Costco has officially entered the weight-loss drug market with competition by partnering with Danish drug company Novo Nordisk to sell Ozempic and Wegovy at significantly reduced prices. Beginning last week Friday, October 4, 2025, members of Costco have been able to purchase these highly sought-after GLP-1 medications for $499 per month at over 500 Costco pharmacies nationwide, half the usual retail price.
Pricing structure and member benefits
The $499 monthly price for both Wegovy and Ozempic is a deep discount from the standard retail prices, which are between $1,300 for Ozempic and $1,600 for Wegovy according to GoodRx price information. This is a discounted rate provided only for self-paying patients who do not apply insurance coverage for their medications.
Costco Executive Members and Costco Citibank Visa card members also receive additional benefits in the retailer’s prescription program with an additional 2% cash-back incentive on their medication. For health plan members, cost will vary by individual plan design and formulary requirement.
The warehouse store price point is consistent with the same $499 cost currently present through Novo Nordisk’s direct-to-consumer e-commerce platform, as well as at other chains like CVS and Walmart. This consistent pricing strategy sustains competitive parity across prominent retail pharmacy channels while convenience remains accessible to cash-paying patients.
Nationwide rollout and pharmacy network expansion
The deal involves more than 500 to 600 Costco pharmacies across the United States, expanding further accessibility for these drugs for the retailer’s membership. The countrywide rollout positions Costco as a large retailer in the fast-growing GLP-1 drug market, being one of the few mature competitors like CVS and Walmart that offers discounted prices for weight-loss medication.
Novo Nordisk’s U.S. Executive Vice President Dave Moore underscored the strategic importance of the partnership and stated that the collaboration is “another step forward by Novo Nordisk in making real Wegovy and Ozempic more accessible and affordable — where people already shop”. The collaboration leverages Costco’s extensive customer base of over 100 million members annually and makes the store the world’s third-largest retailer in revenue after Walmart and Amazon.
Novo Nordisk’s action in partnering with Costco is just a component of the company’s larger strategy for reaching patients “where they are” and providing real, FDA-approved medications via traditional retail brands. It directly competes with compounding pharmacies’ growing threat that provide less expensive, non-FDA approved copies of branded GLP-1 drugs.
Insurance coverage challenges and market context
The alliance with Costco responds to some robust challenges to insurance coverage limitations for weight-loss medications. While highly popular and clinically effective, GLP-1 medications are covered by fewer than half of employer-sponsored health plans. The majority of insurance plans that cover weight-loss medications have sweeping restrictions in the forms of prior authorization requirements, step therapy requirements, and quantity limits.
Recent data indicate coverage limits have truly increased higher in 2025, with even more people having obstacles to accessing these medications via traditional insurance. For example, coverage levels for Wegovy rose 7%, and for Ozempic, they increased by 11% above 2024 levels. Some large insurers, including Kaiser Permanente of California and the State of Idaho, will eliminate or significantly restrict coverage for weight-loss medications due to drastically increasing costs.
The challenging insurance landscape has created high demand for cash-pay options like those offered under the Costco arrangement. UMass Memorial Medical Center endocrinologist Dr. Caroline Apovian noted that while the reduced cost is welcome news, patients may still find the $499-a-month cost prohibitive, particularly because obesity would disproportionately affect individuals with limited financial means.
