Plan costs
What is the whole bill?
Does the price cover the visit, the medicine, or both? Ask for the parts in writing, and ask what the next refill will cost.
Paying cash or using insurance
Paying outside insurance
As of September 26, 2026, drug companies offered cash prices that did not use insurance. Money paid through those offers did not count toward your insurance deductible.
A deductible is an amount you pay before a plan begins to pay for covered care.
Asking the plan to pay
Ask for the amount you would owe for this exact product. Ask whether the visit and tests are separate.
Keep the plan’s answer beside the cash quote. Compare the same supply, rather than the lowest number on either page.
List price is the drug company’s published price. It differs from a cash offer or the amount you owe when insurance pays part of the bill.
An example price, and who could use it
The government price page, checked on September 26, 2026, showed $199 per fill for the first two monthly fills of semaglutide (Wegovy) pens.
That starting offer ran through December 31, 2026. It was for new adult patients in the US who paid cash and met the offer’s rules, at the starting strengths it allowed.
Strength means how much of the active ingredient is in the product. The active ingredient is the part responsible for the medicine’s effect.
The prices checked on September 26, 2026 for later Wegovy pen refills were $349 per month for standard strengths and $399 for the highest strength.
Those are medicine prices. Ask separately about the assessment, tests, delivery, ongoing care and any fee that repeats.
Ask for a bill you can compare
- Is this a visit charge, a recurring fee, or a combined price?
- Which medicine, form and supply does the quote cover?
- Are tests included, and what would each required test cost?
- What will the next refill cost after an offer ends?
- How does cancellation work, and is there a charge if no medicine is prescribed?
Could a health spending account help?
As of September 26, 2026, tax rules allowed qualifying costs for treatment of a disease diagnosed by a doctor, rather than general wellness.
HSA stands for health savings account. FSA stands for flexible spending arrangement. They hold money set aside for eligible medical costs.
Ask the person who manages the account which records are needed for that expense.
Open sources for prices and medical costs
Check which medicine form and amount the offer covers, and who can use it. A starting price is not a promise about a later refill.