How to Get a GLP-1 Prescription: Who Qualifies, Every Route

To get GLP-1 medicines you need a prescription. Then use insurance, or self-pay from $149 a month (NovoCare Pharmacy: Ozempic pill (from 1.5 mg)).

Prescription: Required
Lowest self-pay: $149 a month
Telehealth from, all in: $223 a month
Shortage: Some products short

Half-life and weight loss summary

How long each medicine remains in your body

Half-life in days: how long your body needs to remove half a dose, based on section 12.3 of each FDA label.

Main-study weight-loss results for each medicine

Body weight percentage. The trials differ from one another, as do their doses and lengths. Compare each result with the placebo shown on its own page.

Sources (10)

Labels from FDA on DailyMed: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10.

Every legitimate way to get GLP-1, ranked

How to get it, cheapest first
Route	Who it is for	What you pay
Ozempic: Novo Nordisk PAP	Household income at or below 200% of the federal poverty level	Free if approved
Trulicity: Lilly Cares	Household income at or below 300% of the federal poverty level	Free for up to 12 months
For Ozempic: Access through your doctor with insurance plus the savings card	Commercial insurance that covers it	The price may be as low as $25 each month for up to 3 months
Through your doctor, get Wegovy with insurance plus the savings card	Commercial insurance that covers it	As little as $25 a month
For Mounjaro: Access through your doctor with insurance plus the savings card	Commercial insurance that covers it	With a fill of up to 3 months, the cost can be as little as $25
For Zepbound: Access through your doctor with insurance plus the savings card	Commercial insurance that covers it	With a fill of up to 3 months, the cost can be as little as $25
Through your doctor, get Foundayo with insurance plus the savings card	Commercial insurance that covers it	As little as $25 a month
For Rybelsus: Access through your doctor with insurance plus the savings card	Commercial insurance that covers it	A fill covering 1, 2 or 3 months may cost as little as $25
For Trulicity: Access through your doctor with insurance plus the savings card	Commercial insurance that covers it	With a fill of up to 3 months, the cost can be as little as $25

Prices checked November 2026. Each price links to its source page.

Sources: Novo Nordisk pricing, NovoCare, TrumpRx, rx.costco.com.

Who qualifies

In the US, every GLP-1 sold needs a prescription. Prescribers write it for a use that the label approves:

Ozempic: It lowers blood sugar in adults with type 2 diabetes and is used with diet and exercise.
Ozempic: In adults with type 2 diabetes and heart disease, it lowers the risk of heart attack, stroke, or heart-related death.
For adults with heart disease and obesity or overweight, Wegovy lowers the risk of heart attack, stroke, or heart-related death in injection and tablet forms.
Wegovy: For losing weight and keeping it off long term, together with diet and activity. It is for adults and children 12 and older who have obesity, or adults who have overweight and a weight-related condition.
For adults and children 10 and older with type 2 diabetes, Mounjaro lowers blood sugar. Treatment includes diet and exercise.
Mounjaro: For high-risk adults with type 2 diabetes, the risk of heart attack, stroke, or heart-related death is lower.
With diet and activity, Zepbound helps with weight loss and keeping weight off over the long term. Adults who have obesity may use it. It also serves adults who have overweight together with a weight-related condition.
Zepbound treats obstructive sleep apnea in adults with obesity when the condition is moderate to severe.
Foundayo is used with diet and activity to lose weight and keep it off over time. It is for adults with obesity, or adults with overweight together with a weight-related condition.
Rybelsus: It lowers blood sugar in adults with type 2 diabetes and is used with diet and exercise.
Rybelsus: For high-risk adults with type 2 diabetes, the risk of heart attack, stroke, or heart-related death is lower.
Trulicity: It lowers blood sugar in adults and children 10 and older with type 2 diabetes. Treatment includes diet and exercise.
When adults have type 2 diabetes plus heart disease or several heart risk factors, Trulicity lowers the risk of heart attack, stroke, or death tied to the heart.
Saxenda: Supports weight loss and helps keep it off long term when combined with diet and activity. Children (over 60 kg) who are 12 or older, and adults, can use it for obesity. Adults who have overweight and a weight-related condition can use it too.
Victoza helps people with type 2 diabetes reduce their blood sugar. It is intended for adults and children aged 10 and older, used alongside diet and exercise.
Victoza lowers the likelihood of a heart attack, stroke, or heart-related death in adults who have both type 2 diabetes and heart disease.

Source: FDA label (DailyMed).

Comparing telehealth options

Telehealth programs for GLP-1
Program	Medicine option	Medicine price	Membership	All in
WeightWatchers Med+	Foundayo pill (self-pay)	$149 a month	$74 a month	$223 a month
WeightWatchers Med+	Wegovy pill (self-pay)	$149 a month	$74 a month	$223 a month
WeightWatchers Med+	Ozempic injectable pen (self-pay)	$199 a month	$74 a month	$273 a month
Ro	Wegovy pill, starting dose	$149 a month	$149 a month	$298 a month
Ro	Foundayo pill, starting dose	$149 a month	$149 a month	$298 a month
Hims & Hers	Wegovy pill	$149 a month	$149 a month after first month	$298 a month
Hims & Hers	Ozempic pen	$199 a month	$149 a month after first month	$348 a month
WeightWatchers Med+	Zepbound (self-pay)	$299 a month	$74 a month	$373 a month
Sesame (Success by Sesame)	Wegovy or Ozempic pen, after intro months	$349 a month	$59 a month	$408 a month
Ro	Zepbound KwikPen, starting dose	$299 a month	$149 a month	$448 a month
Ro	Wegovy pen, 1 mg to 2.4 mg	$349 a month	$149 a month	$498 a month
Hims & Hers	Zepbound	$1,899 a month	$149 a month after first month	$2,048 a month
Hims & Hers	Mounjaro	$1,899 a month	$149 a month after first month	$2,048 a month
Mochi Health	Compounded semaglutide (not FDA approved)	$60 a month	$79 a month after free first month	$139 a month
Mochi Health	Compounded tirzepatide (not FDA approved)	$90 a month	$79 a month after free first month	$169 a month
Henry Meds	Compounded liraglutide (daily injection) (not FDA approved)	$179 a month	Not listed	Included
Henry Meds	Compounded sublingual semaglutide comes as tablets or drops and has no FDA approval	$179 a month	Not listed	Included
Noom Med	Microdose GLP-1Rx Program (compounded) (not FDA approved)	billed quarterly at $179 a month, starting after the first 4 weeks	Not listed	Included
Noom Med	GLP-1Rx Program (compounded semaglutide) (not FDA approved)	$249 a month, with quarterly billing after the first 4 weeks	Not listed	Included
Found	Compounded GLP-1 plan (not FDA approved)	$99 a month	$169 a month cash	$268 a month
Henry Meds	Compounded semaglutide (weekly injection) (not FDA approved)	$297 a month	Not listed	Included
Noom Med	GLP-1Rx Plus Program using compounded GLP-1 with GIP, which has no FDA approval	billed quarterly at $299 a month, starting after the first 4 weeks	Not listed	Included

Every price listed comes from that program's pricing page. We do not earn money from any of the programs.

Programs that bill for medicine through insurance or a pharmacy
Program	Membership	Type
Calibrate	$199 a month	insurance-first
PlushCare	$19.99 a month	primary care membership
Hello Alpha	$79 a month	brand only

Sources: weightwatchers.com, ro.co, hims.com, sesamecare.com.

Shortage status

Semaglutide: The injection shortage ended on February 21, 2025. Discontinuation of the older Rybelsus tablets is now underway.

Semaglutide supply by product
Product	FDA status	Availability
Rybelsus tablet 3 mg, 7 mg, 14 mg	To Be Discontinued	Replaced by Ozempic (semaglutide) tablets

Its first appearance on the FDA shortage list was in March 2022
Shortage resolved: February 21, 2025
From April 22, 2025, state pharmacies had to stop making compounded copies
May 22, 2025 was the date when outsourcing facilities were required to stop

Tirzepatide: The shortage has ended. The FDA confirmed this on December 19, 2024.

The FDA shortage list first included it on December 15, 2022
Shortage resolved: December 19, 2024
State pharmacies had to stop making compounded copies from February 18, 2025
On March 19, 2025, outsourcing facilities were required to stop

Dulaglutide: Current FDA shortage data does not list it, and Lilly reports that every Trulicity dose is available.

Liraglutide: A current shortage is still listed. Generic products are available, Victoza pens face limited availability, and Saxenda is discontinued in January 2027.

Liraglutide supply for each product
Product	FDA status	Availability
Victoza 6 mg/mL pen (2-pack and 3-pack)	Current	Limited Availability
Victoza back order	Current	Back order
Saxenda 6 mg/mL pen (5-pack)	To Be Discontinued	Available until January 2027
Generic liraglutide (Meitheal, Teva)	Current	Available

The FDA shortage list first included it on July 18, 2023

Sources: FDA, api.fda.gov, ashp.org.

Scam signals

No prescription needed: a seller who skips it is not a licensed US pharmacy.
Brand pricing far below what the manufacturer charges: the lowest you pay out of pocket for the brand is $149 a month.
Sold as the brand: FDA has not approved compounded drugs, so none of them are Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro or Zepbound.
Salt-form warning: the active ingredient in approved drugs is not semaglutide in sodium or acetate salt form.
Claims of being identical to the brand: telehealth companies received 30 warning letters from the FDA over misleading claims.
Harm reports: for compounded semaglutide, the FDA lists 990 adverse event reports.
Harm reports: for compounded tirzepatide, more than 730 adverse event reports are on the FDA list.
The FTC acted against one program over a monthly price that did not include the drug; see the NextMed review.

Sources: Novo Nordisk pricing, NovoCare, TrumpRx, rx.costco.com.

Find it in your state

Hims & Hers: Service is not available in all 50 states
Some of the 50 states do not offer Noom Med
NovoCare Pharmacy: Delivery reaches each of the 50 states, plus DC, Puerto Rico

Medicaid rules affect the route more than any other factor. weight-loss GLP-1s are covered by 10 state Medicaid programs at present. Select your state to view its drug list and prior authorization rules:

Sources: hims.com, noom.com, NovoCare.