Cost chapter
Read a medicine price correctly
National examples show why the smallest number may not describe the later bill.
Name the kind of price
For weight medicines sold under a brand name, list price means the figure published by the maker. A price paid outside insurance is called self-pay. Discount cards, insurance savings cards, and government programs each have their own prices.
A copay is the share of a covered bill you pay. Ask what sort of price the quote gives you.
A product’s strength tells you how much medicine it contains. The unit mg means milligrams, a measure of weight.
The national offers below were checked on September 26, 2026. They are selected examples, rather than a list of every price.
Opening price versus later price
Semaglutide (Ozempic) pen
Each of the first two months’ supplies has an opening price of $199. Only two strengths qualify: 0.25 mg or 0.5 mg. The offer requires new self-pay patients, age 18 or older, who live in the United States.
They pay outside insurance. Patients who have insurance must not seek repayment from their plan or have this cost counted as spending required before that plan starts paying.
Ask the pharmacy whether you meet the offer’s new-patient rule.
Its published offer period ends December 31, 2026.
After the offer, $349 is the monthly price for these strengths: 0.25 mg; also 0.5 mg; and 1 mg. The 2 mg strength costs $499 a month.
Semaglutide (Wegovy) tablets
For a monthly bottle of thirty tablets, the self-pay price is $149 for the 1.5 mg strength. It is $199 for 4 mg, and $299 for 9 mg or 25 mg.
Cash payment and coverage are different
A deductible is spending required before a plan starts paying for covered care. An out-of-pocket maximum is its limit on your covered spending.
Self-pay spending sits outside insurance and does not count toward its deductible or out-of-pocket maximum.
December 31, 2026, is the end date in the terms of several cash offers and savings cards; check again for later terms.
Request a price for the product on your prescription, with the quantity supplied and each separate service charge.