Novo launches a $199 introductory self-pay offer for Wegovy and Ozempic

Novo Nordisk announced on November 17, 2025 that new self-pay patients in the US can get Wegovy (semaglutide) injection 0.25 mg and 0.5 mg, or Ozempic (semaglutide), for $199 per month for the first two months of therapy ^[4]. The same day, the company lowered its standard self-pay price for both drugs from $499 to $349 per month ^[4].

The $199 introductory price is a limited-time offer running from November 17, 2025 through March 31, 2026, and it applies only to the two lowest doses ^[4]. After two months, patients move to the $349 monthly price ^[4]. One exception: the self-pay cost of Ozempic 2 mg stays at $499 per month ^[4].

How the prices are reached

Novo says the self-pay prices can be used at more than 70,000 pharmacy locations nationwide after registering through wegovy.com or ozempic.com with a prescription ^[4]. Patients can also use NovoCare Pharmacy, which ships to the home or allows pickup at more than 9,000 CVS retail locations, or go through participating partners and telehealth companies including Costco, GoodRx, WeightWatchers, Ro, LifeMD and eMed ^[4].

At Costco Pharmacy, for example, members with an active prescription can fill a four-week supply for $349, with the first two months at $199 for patients new to the drugs ^[3].

Novo framed the move as an early delivery on a deal with the federal government. The company said the offers "follow the recent agreement with the US Administration to expand access to medicines for patients living with obesity and other chronic conditions like diabetes, while lowering prices in the direct-to-patient, self-pay channel in 2026 – and today, Novo Nordisk is bringing these prices to consumers months in advance of that commitment" ^[4]. Dave Moore, executive vice president of US operations, said the savings offers are part of a broader strategy that includes telehealth partnerships, retailers and expanded insurance coverage ^[4]. The sources provided do not detail competing price cuts from other manufacturers, so the full competitive picture is not established here.

For comparison, one telehealth partner put the list price of Ozempic at about $968 per month and Wegovy at about $1,349 per month ^[3]. A separate drug-pricing reference listed Ozempic's list price as $1,027.51 per pen as of May 2026 ^[5]. Those figures differ, and list prices are not what most people pay ^[3][5].

Why it matters for patients

The offers are aimed at people without coverage for these drugs, or who choose to pay cash. Patients with commercial insurance who qualify may still pay as little as $0 per month for Wegovy or $25 per month for Ozempic through separate savings programs ^[4].

There are strings attached to the cash route. Novo's terms state that the self-pay offer operates outside of any third-party insurance, that money spent does not count toward a deductible or out-of-pocket maximum, and that it cannot be submitted to an insurer for reimbursement ^[2]. People enrolled in Medicare, Medicaid, VA, DOD or TRICARE coverage can still pay the self-pay price, but the same restrictions apply ^[2].

The two-month, low-dose structure also means the price a patient pays can change over time as doses change ^[4]. Novo said the offers are meant partly to "eliminate the lure of risky, potentially unsafe, compounded 'semaglutide' knockoffs" ^[4].

What happens next

The $199 introductory window closes March 31, 2026 ^[4]. Novo's commitment to lower direct-to-patient prices under the government agreement was set for 2026, with these prices arriving earlier ^[4].

The landscape has kept shifting since. At the end of 2025, the FDA approved an oral form of Wegovy for chronic weight management ^[1]. That pill was expected to cost between $149 and $299 per month depending on dose, with some commercially insured patients paying as little as $25, while the injectable self-pay price remained $349 ^[1]. Separately, many insurers planned to restrict or drop coverage of injectable GLP-1s for weight loss in 2026 ^[1].