How much does Wegovy cost without insurance?

Wegovy (semaglutide) is a once-weekly prescription medication that, when combined with diet and exercise, can help people with obesity or overweight shed extra pounds. The cost of Wegovy can be prohibitive for some potential patients, but there are ways to get the medication for less than the list price of $1,349.02 per month.

Read on to learn more about Wegovy cost with and with insurance—plus ways to save on your prescription and cheaper Wegovy alternatives.

The cost of Wegovy depends on your insurance coverage and pharmacy. A package of Wegovy contains four pens, each pre-filled with a single dose of Wegovy. Without insurance, the cost of Wegovy is $1,349.02 per month or 28-day package, which breaks down to $337.25 per week or $16,188.24 per year.

Even without health insurance, it is possible to bring down the cost of Wegovy. Sites such as  GoodRx aggregate free Wegovy coupons that can be used at a variety of pharmacies—including Walgreens, CVS, and Walmart—helping you save between 7-34% off the retail price. There currently isn’t a generic version of Wegovy available, and it will likely be some time before there is.

Novo Nordisk, the manufacturer of Wegovy, offers a savings program to help patients with the cost of Wegovy. With the WeGoTogether program, you can pay as little as $0 for a 28-day supply of Wegovy if you have private or commercial insurance with prescription drug coverage. For those whose insurance does not cover Wegovy, you would pay $650 for a 28-day supply with the savings offer.

If you don't have insurance coverage, Novo Nordisk also offers Wegovy directly through its online pharmacy, NovoCare, for less than half the pen's list price. Patients can pay $499 per month for Wegovy through the pharmacy and have the medication shipped to their door. They will, however, still require a prescription from their healthcare provider.

To get a better idea of how the cost of Wegovy may vary, here’s a breakdown of prices from several pharmacies for a 1.75 mg (.75 mL) pen, according to SingleCare. While prices are accurate at the time of publication, they may change and may vary based on your zip code. 

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Wegovy for weight management in 2022. Whether or not Wegovy is covered by your insurance, however, will depend on your prescription drug coverage and the pharmacy you use. 

S

o, how much does Wegovy cost with insurance? It depends. 

To find out if Wegovy is covered by your insurance plan, review your plan’s drug formulary. It lists all the drugs covered in your plan. If Wegovy is not listed, your healthcare provider can write an appeal letter on your behalf to your insurance company requesting an exception. In general, Medicare prescription drug plans do not cover weight loss drugs or other medications used to treat obesity and overweight. However, double-check your specific plan’s prescription drug coverage to be sure.

If you’re a veteran receiving care through the US Department of Veteran Affairs (VA), you may be able to get Wegovy covered as part of your treatment plan under the MOVE! Weight Management Program.

In March 2024, Wegovy was approved by the FDA to reduce the risk of a life-threatening cardiovascular event in certain patients. As such, the medication may be covered by insurance if it’s being prescribed and taken to reduce the chances of a heart attack or stroke in a person with a history of cardiovascular disease.  

Is Wegovy covered by Medicaid? 

As a newly approved weight loss medication, Medicaid programs are playing catch up when it comes to Wegovy coverage, and not all state programs cover it at the time of publication. Check your plan’s formulary or contact your state Medicaid agency to see if Wegovy is covered. If Wegovy is covered, your Medicaid plan may require prior authorization. 

Is Wegovy covered by Medicare?

Medicare recently announced it will cover Wegovy if prescribed for cardiovascular disease, but Wegovy is not covered if it is prescribed for treatment of obesity without pre-existing cardiovascular disease. 

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In the event that you can’t find access to affordable Wegovy, there are other options available. Ozempic contains the same active ingredient as Wegovy, semaglutide, but isn’t available in the same dosages. The other differences

between the medications are their FDA-approved uses and the type of pen that is used to inject the medication. 

As mentioned above, Wegovy is FDA-approved to:

• Reduce excess body weight and manage weight long term in adults and children ages 12+ with obesity as well as adults with obesity or overweight who have at least one weight-related health condition (e.g. high blood pressure, diabetes)

• Lower the risk of major cardiovascular problems (e.g. heart attack, stroke) in adults with heart disease and obesity, without type 2 diabetes

Ozempic is FDA-approved to:

• Control blood sugar levels in adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus

• Lower the risk of major cardiovascular problems (e.g. heart attack, stroke) in adults with type 2 diabetes and

  heart disease 

Still,

your healthcare provider can decide which medication is best for you and can choose to prescribe Ozempic off-label for weight loss if they feel it’s the right choice. 

While the starting doses of the two medications are the same, Wegovy is available in higher maximum doses than Ozempic, and clinical trials demonstrating the effectiveness of Wegovy for weight loss showed that Wegovy resulted in significantly more weight loss in combination with lifestyle changes. Since both medications are started at the same lower doses and slowly titrated up as your body learns to tolerate the medication, a healthcare provider could choose to start with Ozempic and switch to Wegovy down the line if you need a higher dose.

At this time, Wegovy is FDA-approved to help with chronic weight management while Ozempic is not, so if you don’t have diabetes, you’re much more likely to get covered for Wegovy than Ozempic for weight loss by your insur

ance company. Without insurance, Ozempic costs around $968.52 per month.  

If you also have type 2 diabetes, you may qualify for the Novo Nordisk Patient Assistance Program (PAP), which provides Ozempic and other diabetes medications for free. To qualify for the PAP, you must be a US citizen or legal resident with a total household income at or below 400% of the federal poverty line with no private insurance or health coverage through a federal, state, or government program. You will need to work with your healthcare provider to complete the application and submit it for approval.

Novo Nordisk also offers an Ozempic Savings Card, which can bring the cost of Ozempic down by $150 for a 1-month prescription, $300 for a 2-month prescription, and $450 for a 3-month prescription. Similar to the Wegovy Savings Card, you must have private or commercial insurance and meet certain eligibility requirements to qualify.

Bottom line: Both Wegovy and Ozempic can lead to weight loss, but because Wegovy is FDA-approved for chronic weight management, it is more likely to be covered by insurance than Ozempic if you don’t have diabetes. Because neither drug has a generic version, they have high retail prices. Novo Nordisk, the manufacturer of both drugs, offers savings programs that can bring down the cost of both semaglutide drugs. 

As a prescription drug, you will need an Rx from a healthcare provider to get Wegovy. You can schedule an appointment with your provider to see about getting a prescription for Wegovy.

Another option to get Wegovy is through Ro. Ro’s 12-month Body Program helps people lose an average of 15% of their body weight by pairing a GLP-1 medication (e.g. Wegovy) with personal coaching, support, and guidance as well as Ro’s evidence-backed weight loss curriculum. Individuals also get access to a concierge team that will work with their insurance provider to find coverage for GLP-1 medication if prescribed. If denied for one medication, a customer service partner will work to help you find alternatives if appropriate. It is possible that an alternate weight loss medication may be covered by your prescription drug plan. For example, Saxenda has also been FDA-approved to help adults with obesity or overweight with a weight-related medical condition. Saxenda is in the same drug class as Wegovy, although it has a different active ingredient (liraglutide). Saxenda also has similar gastrointestinal side effects to Wegovy, such as nausea and vomiting. Unlike Wegovy, however, Saxenda must be injected daily. 

As a brand-name drug, Wegovy can be expensive, so you probably ask yourself how to get Wegovy cheaper. There are several options for reducing the cost of Wegovy. 

One of them is using a coupon, such as that from SingleCare and GoodRx—two online (and free) services that offer coupons on various medications. Type in your location and the site will give you a list of discounted prices for the pharmacies in your area. You can also call local pharmacies to see which offers Wegovy for the lowest price. 

Besides Wegovy coupons for your local pharmacy, there is also a Wegovy coupon from the drug manufacturer Novo Nordisk. It is called Wegovy Savings Card, and it is meant for people with health insurance, with or without coverage for Wegovy. If your insurance covers Wegovy, you can pay as little as $0 for a 28-day supply (1 box) of Wegovy and save up to $225 for a 28-day supply of Wegovy. If you have insurance but it does not cover Wegovy, you can pay $650 for a 28-day supply. 

To be eligible for the Savings Card, you must live in the US and have commercial insurance and a valid prescription for Wegovy. Individuals with federal or state health coverage, such as Medicaid, Medicare, or VA, are not eligible. Both Savings Cards include up to 13 fills of Wegovy. 

Wegovy is a glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonist. The active ingredient in Wegovy, semaglutide, mimics GLP-1, a hormone that regulates your appetite by influencing the reward center in your brain. Wegovy can slow digestion and gastric emptying (i.e. the process by which your stomach empties), making you feel fuller longer. This can reduce your appetite, leading you to eat less food and experience weight loss.

Clinical trials show that after 68 weeks, people taking Wegovy lost an average of nearly 15% of their body weight, which was over 5 times more than those using a placebo. Participants also reduced their cardiovascular risk and reported improved physical functioning. Other clinical trials have found that Wegovy may be more effective in producing weight loss than other diabetes medications.

With a list price of $1,349.02 per month, Wegovy can be quite expensive. But there are cheaper alternatives to Wegovy, including other injections and oral medications for weight loss.

Ozempic (semaglutide)

Ozempic and Wegovy are made by the same manufacturer, Novo Nordisk, and contain the same active ingredient, semaglutide. The key differences between the two medications are their dosage strengths—Ozempic is available in lower doses—and their indications. 

Wegovy is also FDA-approved to:

• Reduce excess body weight and manage weight long term in adults and children ages 12+ with obesity as well as adults with obesity or overweight who have at least one weight-related health condition (e.g. high blood pressure, diabetes)

• Lower the risk of major cardiovascular problems (e.g. heart attack, stroke) in adults with heart disease and obesity, without type 2 diabetes

And while it can be prescribed off-label for weight loss, Ozempic is also FDA-approved to: 

• Control blood sugar levels in adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus

• Lower the risk of major cardiovascular problems (e.g. heart attack, stroke) in adults with type 2 diabetes and heart disease

When comparing Wegovy vs. Ozempic cost, it’s fair to say that both come with rather hefty price tags. However, Ozempic can be considered a cheaper alternative to Wegovy, as its list price (read: cost without insurance) is $968.52 for a 28-day supply. Novo Nordisk also offers an Ozempic Savings Card, which can reduce the price to as little as $25 for those with private or commercial insurance coverage for Ozempic. 

Compounded semaglutide

Compounded medications are custom-made pharmaceutical products by licensed pharmacists to meet a patient’s individual needs when a commercially available drug cannot. While they are permitted to be prescribed under federal law, they are not FDA-approved and, therefore, do not undergo the same safety, effectiveness, and manufacturing review. A healthcare provider might prescribe a compounded medication when there’s a shortage or the patient is facing insurance denial. 

As its name implies, compounded semaglutide contains the same active ingredient as Ozempic and Wegovy: semaglutide. It’s also a weekly injection that requires a prescription from a healthcare provider. Although compounded medications aren’t typically covered by insurance, compounded semaglutide can be a cheaper alternative to Wegovy.

Mounjaro and Zepbound (tirzepatide)

Similar to Ozempic and Wegovy, Mounjaro and Zepbound are also injectable medications that have the same active ingredient (tirzepatide) but different indications. 

Mounjaro is FDA-approved to:

• Control blood sugar levels in adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus

Zepbound is FDA-approved to:

• Reduce excess body weight and manage weight long term in adults with obesity or overweight who have at least one weight-related health condition (e.g. high blood pressure, diabetes)

Both drugs contain the same dosage strengths of tirzepatide, but one may be more likely to be covered by your insurance depending on the reason it’s prescribed (i.e. for which you are taking it). 

Mounjaro and Zepbound are cheaper alternatives than Wegovy. Mounjaro costs $1,069.08 for a 28-day supply without insurance, while Zepbound costs a bit less, at $1,059.87. Eli Lilly also offers vials of Zepbound (as opposed to pens) for a cheaper option starting at only $349 per month. If you qualify, you can get these directly through Ro.

Eli Lilly, the maker of both drugs, offers Savings Cards for both medications.

Mounjaro Savings Card:

• For those with commercial insurance coverage, the card lowers the price of the drug to as little as $25 for a 1- or 3-month prescription.  

• For those with commercial insurance without coverage for Mounjaro, the card offers a savings of up to $473 for a 1-month prescription. 

Zepbound Savings Card:

• For those with commercial insurance coverage, the card lowers the price of the drug to as little as $25 for a 1- or 3-month prescription. 

• For those with commercial insurance without coverage for Zepbound, the card offers a savings of up to $463 for a 1-month prescription.

Saxenda (liraglutide)

Another injectable medication for weight loss, Saxenda (liraglutide) has a list price of $1,349.02. So, without insurance, it can cost just as much as Wegovy. With insurance, however, it’s possible that Saxenda can be a cheaper alternative to Wegovy—that is, of course, depending on factors, such as whether your insurance covers the drug. 

Qsymia (phentermine/topiramate)

Qsymia is an oral medication for weight loss. Without insurance, the average cost of Qsymia is $134, about a tenth of the cost of Wegovy. The Qsymia Savings Card offers additional savings for people with commercial insurance (with or without coverage for Qsymia).

Contrave (naltrexone/bupropion)

Contrave is another oral medication for weight loss that’s cheaper than Wegovy. Without insurance, it costs around $690–$750 for a monthly supply, according to GoodRx. The Contrave Coupon Savings Card Program can bring the price down to $20 for those with insurance coverage for Contrave or $199 for those with insurance but without coverage for Contrave. Keep in mind, though, you must meet certain eligibility requirements to qualify for the discount. 

Xenical and Alli (orlistat)

While both are oral weight loss medications, Xenical is a prescription drug while Alli is available over-the-counter. According to GoodRx, the average price for Alli is $55–$90 without insurance, while Xenical costs over $700. There is also a generic version of Xenical, orlistat, which can cost around $550–$725 without insurance. All three are cheaper alternatives to Wegovy.

On April 24, 2024, Senator Bernie Sanders launched an investigation into the prices Novo Nordisk charges for Ozempic and Wegovy, according to a press release on his website. The Senate committee is requesting information from the manufacturer about the costs of these drugs. The committee is particularly interested in why the medications are available in other countries for lower prices, why Novo Nordisk charges more for Wegovy when it contains the same active ingredient (semaglutide) as Ozempic, and whether Novo Nordisk would “substantially reduce” the prices of both drugs. The investigation comes after a Yale study that found that Ozempic costs less than $5 a month to manufacture.  

 In a recent September 2024 hearing, Novo Nordisk's CEO defended the high prices, claiming that they are driven by the rebates required by pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) to keep the drugs on their formularies. Senator Sanders, however, secured commitments from major PBMs that they would not remove the drugs if prices were reduced, intensifying pressure on Novo Nordisk to lower costs. 

Wegovy can be an expensive medication, but there are options that can help you bring the price of the medication down, if you qualify. 

• Without insurance, Wegovy can cost around $1,500 per month.

• With insurance, the cost may be lower, depending on your coverage. You may also qualify for the Wegovy Savings Card, which can help reduce out-of-pocket expenses.

• The manufacturer’s online pharmacy, NovoCare, offers Wegovy for $499 a month. 

• If you don’t have insurance, there may be other ways to save, such as:

  • Checking for pharmacy discounts

  • Using coupon sites like GoodRx

If the cost of Wegovy is too high, there may be more affordable alternatives that could work for you. Talk to your healthcare provider if you’re struggling to afford Wegovy.