agenda that largely benefited the company.On May 14, the federal government released ethics disclosures revealing a list of stock and bond trades made on Trump’s behalf from January to March of this year. They included extensive trades across the economy, including investments in tech giants such as Microsoft and Nvidia, aerospace firms such as Boeing, and household-name companies such as Target and Chipotle.In healthcare, however, the trades for Lilly — a company valued by the stock market at just under $1 trillion — stand out. That’s because the timing of Trump’s purchases coincides with several favorable government decisions benefiting the drugmaker’s GLP-1 business, including progress toward a long-held goal: qualifying the drugs for reimbursement from Medicare, the government health insurance program primarily serving seniors, when they are prescribed for weight loss.The disclosure forms — which bear Trump’s distinct signature — give ranges rather than exact dollar amounts for the trades. They show seven purchases of Lilly stock made on the president’s behalf through the end of March, the first of which occurred on Jan. 6.During that period, and just afterward, several Trump administration initiatives ultimately benefited Lilly. Perhaps the biggest was an initiative from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, which was proposing a pilot program — a temporary “bridge,” potentially followed by permanent reimbursement — through which Medicare patients would pay $50 a month for GLP-1 drugs.The deadline for drug manufacturers to submit applications indicating their interest in participating was Jan. 8. Lilly has since been named as a participating manufacturer in the program, calling it a “significant milestone.”Another purchase on Feb. 10, of West Pharmaceutical Services stock valued between $250,000 and $500,000, was similarly a bet on the GLP-1 market. The company, which manufactures injectable devices for drugs, credited growth in its GLP-1 business with driving increased revenue in its most recent quarter.Lilly declined to comment. West Pharmaceutical Services did not immediately respond to a request for comment.A spokesperson at the Department of Health and Human Services declined to comment, referring KFF Health News to the White House. A White House spokesperson referred questions to the Trump Organization — the holding company for most of the president’s businesses — which did not immediately respond to a request for comment.In response to other outlets’ questions about Trump’s stock trades, the Trump Organization has said the investments are controlled by independent brokers.It is unclear from the disclosures whether Trump directed any of the trades himself. Four of the Lilly stock purchases are marked “unsolicited,” though the Office for Government Ethics did not immediately respond to a request for clarification on the use of that term.Trump’s assets are in a trust held by his children, and Trump Organization spokespeople have said in the past that neither the president nor his children play a role in “selecting, directing, or approving” specific investments.Eric Trump, the president’s son and a Trump Organization executive, said May 15 on X: “To suggest that individual stocks are being bought or sold, at the discretion of any member of the Trump family, would be a lie and blatantly false.”He claimed the purchases of index funds account for the investments. The disclosures record purchases of funds and individual stocks.Lilly had a strong 2025, finishing with $65 billion in revenue, up $20 billion from the year before. GLP-1 drugs accounted for a substantial portion of that total.At the beginning of 2026, the drugmaker said it expected another surge in revenue this year, above $80 billion. It was a “stunning” projection, analysts at the bank Citi said.Analysts for the financial services firm TD Cowen said the Medicare and Medicaid market would be critical to making it happen. “Guidance anticipates favorable impact from Medicare coverage of obesity medications by 7/1/26,” the analysts noted.Historically, Medicare hasn’t covered obesity drugs. In a May 2025 open letter, noting unfavorable reimbursement decisions across government and private-run insurance, Lilly said: “This isn't about just one medicine, formulary, or insurance plan. It’s about a system that limits patients’ and health care providers’ ability to choose an obesity management treatment plan that is best for them.”Key to that market was the pilot program rolled out by CMS, called BALANCE, aimed at helping Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries improve their health. Last fall, 12% of U.S.
