Costco Wholesale Corp. is expanding its partnership with health care marketplace Sesame to offer prescription weight-loss drugs including Ozempic and Wegovy. Sesame is an online health care marketplace targeting consumers with no insurance or high-deductible plans. It is also available to people who aren’t Costco members, although at a higher rate.
The retailer’s decision to offer weight-loss services with Sesame came at the request of customers, USA Today reported.
“The No. 1 search term of Costco members seeking primary care on Sesame was around weight loss,” Sesame co-founder and CEO David Goldhill said.
“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,” Goldhill said in a statement.
How Costco members will get access to Ozempic
Costco members can sign up for Sesame’s weight-loss program for $179 for three months. For that cost, they will receive:
- Three months of consultations with clinicians
- A video consult
- Ability to message clinicians outside of appointments
- Nutritional guidance
- An individualized treatment plan
The subscription does not include the cost of weight-loss medications, which Sesame said typically cost between $950 and $1,600 per month without insurance.
Costco is No. 7 in the Top 1000, Digital Commerce 360’s ranking of the largest North American online retailers. Digital Commerce 360 categorizes it as a mass merchant, a group that also includes Amazon.com Inc., Walmart Inc. and Target Corp.
Ozempic and other weight-loss drugs
Ozempic is one of a new class of medications called GLP-1 drugs that gained popularity in 2023. J.P. Morgan predicted that the market for these GLP-1 drugs, which are used to treat Type 2 diabetes and obesity, could exceed $100 billion in 2030. The firm also anticipates there will be 30 million U.S. users by that point.
Manufacturers have struggled to keep the medications in stock as demand skyrocketed. Sesame’s website notes “Due to increased demand, the FDA has reported national shortages for the following GLP-1 medications,” including Wegovy, Zepbound, Mounjaro and Saxenda.
Amazon recently announced that it will carry Eli Lilly medications through its Amazon Pharmacy storefront. Amazon will deliver the prescriptions through a deal with LillyDirect, the pharmaceutical company’s direct-to-consumer arm.
Eli Lilly currently offers 14 medications through LillyDirect, and it says it will add more regularly. So far, the list includes the company’s recently approved weight-loss drug, Zepbound. It has seen “significant interest in the platform” so far, Eli Lilly said in a statement without revealing how many members have signed up.
Amazon ranks No. 1 in the Top 1000. Amazon is also No. 3 in Digital Commerce 360’s Global Online Marketplaces Database, which ranks the 100 largest such marketplaces by third-party gross merchandise value.
Costco’s partnership with Sesame
Costco first announced it would work with Sesame in September 2023. At the time, Costco offered a variety of virtual health services through Sesame, including:
- Primary care for $29
- Health check-ups with a blood panel and virtual follow-up consultation for $72
- Mental health therapy for $79
- 10% off other Sesame services, including in-person care
Sesame is staffed with doctors and nurse practitioners across 40 specialties with access to labs and imaging centers. It offers in-person and virtual appointments across all 50 U.S. states. It does not accept insurance.
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