by Daniel Johnson
October 5, 2025
The deal might be for Costco members who pay for the medicines with out insurance coverage protection.
As a part of its new partnership with Danish drug producer Novo Nordisk, Costco will supply GLP-1’s like Wegovy and Ozempic to its members who pay for the medicines with out insurance coverage protection at a deep 50% low cost by its Costco Member Prescription Program.
The medicines will run Costco members $499 for a four-week provide of pens, however like another pharmacy, they’re required to have a prescription for the drug from their physician with a view to have it crammed.
As Folks Journal reported, a further 2% low cost is accessible for each Costco Government Members and Costco Citibank Visa cardholders, which, like several supply from a bank card firm, is topic to the relevant phrases of the cardholder settlement.
As Dave Moore, government vice chairman, U.S. Operations of Novo Nordisk Inc., advised the outlet, “Our collaboration with Costco is one other step ahead by Novo Nordisk in making actual Wegovy and Ozempic simpler to entry and afford — proper the place folks already store.”
He continued, “By partnering with one of many nation’s most trusted retailers, we’re assembly folks the place they’re and connecting them to actual, FDA-approved medicines in our premium pen units with our $499 self-pay supply. Everybody deserves care that’s easy, dependable, and inside attain — and we’re proud to cleared the path in serving to make {that a} actuality.”
Folks Journal reached out to Costco for extra details about this system, however didn’t obtain a response earlier than their story ran.
Whereas related, the 2 medicine have been authorised for various therapies, though each are Semaglutide medicines–which mainly work as urge for food suppressants–Wegovy has been authorised to be used as a weight reduction support, whereas Ozempic was initially developed and remains to be authorised to be used as a therapy for Kind 2 diabetes.
As such, Ozempic is usually authorised by most insurance coverage firms, however could also be topic to a previous authorization whereas Wegovy will usually not be authorised until it’s prescribed for what’s known as a therapeutic use for the therapy of weight problems.
The rise of GLP-1’s, thought-about by some within the medical group as the following “surprise drug” because of the big selection of potential purposes past weight reduction and diabetes therapy, has additionally come at a substantial price to the general public, like Moore alluded to, counterfeit variations of the extremely demanded medicine have made folks sick.
Because the FDA famous in its advisory to the general public, medicine that aren’t FDA-approved carry further dangers for sufferers, noting that as of July 31, it has acquired 605 stories of antagonistic occasions (a nasty response to ingesting a drug) related to compounded semaglutide and 545 antagonistic occasions associated to compounded tirzepatide.
Per their advisory, the “FDA is conscious of counterfeit Ozempic marketed within the U.S. Counterfeit medicine declare to be genuine, however might comprise the incorrect components, comprise too little, an excessive amount of or no lively ingredient in any respect or different dangerous components, and are unlawful.”
As Stat Information famous as a part of its 2024 reporting collection on the affect of weight reduction medicine on the Black group, regardless of the explosion in recognition for GLP-1’s, Black sufferers with diabetes should not prescribed these medicines on the identical charge as whites.
Fatima Cody Stanford, an weight problems medication physician-scientist at Massachusetts Common Hospital, indicated that this improvement represents a bigger downside with how physique picture is learn onto others in America.
“I feel the dialog is unquestionably lacking the Black group. We hear the privileged white voice locally as a result of that’s often who can afford it and who will get the entry and care. With weight problems, we do blame folks as a result of we expect…the precise approach is food regimen and train. Now we have this ethical code that we espouse that individuals have to make use of. We aren’t lazy Black folks. We care about our illness. We care about our well being,” Stanford advised the outlet.
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