It's also approved for use in people with a BMI of 27 or greater, who have an accompanying overweight- or obesity-related condition, such as high blood pressure or sleep apnea,” Dr. Dominguez says. Ozempic is sometimes prescribed off-label for weight loss but is mostly used to treat people with diabetes, she says.
After meeting with the TGA, Novo Nordisk, pharmaceutical wholesalers and other organisations representing health professionals and patient groups in late June, the RACGP has recommended that prescriptions for Ozempic should continue to be limited to patients who satisfy the TGA-approved indications of type 2 diabetes ...
Getting Ozempic®
Get a prescription from your HCP: The first step is to get a prescription from your HCP. They will provide you with a prescription that you can take to your local pharmacy. Purchase from a local pharmacy: Once you have your prescription, you can purchase Ozempic® from your local pharmacy.
Providers (doctors, nurse practitioners and physician assistants) can prescribe either Ozempic ("off label") or Wegovy for weight loss, but insurance companies will usually only cover these medications for their FDA-approved uses (Ozempic for only diabetes and Wegovy for only medical obesity treatment).
While the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) has approved Ozempic for diabetes management, it has not yet been approved for weight management. Still, the benefits of this medication are well known in the medical community, and your doctor can help you determine if it is right for you.
The availability of Ozempic (semaglutide) in Australia continues to improve and the supplier, Novo Nordisk, anticipates steady ongoing supply.
Medicare covers Ozempic and Mounjaro as Part D medications when prescribed to treat diabetes because the FDA approved them for this purpose. The thing is: These drugs have also been proven to lead to weight loss for some users.
However, Ozempic is not intended for people without diabetes to take, and its side effects can be severe. If you are looking to take a weight loss drug that is approved for people without diabetes, talk with your doctor who can give you options.
Ozempic and its sister medication, Wegovy — approved for weight loss for people who are obese or overweight with weight-related medical conditions — are considered long-term or lifelong treatments.
On average, a user can lose about 3 to 5% of their body weight after using Ozempic for a month regularly. This equates to about 4 to 6 pounds on average. Using a higher potency of the drug may result in more weight loss, but it isn't recommended that you start taking it right away.
If you have private or commercial insurance, such as insurance you receive through an employer, you may be eligible to pay as little as $25 for a 1-, 2-, or 3-month prescription (maximum savings of $150 per 1-month prescription, $300 per 2-month prescription, or $450 per 3-month prescription).
Ozempic isn't approved for weight loss. But because of how it works, some people taking Ozempic lose weight as a side effect. If you don't have diabetes, taking Ozempic for weight loss is considered an off-label use.
Medicare prescription drug plans might cover Ozempic, but only to treat diabetes. In 2021, Medicare spent over $2.6 billion to cover Ozempic prescriptions. Because it's an outpatient prescription drug, Ozempic falls under Medicare Part D. Original Medicare (Part A and/or Part B) won't cover it.
On the PBS, Ozempic costs Australians about $42 a month (four weekly injections). On a private prescription, the cost is about $132 a month. According to the medical news website WebMD, Ozempic can cost uninsured Americans more than a $US1000 a month and many flock to Canada to save $US700 a month.
Ozempic was developed to help people with type 2 diabetes manage their blood sugar levels but it can also lead to significant weight loss of 15 to 20 per cent of body weight in some people.
This medicine was verified as being available on the PBS (Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme) on July 1, 2023. To learn more about this subsidy, visit the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) website.
Ozempic prescribing is best handled by your regular GP for its registered use as you likely require ongoing blood tests to ensure it is adequately controlling your condition. Those who are on or who think it would be a benefit to their health should speak to their GP for a prescription.
If you qualify for insurance coverage, Ozempic can cost as little as $25 for a monthly supply. However, without insurance, Ozempic costs around $892.06 per month, on average (NovoCare-a, 2022). However, savings programs can sometimes help lower the cost of the medication if you qualify.
Popular Ozempic alternatives for blood sugar control include Mounjaro (tirzepatide), Trulicity (dulaglutide), and Rybelsus (semaglutide). If you're looking for Ozempic alternatives with the goal of losing weight, Wegovy (semaglutide) and Saxenda (liraglutide) might be an option for you.
The most common side effects of Ozempic, according to the drug's website, are nausea, stomach pain, constipation, diarrhea and vomiting. Novo Nordisk, the maker of Ozempic and Wegovy, told CBS News that the drugs "are a well-established class of medicines, which have demonstrated long-term safety in clinical trials.
The diabetes drug Ozempic, and its sister drug for weight loss, Wegovy, utilize the same medication, semaglutide. These and other drugs in this family, which includes medications like tirzepatide and liraglutide, work by mimicking a hormone that's naturally made by the body, GLP-1.
Most insurance providers typically cover Ozempic as long as it is prescribed for type 2 diabetes. However, you can also get it covered for other conditions, such as prediabetes.
“GLP-1 medications [like Ozempic] are designed to be taken long-term,” explains Dr. McGowan. “They are chronic medications for the treatment of chronic conditions (both diabetes and obesity).”