Costco members can access popular GLP-1 weight-loss drugs through the retailer’s partnership with the online health-care service provider Sesame. The service, which does not include the cost of medication, is available to members in all states for an initial three-month subscription rate of $179.
Through the program, Sesame clinicians collect detailed medical histories and help patients with appropriate diet, exercise and lifestyle modifications. When clinically appropriate, clinicians can write prescriptions for weight-loss medications, including the GLP-1 class, such as Ozempic, Mounjaro, Wegovy and Zepbound, according to Sesame. Individual patient eligibility for drug therapies available through Sesame are assessed by a Sesame-listed provider and are subject to availability.
“We are witnessing important innovations in medically supervised weight loss,” said David Goldhill, Sesame’s cofounder and CEO. “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 member program includes an initial live video consultation with a clinician and three months of clinical consultation. Members who sign up for the program also can message their clinician outside of scheduled appointments, receive a nutritional guide and recommendations and be guided to an individualized, clinically appropriate treatment program.
The subscription does not cover costs of medication or lab work. Sesame clinicians will work with eligible patients for medication on a pre-authorization, which could reduce cost further, the company told Reuters.
Sesame was founded in 2019 to connect patients to in-person and virtual care using a direct-pay model. The company built a two-sided marketplace for patients and health-care providers. As a cash-pay business, Sesame addresses the health-care needs of uninsured consumers and those with high-deductible plans.
The Sesame marketplace comprises primary care doctors and nurse practitioners, and more than 40 health specialties, labs and imaging centers. It includes both virtual and in-person care. The company said its marketplace gives consumers direct access to more than 10,000 providers that charge a cash price and do not accept nor require insurance.
Demand for weight-loss medications is growing steadily. Nearly half of people are interested in taking weight loss drugs, a recent KFF Health poll found, 425 of U.S. adults, or 108 million, are obese, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Analysts predict that the obesity drug market could be worth $100 billion by 2030.
Sesame co-founder and president Michael Botta hopes that offering this service to a portion of Costco’s 130 million cardholders can help broaden its customer base.
“Increasingly, there is more interest among the mass affluent, among the middle class, among almost everybody,” he said. “Obesity is prevalent across every socioeconomic status in America. There are a lot of people who have this interest and who have this need, and we saw that in the data.”