How much does Forteo cost with Medicare?

In this article:

• How Medicare covers prescription drugs
• Does Medicare cover Forteo?
• How much does Forteo cost with Medicare?
• How to save on Forteo

In this article

• How Medicare covers prescription drugs
• Does Medicare cover Forteo?
• How much does Forteo cost with Medicare?
• How to save on Forteo

Forteo (teriparatide) is an injectable parathyroid hormone (PTH) analog that’s approved to treat osteoporosis in postmenopausal women and encourage bone growth in people at high risk of fracture. Medicare coverage varies by plan, but some Medicare formularies cover the generic version of Forteo, teriparatide, instead of brand-name Forteo. We’ll break down how Medicare covers prescription drugs and how much you can expect to pay for Forteo or its generic version.

How Medicare covers prescription drugs

Medicare covers self-administered prescription drugs through Part D plans. (Drugs administered at a hospital or outpatient clinic may be covered under Medicare Parts A or B.) 

Part D coverage is optional, and plans are offered by different health insurance companies like Blue Cross Blue Shield, Aetna, or Kaiser Permanente. Each company creates a formulary, or a list of drugs it’ll cover, and organizes each drug into different tiers. Your plan determines how much you pay out of pocket for drugs in each tier, but in general, higher-tiered drugs cost more. 

Deductibles, copays, and caps

Like other health insurance plans, Medicare Part D plans have deductibles and copays. Fortunately, the federal government limits how much you have to pay, and this amount changes every year. 

You’ll pay out of pocket for Forteo until you reach your plan’s deductible, which varies from plan to plan but can be no higher than $590 for 2025. Then, the plan’s copay or coinsurance kicks in. You may pay a flat fee for Forteo or pay a percentage of its total cost. In 2025, you can pay no more than $2,000 out of pocket for covered drugs while on Medicare Part D, so once you reach that limit, you’ll pay nothing for the prescription drugs that are covered by your plan.

Does Medicare cover Forteo?

Medicare Part D formularies vary from one health insurance company to the next. Based on our research, many Medicare plans cover the generic version of Forteo, known as teriparatide.

How much does Forteo cost with Medicare?

It’s difficult to find the average cost of Forteo with Medicare because every plan is a little different. Although no one can pay more than $2,000 for covered prescription drugs in 2025, thanks to the new federal out-of-pocket maximum, that still amounts to $166 per month if spread evenly across the calendar year. 

The best thing to do is contact your Medicare plan provider to find out if your specific plan covers Forteo and how much it would cost, or you can research plans and their formularies and costs using the planfinder tool on Medicare.gov. 

That said, we can look at some sample formularies to see which drug tier Forteo usually falls under, as this affects how much you’ll pay:

• In the HealthPartners 2025 Medicare Part D formulary, teriparatide (generic Forteo) is considered a tier 5 drug. That means you could pay 25% to 30% of the total cost of teriparatide, depending on your plan. Since teriparatide costs an average of $5,602 for one 2.24 mL of 560 micrograms (mcg)/2.24 mL pen, which is enough to last about one month, you’d pay about $1,400–$1,680 out of pocket.
• In another example, brand-name Forteo is covered as a tier 5 drug in the United Healthcare (UHC) 2025 Medicare Part D formulary. Based on the parameters of one UHC Medicare plan, this means paying 29% of Forteo’s total cost. 
• The average cost of Forteo is about $5,125 for one 2.24 mL of 560 micrograms (mcg)/2.24 mL pen. With the UHC plan, you could pay approximately $1,486.

Thanks to the $2,000 federal out-of-pocket expense cap, the cost of your Forteo or teriparatide prescription would be significantly reduced the second time you paid for it, and you wouldn’t have to pay anything out of pocket for it by the third month and through the end of 2025.  

How to save on Forteo

Even though Medicare can help significantly lower the cost of Forteo or teriparatide, you may be able to lower it even further with prescription coupons or manufacturer savings cards. However, these can’t be combined with Medicare Part D. 

Forteo coupons

A SingleCare prescription discount card can save you thousands of dollars on Forteo or teriparatide. You can compare coupons from different pharmacies to make sure you get the best deal. For example, with a coupon for generic teriparatide, you could pay $1,911 instead of $5,602, depending on your choice of pharmacy.  

Make sure your prescription is sent to your chosen pharmacy, and then show your SingleCare discount card to the pharmacist when you pick it up. The card is available as a physical card, or you can show the pharmacist a digital copy on the SingleCare app or via text or email.

Medicare Extra Help Program

Extra Help is a program offered by Medicare to help people with limited incomes and assets pay for their prescriptions. Enrolling in Extra Help can help eliminate premiums or deductibles. With Extra Help, you’d pay up to $4.90 for generic teriparatide and up to $12.15 for brand-name Forteo in 2025.

Patient assistance programs for Forteo

Lilly, the company that manufactures Forteo, offers a patient assistance program for people who live in the U.S. and meet certain criteria, including household income limits. For example, if you’re single, you qualify if you make $46,950 or less per year.

You can have Medicare Part D and participate in this program, but you can’t be enrolled in Medicare Extra Help.

Forteo alternatives

Even though you don’t have to pay more than $2,000 for medications this year, the high cost of Forteo could mean you still have to pay more than $1,000 the first time you pick it up from the pharmacy. That’s a lot of money to part with all at once. 

More affordable Forteo alternatives might stretch your expenses so you don’t reach the $2,000 cap so quickly. Here are some popular options:

• Bisphosphonates like Fosamax (alendronate), Actonel (risedronate), and Boniva (ibandronate) cost about $9–$48 with a SingleCare coupon.
• Selective estrogen receptor modulators (SERMs) like Evista (raloxifene) cost about $39 with a SingleCare coupon.
• Miacalcin (calcitonin) treats osteoporosis in women who started menopause at least five years prior, and it costs about $33 with a SingleCare coupon.

Forteo works in a unique way, so it may be difficult to find alternative osteoporosis drugs that provide the exact same benefits. 

“Unlike traditional treatments like bisphosphonates or Prolia that slow bone loss, Forteo is the only FDA-approved drug that actually stimulates new growth,” explains Howard Friedman, MD, a board-certified internist based in Cleveland, Ohio. “It works by mimicking the body’s own parathyroid hormone to activate bone-building cells.” 

Dr. Friedman says Forteo may work particularly well for people with severe or treatment-resistant osteoporosis based on the results of clinical studies. It may be worth the high cost if your healthcare professional says it’s the best option for you.