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GLP‑1 medicines,
explained for the US

Start with your health, not a brand name. What your BMI means, how insurance and Medicare decide, the risks, and where medicines like Wegovy and Zepbound fit.

Do I have obesity?Does Medicare cover it?Is it for me?Side effects
We don't sell medicines Every fact has a source No links to sellers

Where are you starting from?

Pick the one closest to you. We'll take you through just the guides you need, in order, and each one tells you what to read next.

Or read all nine guides

From understanding GLP‑1s to living with one, in four stages. Each guide ends with a link to the next.

Stage 1Understand

Guide 1 · UnderstandWeight and healthDo I have obesity? What BMI and waist numbers mean, and where US guidance uses lower numbers for Asian Americans.
Guide 2 · UnderstandWhat GLP‑1s doHow they act on your gut, brain and appetite.

Stage 2Decide

Guide 3 · DecideYour optionsFood, activity, other medicines, GLP‑1s and surgery, side by side.
Guide 4 · DecideShould I consider a GLP‑1?Who they may suit, and when not to.
Guide 5 · DecideSide effects and risksCommon and serious effects, and when to get help.

Stage 3Do it safely

Guide 6 · Do it safelyGetting a prescription in the USInsurance, Medicare, Medicaid or paying yourself; the brands, compounded versions and fakes.
Guide 7 · Do it safelyChoosing a clinic, telehealth service or programYour doctor, telehealth, the makers' pharmacies and clinics: what they offer, how they charge, what to check.

Stage 4Live with it

Guide 8 · Live with itLife on a GLP‑1Food and protein, injecting, heat and travel, holidays and fasting.
Guide 9 · Live with itStopping and the long termWhat happens after, and the cost over the years.

Free tools

Check your numbers, see if a GLP‑1 could be an option, work out the cost and get ready for your appointment. No sign-up, and nothing you type leaves your device.

BMI and waist-to-heightSee where you sit against the CDC's BMI categories, and check your waist
Could it be an option for me?A 1-minute check against the FDA labels and coverage rules
Cost calculatorThe 6- and 12-month total for a medicine and dose
Before you see your doctorQuestions to take along to your appointment

Prices in the US

All prices

The makers' own self-pay prices for a month at the starting dose and the top dose, and what Medicare's temporary program charges. Checked Oct 12, 2026.

Before you go further. These medicines need a prescription from a prescriber licensed in your state.1 Compounded versions are not FDA-approved.2 They have real risks: read Side effects and risks first. A lower price doesn't make a medicine right for you.
By medicine
MedicineTypeFormStarting dose / monthTop dose / month
OrforglipronDaily pill 1
FoundayoEli Lilly · approved for weight management, Apr 20263BrandTabletStarting dose$1490.8 mg · Lilly self-pay4Top dose$34917.2 mg · $299 if refilled within 45 days4
SemaglutideWeekly injection or daily pill 3
Wegovy penNovo Nordisk · approved for weight, heart protection and MASH5BrandPenStarting dose$1990.25 mg · first 2 months for new patients, through Dec 31, 2026; then $3496Top dose$3492.4 mg · NovoCare self-pay6
Wegovy HDNovo Nordisk · 7.2 mg pen, approved Mar 20265BrandPenStarting doseNot a starting doseTop dose$3997.2 mg · NovoCare self-pay6
Wegovy pillNovo Nordisk · approved for weight and heart protection, Dec 20255BrandTabletStarting dose$1491.5 mg · NovoCare self-pay6Top dose$29925 mg · NovoCare self-pay6
TirzepatideWeekly injection 1
Zepbound vial or KwikPenEli Lilly · approved for weight and sleep apnea7BrandVial or penStarting dose$2992.5 mg · Lilly self-pay8Top dose$44915 mg · if refilled within 45 days8
CoverageWhat you pay with coverage
Medicare GLP-1 Bridge: $50 a month for Wegovy, the Zepbound KwikPen or Foundayo, from July 2026 to December 2027, if you meet its BMI and health criteria.9 Who qualifies →
Employer or private insurance: your plan's copay, if it covers these medicines; usually after prior authorization.10 The makers' savings cards can lower it, but not with Medicare or Medicaid.4,6,8
Self-pay prices are what the makers charge people paying cash directly, for a month (4 weekly doses, or 30 tablets). List prices, before insurer rebates, are higher: $1,349 a month for Wegovy and $1,087 for Zepbound, as shown on the government's TrumpRx.gov.11 Grouped by medicine, alphabetical. Not sorted by price, and not a recommendation. We don't list pharmacies', clinics' or telehealth services' prices. Diabetes-only brands such as Ozempic, Mounjaro and Trulicity are not listed here. Your prescriber sets the medicine and the dose. Sources 4, 6, 8–11.

Latest updates

What's changed in the US, newest first.

All updatesComing soon

Common questions

Short answers, each with its source.

Does Medicare or insurance cover Wegovy or Zepbound?
Medicare can't cover medicines for weight loss alone, by law. From July 2026 to December 2027, its temporary GLP-1 Bridge covers Wegovy, the Zepbound KwikPen and Foundayo at $50 a month for people who meet its criteria.9 Employer plans choose whether to cover them: 19% of firms with 200 or more workers did for weight loss in 2025, usually with prior authorization.10 Medicaid varies by state. More in Getting a prescription in the US.
Is Ozempic approved for weight loss in the US?
No. Ozempic and Rybelsus are FDA-approved for type 2 diabetes. Wegovy contains the same medicine, semaglutide, and is the brand approved for weight management.14,5 Zepbound and Mounjaro are the same pair for tirzepatide.7
Is a GLP‑1 right for me?
Only a prescriber who knows your health history can say. For weight, the FDA labels cover adults with a BMI of 30 or more, or 27 to under 30 with a weight-related health problem, alongside changes to food and activity.5,7 Read Should I consider a GLP‑1? and Side effects and risks before you see your doctor.
What are the side effects?
The most common are nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, constipation and stomach pain, mostly when starting or raising the dose. Less common but serious: inflammation of the pancreas (pancreatitis), gallbladder problems, and kidney injury from dehydration. The label also carries a boxed warning about thyroid tumors, and the medicine should not be used in pregnancy.5 You can report side effects to the FDA's MedWatch program at 1-800-FDA-1088.15 More in Side effects and risks.
What's the difference between Zepbound and Wegovy?
Zepbound is tirzepatide, which acts on two gut hormones (GLP‑1 and GIP). Wegovy is semaglutide, which acts on one. In a head-to-head trial in adults with obesity, paid for by Lilly, average weight loss was larger on tirzepatide. Results varied a lot between people, and stomach side effects were common on both.16
Is compounded semaglutide the same as Wegovy or Ozempic?
No. Compounded drugs are not FDA-approved: the FDA does not review their safety, effectiveness or quality, and they are not generics.2 The FDA has warned many telehealth companies over how they market them.2 Buy only FDA-approved brands, with a prescription, from a state-licensed pharmacy.13
What happens when you stop taking it?
Weight usually comes back. A year after stopping semaglutide, trial participants had regained about two-thirds of the weight they had lost.17
What BMI counts as obesity in the US?
The CDC counts a BMI of 30 or more as obesity, and 25 to under 30 as overweight, for all adults.18 Some US guidance uses lower numbers for Asian Americans, such as diabetes screening from a BMI of 23.19 These numbers mark health risk. They don't decide whether you need medicine. More in Weight and health.

All questions

Explainers and quick answers

Longer articles on costs, rules, side effects and daily life, plus short answers to single questions.

Blog20 in-depth articlesQuestions20 short answers

The monthly US update

New approvals, coverage changes, price changes and safety alerts. Once a month, nothing else.

An independent guide: no drug-company money, no clinic commissions, no affiliate links.

Sources (19)
  1. American Medical Association. How state licensing has evolved to meet telehealth's challenges (physicians "licensed in the state where their patients are receiving their care"). October 12, 2023. Link
  2. FDA. FDA warns 30 telehealth companies against illegal marketing of compounded GLP-1s ("Compounded drugs are not FDA-approved… also not the same as generic drugs"). March 3, 2026. Link
  3. Eli Lilly. FDA approves Lilly's Foundayo (orforglipron). April 1, 2026. Company announcement. Link
  4. Eli Lilly. Foundayo coverage and savings (self-pay prices; savings card, government beneficiaries excluded). Checked October 12, 2026. Link
  5. Novo Nordisk. Wegovy (semaglutide) injection and tablets, US prescribing information, revised June 2026 (indications including Wegovy HD 7.2 mg; warnings). PDF
  6. Novo Nordisk. NovoCare Wegovy self-pay and savings offer (pill $149–$299; pen $199 for 2 months for new patients through December 31, 2026, then $349; Wegovy HD $399; savings card excludes government insurance). Checked October 12, 2026. Link
  7. Eli Lilly. Zepbound (tirzepatide) US prescribing information, revised August 2026; Mounjaro US prescribing information, revised August 2026. Zepbound · Mounjaro
  8. Eli Lilly. Zepbound coverage and savings (self-pay vial and KwikPen: 2.5 mg $299, 5 mg $399, 7.5–15 mg $449 with refills within 45 days; savings card for commercial coverage). Checked October 12, 2026. Link
  9. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Medicare GLP-1 Bridge: information for prescribers (July 1, 2026, to December 31, 2027; $50 copay; covered products; criteria). Product No. 12235, June 2026. Link
  10. KFF. 2025 Employer Health Benefits Survey (19% of firms with 200 or more workers cover GLP-1s primarily for weight loss; typically with prior authorization). Link
  11. TrumpRx.gov (US government price listing; Wegovy list price $1,349 and Zepbound $1,087 a month, shown as "down from" prices). Checked October 12, 2026. Link
  12. Novo Nordisk. Wegovy pill approved in the US as first oral GLP-1 for weight management. December 22, 2025. Company announcement. Link
  13. FDA. FDA warns consumers not to use counterfeit Ozempic (semaglutide) found in US drug supply chain (December 21, 2023, April 14, 2025, December 5, 2025). Link
  14. Novo Nordisk. Ozempic (semaglutide) injection, US prescribing information, revised May 2026; Rybelsus and Ozempic tablets, revised January 2026. Ozempic · Rybelsus
  15. FDA. MedWatch: the FDA safety information and adverse event reporting program (1-800-FDA-1088). Link
  16. Aronne LJ et al. Tirzepatide as compared with semaglutide for the treatment of obesity (SURMOUNT-5). NEJM, 2025;393:26–36. Funded by Eli Lilly. DOI
  17. Wilding JPH et al. Weight regain and cardiometabolic effects after withdrawal of semaglutide: the STEP 1 trial extension. Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism, 2022;24(8):1553–1564. DOI
  18. CDC. Adult BMI categories. Page reviewed March 19, 2024. Link
  19. US Preventive Services Task Force. Prediabetes and type 2 diabetes: screening. August 24, 2021 ("at a lower BMI (≥23) if the patient is Asian American"). Link