Costco will now offer members access to weight loss drugs like the popular brands Ozempic and Wegovy through its low-cost healthcare partner.
Sesame will offer a renewable three-month program that includes a video consultation with a weight loss doctor, a weight loss prescription if necessary and consistent messaging and guidance with a healthcare provider. Clinicians will also collect a detailed medical history of patients and help with diet, exercise and lifestyle modifications.
The plan costs $179 for Costo members and Sesame wants users to know the cost does not include the medication cost. Without insurance, weight loss drugs can cost up to $1,600 in some cases.
Costco and Sesame announced a partnership in September 2023 to offer low pricing to members for healthcare services like virtual primary care (starting at just $29 for Costco Members), health checkups (including lab work, just $72), and virtual mental health therapy (just $79). The weight loss program is an extension of that partnership.
“We are witnessing important innovations in medically-supervised weight loss,” said David Goldhill, Sesame‘s co-founder and CEO, and a serial author on American healthcare reform. “Sesame’s unique model allows us not only to make high-quality specialty care like weight loss much more accessible and affordable, but also to empower clinicians to create care plans that are specific to — and appropriate for — each individual patient.”
The popularity of weight loss drugs has risen over the years. U.S. healthcare providers wrote more than nine million prescriptions during the last three months of 2022 alone.
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