NBC News
Ozempic and Wegovy drugs will be available in Costco stores. Novo Nordisk, the company that manufactures them, announced Friday that it will sell the injectables with medical recipe in the chain pharmacies. A four -week supply of weight loss will cost $ 499.
Novo Nordisk already sells the monthly supply for $ 499 on its direct sales website to the consumer, and offers the same discount through CVS and Walmart.
Novo Nordisk and other manufacturers of popular drugs used to lose weight have been competing with pharmacies, some medical clinics and spas that sell cheaper versions of brand medications.
“We want to make sure we offer the real Wegovy and Ozempic where patients are looking for medical attention,” said David Moore, president of Novo Nordisk in the United States. “We know what Costco is a trusted brand.”
(Ozempic is among the new 15 eligible drugs to Medicar negotiate its price)
Costco members with a medical recipe will pay $ 499 for a supply for a month. Executive members and those with Costco Citibank credit cards will receive an additional 2 %discount.
For members who are insurance, the price will depend on their plan. Discount recipes will be available in more than 600 Costco pharmacies throughout the country from Friday.
Recent research on these medications has demonstrated their potential to reduce the risk of stroke, treat liver diseases and protect heart health.
Rekha Kumar, Weill Cornell Medicine and Senior Medical Advisor of Found Health, said that these medications have meant a great advance in the treatment of diabetes, but that they are still out of the reach of many people who do not have insurance or whose insurance does not cover the recipes.
“Without a doubt, this will improve one of the access problems, since it means that there is another place where people can get the medication that, as they know, is not their retail pharmacy, or an online telesalud pharmacy, but a large store that many people in the United States come in,” he said. However, he added that this will not “solve insurance and cost coverage problems.”
(Ozempic’s black market grows, popular weight loss)
Until 2024, 13 states covered GLP-1 medicines for the treatment of obesity, according to KFF, a non-partisan health policies research group. Approximately 1 in 8 adults claims to have used an GLP-1 agonist.
“Patients who have coverage will receive the medicine for an average of $ 25 per month,” said Moore, from Novo Nordisk. “But that does not cover everyone, so we wanted to make sure there was also a payment option on their own.”
Approximately 1 out of 5 people with private insurance does not have coverage for at least one brand GLP-1 medicine prescribed to lose weight, according to Goodrx.
Harlan Krumholz, cardiologist and medical professor at Yale Medicine Faculty, said he is pleased to see greater accessibility to medicines, but that these will not reach the people who need them the most if they cannot pay $ 499 per month.
“The people who need these medications most are precisely those found in the lowest socio -economic strata, who have poor insurance or have no insurance, and do not have discretionary funds to spend on medicines,” he said.
“If we really want to make a big difference in the country’s health, we have to make sure that the people who would benefit have access to medications that have demonstrated their effectiveness,” he explained.
