Customers who struggle to afford the $1,000-plus list price for weight-loss drugs Zepbound and Wegovy can buy now and pay later under a partnership

Zepbound contains the same active ingredient, tirzepatide, as Mounjaro, which is also made by Lilly and is FDA-approved to treat Type 2 diabetes. Some doctors also prescribe Mounjaro "off-label" for weight loss, as is permissible by the FDA.

Some of the more than a dozen states that cover the high cost of GLP-1 drugs like Wegovy, Ozempic and Zepbound through Medicaid or state employee insurance programs are scrambling to lessen the budgetary squeeze from fast-rising costs.