Do TRICARE, the VA and federal employee plans cover Wegovy, Zepbound and Ozempic?

Which military and federal plans cover GLP‑1s for weight?

TRICARE Prime and Select, the VA and FEHB plans can cover a GLP‑1 for weight; TRICARE For Life and CHAMPVA don’t.^1,10,15,17

A GLP‑1 is a medicine such as Wegovy, Zepbound or Ozempic. Every program here treats weight and type 2 diabetes as separate uses, with separate rules.^1,15

From each program’s own pages and documents, checked Oct 14, 2026.

Do TRICARE Prime and Select cover Wegovy and Zepbound?

Yes, for weight, with prior authorization (advance approval), a prescription from a network provider and a medically necessary use.¹

This covers TRICARE Prime and Select and their variants, such as Prime Remote, Reserve Select, Retired Reserve and Young Adult.¹ Express Scripts, which runs the TRICARE pharmacy benefit, lists Wegovy, Zepbound, Contrave, Qsymia and phentermine for weight.²

TRICARE’s prior authorization form for Wegovy and Zepbound (dated August 2024; the version we downloaded on Oct 14, 2026) asks the prescriber about:³

• BMI: 30 or more, or 27 or more with a weight-related condition such as diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol or sleep apnea.
• Lifestyle: at least 6 months of behavior change and a reduced-calorie diet without the hoped-for weight loss, and a promise to keep going.
• An older pill first: 3 months of a generic weight-loss pill such as phentermine without losing 5%. A medical reason not to take it, or a side effect from it, also counts.
• Safety stops: pregnancy, use with another GLP‑1, or a personal or family history of medullary thyroid cancer or MEN 2.

Approval lasts 12 months. To renew, adults need to have lost at least 5% of their starting weight on the full dose. Teens 12 to 17 need 4%.³ For someone who started at 220 lb (100 kg), 5% is 11 lb (5 kg). Under 18, the form approves Wegovy only, not Zepbound.³

Active-duty service members must still send the form to Express Scripts first, and can ask for reconsideration at their military treatment facility. Each service also sets its own rules for weight programs.³

What you pay depends on the tier the drug sits on. TRICARE’s 2026 copays are:⁵

• Home delivery, up to 90 days: $44 for a brand-name formulary drug, $85 for a non-formulary drug.
• Retail network pharmacy, up to 30 days: $48 brand-name formulary, $85 non-formulary.
• Active-duty service members: $0 for covered drugs.

The TRICARE Formulary Search Tool shows each drug’s tier and its prior authorization form.¹ The general steps of a prior authorization are in our prior authorization guide.

What happened to TRICARE For Life coverage?

TRICARE For Life, the plan for Medicare-eligible retirees and family members, stopped covering weight-loss drugs on August 31, 2025; diabetes use is still covered.^2,4

The change covered Wegovy, Zepbound, Saxenda, Qsymia, phentermine and Contrave when used for weight.⁴ TRICARE officials told Military Times it had been covering these drugs for people “not eligible under federal statute”.⁴ The Military Officers Association of America (MOAA), a members’ group, said in September 2025 that it had found no federal statute that specifically excludes TRICARE For Life users from GLP‑1 coverage.²³

Ozempic, Mounjaro, Trulicity and Victoza stay covered for type 2 diabetes, with prior authorization.⁴

TRICARE now points people with Medicare to the Medicare GLP‑1 Bridge.¹ It charges $50 a month for Wegovy, Foundayo or the Zepbound KwikPen, from July 1, 2026, to December 31, 2027.^6,7 It has its own BMI rules: see who qualifies for the Bridge.

The catch is Part D. The Bridge requires Medicare Part D drug coverage, through a drug plan or a Medicare Advantage plan with drugs.⁷ TRICARE For Life doesn’t require Part D, so you may not have it.⁸

A 2023 Defense Health Agency article quoted TRICARE For Life’s program manager saying there was “almost no advantage” to adding Part D. It was written before the 2025 weight-drug change and before the Bridge, which needs Part D.^8,7

• No late penalty: TRICARE pharmacy coverage counts as “creditable”, so a later Part D enrollment carries no late-enrollment penalty, according to TRICARE.⁸
• When: Medicare’s open enrollment runs October 15 to December 7, and coverage starts January 1.⁹ TRICARE says having its pharmacy coverage also opens a special enrollment period.⁸

The full Bridge process is in the $50 Medicare GLP‑1 Bridge, explained.

Does the VA cover Ozempic, Wegovy or Zepbound?

Yes, for diabetes Ozempic and Mounjaro are on the VA formulary, and for weight Wegovy and Zepbound can be prescribed under national criteria.^10,13

The VA National Formulary (data refreshed October 8, 2026) lists Ozempic and Mounjaro as covered with local prior authorization. It lists Wegovy, Zepbound, Foundayo and Saxenda as non-formulary.¹⁰ For weight, the VA’s pharmacy service publishes “Criteria for Use” for Wegovy (injection and tablets) and Zepbound, both revised in April 2026.^11,12 Both ask for:

• A lifestyle program: documented time in a program covering diet, activity and behavior. MOVE! is the VA’s own. Documented participation on at least one visit in the past year makes a veteran eligible to be considered.^11,12
• A BMI of 27 or more with at least one weight-related condition, such as high blood pressure, prediabetes, type 2 diabetes, sleep apnea, osteoarthritis or fatty liver disease. The criteria list no route on BMI alone, unlike TRICARE’s form.^11,12,3

The criteria rule out people who:^11,12

• are pregnant or breastfeeding;
• have type 1 diabetes, or severe stomach-emptying problems (gastroparesis);
• have had pancreatitis (an inflamed pancreas);
• have a personal or family history of medullary thyroid cancer or MEN 2, a rare inherited condition that causes gland tumors;
• have serious diabetic eye disease (retinopathy), unless the risks were discussed and an eye specialist follows them.

Type 1 diabetes and pancreatitis have stated exceptions.¹¹ National criteria must be used as written: a VA facility can’t change them.¹³

The bar has moved. The August 2025 Wegovy criteria asked for a BMI of 30 with a weight-related condition; April 2026 lowered it to 27.^11,22

A September 2026 VA guide for prescribers says any credentialed VA provider may prescribe these drugs. Facilities can’t add their own limits, and the medicine can start alongside the program.¹³ Cases outside the criteria go to the local facility’s pharmacy committee.¹¹

Cost: the VA puts Wegovy and Zepbound in copay tier 3.¹⁰ Tier 3 costs $11 for a 30-day supply. That applies in priority groups 2 to 8, for conditions not connected to service, with a $700 yearly cap. Priority group 1 pays no medicine copays.¹⁴

Does CHAMPVA cover GLP‑1s for weight?

CHAMPVA, the VA’s health plan for some veterans’ families, doesn’t cover GLP‑1s prescribed for weight loss, only named brands for listed conditions.^15,16

• Type 2 diabetes: Mounjaro, Ozempic, Trulicity and Victoza. Since January 1, 2025, Ozempic needs a type 2 diabetes diagnosis.¹⁵
• Moderate-to-severe obstructive sleep apnea: Zepbound, with a sleep study from the past 12 months.¹⁶
• MASH (fatty liver disease with inflammation) or preventing heart attack and stroke after earlier events: Wegovy.¹⁵

Wegovy and Zepbound need prior authorization from OptumRx, which runs CHAMPVA’s pharmacy benefit.¹⁶ These uses are explained in Zepbound for sleep apnea and Wegovy for the heart and fatty liver.

What changes for FEHB and PSHB plans in 2027?

Every FEHB and PSHB plan must still cover a GLP‑1 for weight, but from 2027 only with documented intensive behavioral therapy before and during treatment.^17,18

FEHB is the health program for federal employees and retirees; PSHB is the Postal Service version. Together they cover about 7.9 million people.¹⁸ OPM, which runs them, set the 2027 rules in a carrier letter dated March 31, 2026:¹⁷

• What plans must cover: at least one anti-obesity medicine from the GLP‑1 class, plus at least 2 oral (pill) options.¹⁷ The letter doesn’t name a brand, so your plan may cover Wegovy, Zepbound or another.
• The 2027 condition: prior authorization must show a lifestyle program as rigorous as intensive behavioral therapy (IBT), before starting and throughout.¹⁷
• No shortcuts: a signed statement of past diet attempts, from you or your doctor, isn’t enough on its own.¹⁷
• What IBT means: a BMI check, a diet assessment and intensive counseling on diet and exercise. OPM expects plans to cover 12 to 22 sessions a year, depending on progress.^17,18

Plans must also cover IBT programs for children 6 and older with a BMI above the 95th percentile for their age.¹⁸ OPM lists higher spending on GLP‑1s among the reasons FEHB premiums rise in 2027, with the average enrollee share up 10.9% for FEHB and 8.2% for PSHB.¹⁸

Dates: open season runs November 9 to December 14, 2026. Changes take effect January 10, 2027, for most non-postal employees, and January 1, 2027, for PSHB enrollees and annuitants.¹⁸ Read the prescription-drug section of each 2027 plan brochure before you choose.

If an FEHB plan denies a claim, you have 6 months to ask the plan to reconsider in writing. If it says no again, you can ask OPM to review within 90 days of that notice.¹⁹

Can you use the makers’ savings cards with these plans?

Not with TRICARE, the VA or other government programs: both makers’ copay cards exclude people enrolled in them.^20,21

Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy card says “Government beneficiaries excluded”.²⁰ Lilly’s Zepbound card terms exclude anyone in a government-funded program, naming Medicare, Medicaid, DoD, VA and TRICARE.²¹ Neither set of terms we read names FEHB or PSHB, which are employer plans, so ask the maker’s savings program before you count on a card.^20,21

Paying the makers’ self-pay prices is still possible; see GLP‑1 costs without insurance. If a plan says no, how GLP‑1 appeals work covers the steps.

Questions people ask

How we researched this

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