On Nov. 6, President Donald Trump announced that Eli Lilly and Company and Novo Nordisk—the pharmaceutical manufacturers of Ozempic and Wegovy—will supply the diabetes and weight loss drugs through TrumpRX, a prescription discount service that provides users with access to lower-cost medications and online healthcare consultations. While this may expand access to GLP-1 after medspas offering these drugs saw a boom in demand and service requests, these clinics play a key role in monitoring proper use and sustaining its effects by providing comprehensive wellness plans and treatments that address post-use concerns.
Log in to view the full article
On Nov. 6, President Donald Trump announced that Eli Lilly and Company and Novo Nordisk—the pharmaceutical manufacturers of Ozempic and Wegovy—will supply the diabetes and weight loss drugs through TrumpRX, a prescription discount service that provides users with access to lower-cost medications and online healthcare consultations. While this may expand access to GLP-1 after medspas offering these drugs saw a boom in demand and service requests, these clinics play a key role in monitoring proper use and sustaining its effects by providing comprehensive wellness plans and treatments that address post-use concerns.
The TrumpRX website launched Sept. 30 and is expected to start supplying discounted drugs in early 2026. The first partner to offer its prescriptions through the president’s new initiative was Pfizer, the creator of the Covid-19 vaccine. According to a company press release, Pfizer agreed to a three year partnership with TrumpRX—a deal that won't face pharmaceutical tariffs—leading to investment in manufacturing in the U.S. [1].
TrumpRx Aims to Cut GLP-1 Costs for Uninsured Patients, Though Savings May Vary
The White House provided a statement on Nov. 6, communicating that the prices of Ozempic and Wegovy, when purchased through TrumpRx, will cost $350 without insurance, rather than its usual price of about $1,350 per month. If approved, the price of Zepbound and Orforglipron will cost an average of $346 when purchased through TrumpRx, instead of $1,086 per month [2].
This platform comes less than a year after the GLP-1 shortage was resolved in February. Depending on the insurance coverage, brand name and dosage, GLP-1 injections through a medspa typically costs about $25 to $300 per month with insurance. The White House announcement claims that the Medicare prices of Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro and Zepbound will be $245 through TrumpRX [2]. Currently, outside of diabetes, Medicare does not cover GLP-1 for obesity and weight loss.
TrumpRX aims to make Ozempic, Wegovy and other GLP-1 drugs more affordable for patients without insurance and accessible through Medicare.Courtesy of Starmarpro at Adobe Stock
Without insurance, a month’s supply of a GLP-1 drug at between $936 to $1,349 [3].While the price under TrumpRX may benefit non-insurance users, though it is not certain yet until the platform officially launches in 2026, the price for GLP-1 would remain about the same price for those using insurance.
Arvind Chakravarthy, MD, chief longevity officer for the Beverly Hills Rejuvenation Center, who prescribes GLP-1 for weight loss and other metabolic functions, says affordability and accessibility to medications is a positive. “Any initiative that helps lower the cost of proven therapies, when done responsibly and safely, is a step in the right direction for public health.”
“Ultimately, the future lies in balancing medical cost savings with scientific innovation—ensuring patients not only access affordable medications, but also benefit from the most advanced, data-driven and sustainable therapeutic strategies available,” he says. GLP-1 monitoring is crucial, as it can affect muscle mass and hormones and is not an over-the-counter medication [4].
Expanded GLP-1 Access via TrumpRx Could Boost Medspa Visits as Patients Seek Holistic Support Beyond Prescriptions
Data from Guidepoint Qsight in January shows that revenue at practices offering GLP-1 treatments increased by an average of 9%, compared to a 2% decline at practices that did not offer these drugs. Medspas saw that about 40% of GLP-1 patients were completely new to those practices [5].
While TrumpRX widens access to these medications, clinicians believe it won't completely turn patients away from medspas and aesthetic practices due there being a cheaper price elsewhere. This is because, while medspas are creating an avenue to retrieve these medications, medspas and its clinicians typically extend beyond merely prescribing the medication.
Medspas sometimes bundle GLP-1 medications with other aesthetic services that restore volume after the person has reached their desired weight, given the common effects of GLP-1, like skin laxity. Some clinics also offer a plan, like Shah does at Pure and Arvind soes at the rejuvenation center, that tracks biomarkers and provides nutrition plans and other wellness services to progressively help a patient no longer need these drugs, and to sustain their weight loss and healthy lifestyle over time.
“We take a comprehensive approach that includes lab testing, body composition scans and ongoing monitoring of their nutrition and exercise plans to ensure patients are successful in their weight loss journey. Our goal is never to keep someone on these medications long-term. Instead, our focus is on helping them reach a healthy weight and then successfully titrate off,” says Shah.
McKinsey’s recent data regarding GLP-1s boosting demand for medical aesthetics shows that 63% of patients who used GLP-1 and were seeking facial aesthetic products or procedures were not active users of medical aesthetics services beforehand, and about half of these patients had never considered aesthetics prior to their weight loss [6]. 
Despite lower drug costs, medspas remain a key destination for post-weight-loss care and comprehensive wellness plans.Courtesy of Corona Borealis at Aobe Stock
Experts Warn Comprehensive Monitoring Remains Crucial When it Comes to GLP-1 Use
So, although medspas have become a popular destination for these mediations, as data shows, they've also become a destination to fix the effects of rapid weight loss and to track its porgress. TrumpRX may offer the drug at lower rates for non-insurance users, but medspas and aesthetic practices remain an effective way to address not only the appearances of patients after use, but give them a plan to manage healthy use.
“While broader access will certainly expand awareness and interest, I do have concerns about these medications not being monitored carefully by the prescriber,” Shah says. “Without proper oversight of labs and lifestyle goals we have seen many come from other offices and online retailers with improper ratios of weight loss as it relates to muscle vs. fat loss. My hope is that lower prices don’t come at the expense of comprehensive, data-driven care.”
References:
3- https://nclnet.org/weight-truth/medication-costs/
4-https://www.medestheticsmag.com/home/article/22952929/the-new-frontier-of-glp1-lean-people-are-using-it-for-longevity-cellular-optimizationnot-weight-loss
