What the price leaves out.

A useful price has a label.

List price means the drug company’s published price. Insurance, cash offers and savings cards can lead to different bills.

In September 2026, semaglutide (Ozempic, Wegovy), along with tirzepatide (Mounjaro, Zepbound), had monthly drug-company cash offers mostly in the range of about $149–$499.

The price depended on the medicine, how much drug was in each pill or injection, and the rules for refills. A refill is the next supply of medicine.

For some tirzepatide (Zepbound) offers, a refill had to be within 45 days of the last delivery to keep the discount. A later refill could cost more.

Ask which refill deadline applies to your offer.

Compare the amount of medicine included, as well as the price.

Many cash offers and savings cards, as seen in September 2026, had terms that ended in December 2026. The printed terms did not promise the same price after that date.

Ask which price applies to you, what it includes and how long it lasts.

Add up the separate parts.

In September 2026, some online weight-care services advertised a monthly fee for care and charged separately for the medicine.

That does not tell you what a particular service includes. Ask whether its care fee includes the medicine.

A membership is a regular charge for access to the service. Ask for these parts in writing.

The assessment

What does the first visit cost? Is it charged if no prescription is offered?

Ongoing care

Is there a membership or a fee for each review? What keeps charging between visits?

The medicine

Is it included in the quoted total? What will later fills cost?

Tests and added fees

Are any blood tests needed? Who bills for them, and are there other charges?

Ask how cancellation works. Check whether a longer commitment changes the total you will owe.

Coverage depends on the use.

As of September 2026, medicines used for weight loss remained outside Medicare’s usual drug benefit.

Some other accepted uses can qualify for coverage. A plan’s medicine list and approval process still apply.

The medicine list is called a formulary. Prior authorization means the plan needs to agree before paying.

Give your insurer the precise medicine name and its intended use, and ask them to check coverage. Ask for your share of the bill.

Medicare has a separate temporary programme.

GLP-1 is a hormone: a substance your body makes to send messages. It helps control hunger and blood sugar. Some weight and diabetes medicines copy its effects.

In September 2026, Medicare’s GLP-1 Bridge let people who qualified get certain weight-loss medicines with a $50 monthly copay.

The part of a covered charge that the patient pays is called a copay.

The programme sits outside the usual Medicare drug benefit and runs from July 2026 through December 2027.

A prescription and programme approval are required. Health and plan rules limit who qualifies.

That $50 does not count towards the usual drug benefit’s yearly limit on what patients pay. The programme gives no extra help to users with low incomes.

Ask what a cash payment counts towards.

As of September 2026, paying a drug company’s cash price meant paying without insurance. Those payments did not count towards the plan’s deductible or yearly limit on what patients pay.

A deductible is what you pay first, before your plan starts to share certain costs. Ask how paying cash instead of using insurance affects your total.

If offered a medicine made to order, ask what need the ready-made option could not meet. Ask what would be changed in the medicine for you. Compare the bills only after you understand what each option includes.