GLP-1s Part 2: Is it safe to use an online retailer to help cut costs?

Key Takeaways

• The cost of GLP-1s is significantly higher in the U.S. than in other parts of the world, including Canada, Germany, and the United Kingdom.
• Online retailers offer GLP-1s at a discounted price, but many of them are still compounding medications, which was stopped by the FDA last year.
• Talk to your provider about possible discounts for cash-pay prescriptions that are not covered by your insurance.

In part one of this series, we defined GLP-1s and how they work; we talked about the different brands, the different ways to take them, and their potential side effects; and we talked about the length of time you should expect to be on them.

For part two, we’re going to talk about the costs associated with GLP-1s and safe ways to reduce those costs.

GLP-1s have exploded in popularity in recent years. In our region, where the rates of obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease are among the top in the nation, these drugs could be a real game changer and create a positive impact on our residents for years to come.

However, according to a September 2024 report from the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, a one-month supply of Ozempic^® is $969 in the U.S., $155 in Canada, and $59 in Germany. The same trend applies to a one-month supply of Wegovy®, which costs $1,349 in the U.S., $140 in Germany, and $92 in the United Kingdom.

In attempt to cut the ever-increasing costs, some people are turning to online retailers that claim to offer the same drugs at a fraction of the price.

But are they safe?

Let’s talk about it.

Things to consider

There are a lot of online retailers that are marketing GLP-1s, and there are a few things you want to look at if you’re thinking about using one.

First, there’s nothing inherently wrong with doing telemedicine. The WVU Medicine Medical Weight Management Program does telemedicine all the time, and we see some of our patients purely by telemedicine.

We still provide very comprehensive care that way. If you are looking at a telemedicine vendor, you want to look at whether they provide comprehensive care. Are they providing dietary counseling support to help you lose weight, frequent visits, and all the things that a medical practice would provide when prescribing a GLP-1?

You don’t want to go to a practice that’s just giving the GLP-1 by itself because you will not get as good of results if you don’t have experts and the whole supportive team helping you to get the best results from it.

Another thing you want to look at is how they’re charging you. Some of them will charge cash pay, which can be in addition to paying for medications and can increase the overall out-of-pocket cost. A legitimate program can go through insurance, which is what our Program does.

If we’re seeing a patient via telemedicine, we still charge their insurance, and that will help the patient not to pay for all their visits completely out of pocket, which is nice. They’re just paying their typical copay for a medical visit.

Of course, every insurance varies in whether it will cover visits for obesity treatment, so you always want to make sure you verify coverage from your insurance.

What are they prescribing?

You also want to look at what type of GLP-1 they’re giving you.

I think there are a lot of people who are getting compounded GLP-1s, which was very common for a while.

A year ago, however, the FDA told all the compounding pharmacies they had to stop compounding GLP-1s. They were only allowed to do that while there was a shortage of medications.

When the shortage ended, they were supposed to stop compounding, but some of them are still doing it.

If you’re working with one of those retailers, you want to look at what kind of GLP-1 they’re prescribing. Is it branded medication, or is it compounded? There’s really not a good reason to be using compounded medicines anymore.

Compounded medications are not reviewed by the FDA for safety and quality. There have been a lot of reported errors just because of the way they’re dosed.

They’re not dosed in pens like we use with the other GLP-1s that help with safety. But, these days, there are a lot of lower cash-pay prices for GLP-1s than we used to have.

Discount options

Even if your insurance doesn’t pay for GLP ones, you might be surprised at how affordable GLP-1s can be with cash-pay options. You don’t need to resort to compounded meds anymore to get those low prices. We can usually find pretty good prices even for branded medications with cash-pay options these days.

Some pharmaceutical companies offer coupons for those who self-pay for their GLP-1s, which can heavily discount their cost. In addition, there are sites like GoodRx that offer online coupons and provide prices for GLP-1s at pharmacies near you, so you can find the lowest out-of-pocket cost.

An investment in your future

The cost of losing weight today is an investment in your long-term health and wellbeing. Many patients who have lost weight with the help of GLP-1s have been able to come off of their prescription medications for diabetes, high blood pressure, and other weight-related chronic conditions.

If you need help getting started on your journey, WVU Medicine Medical Weight Management is here for you.

We offer a non-surgical, individualized program that addresses the physical, behavioral, and medical causes of obesity. It combines nutrition counseling, exercise planning, behavior change support, and medical management delivered by a multidisciplinary team.

We look forward to helping you achieve your goals.

For more information, visit WVUMedicine.org/WeightMgmt