Affiliate disclosure
We earn a commission if you sign up with Sesame through the links on this page. It did not buy a favourable review — this rates well because of two structural choices, described below, that most of this market has not made.
Sesame Care is a telehealth marketplace rather than a single clinic: you browse board-certified providers, read feedback from their previous patients, and choose the one you want. Its Success by Sesame weight programme costs $99 every 28 days and includes video consultations, lab testing, unlimited messaging and clinical oversight, with medication billed separately. Two things set it apart from almost everything else we review — it prescribes FDA-approved medication only, and it will navigate your insurance rather than assuming you are paying cash.
Overview
Sesame began as a general telehealth marketplace and extended into weight care. That heritage shapes the product: rather than routing you to whichever clinician is next in a queue, it lets you see who you are booking, what they charge and what previous patients said. For a long-term treatment relationship, being able to choose — and change — the person prescribing is a meaningful difference.
The Marketplace Model
Nearly every provider on this site works the same way: you complete a questionnaire and an unseen clinician somewhere decides whether to prescribe. You rarely learn their name, and you almost never choose them.
Sesame inverts that. You search board-certified providers, review previous patient feedback, and select the one that fits. You can also use your own pharmacy and your own insurance rather than being locked into the platform's fulfilment chain.
The practical benefit is optionality. Being able to take a prescription to your own pharmacy means you are not exposed to a single provider's supply chain — the failure mode behind the undelivered-medication complaints we document at Sprout Health, Fridays and Ivy Rx. If a pharmacy lets you down, you use a different one.
Sesame at a Glance
| Medications offered | FDA-approved brand-name GLP-1s only — Wegovy pen and pill, Zepbound, Ozempic. No compounded medication offered |
|---|---|
| Brand-name or compounded | Brand-name and FDA-approved throughout, by policy |
| Consultation process | Video consultations with a board-certified provider you choose yourself, included in the programme fee |
| Eligibility | Clinical assessment against approved indications |
| Provider involvement | You select your own provider from profiles with previous patient feedback, and can change |
| Lab requirements | Lab testing included in the programme fee |
| Pharmacy fulfillment | Your own pharmacy can be used, or Sesame's channels |
| Shipping frequency | Via your chosen pharmacy |
| Support services | Unlimited messaging and clinical oversight included |
| Membership fees | $99 every 28 days — note that is 13 payments a year, not 12 |
| Medication fees | Wegovy pen $199/month for the first two fills then $349; oral Wegovy pill from $149; Zepbound vials $299–$499. With insurance navigation, brand-name GLP-1s can be as low as $25/month |
| Cancellation policy | Not detailed in the published materials |
| Refund policy | Not detailed in the published materials |
| Insurance | Supported, with active insurance navigation — the biggest lever on cost |
| HSA/FSA | Not clearly stated |
| Availability | US nationwide |
Pricing: Programme Fee Plus Medication
| Component | Cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Programme fee | $99 per 28 days | Video visits, labs, unlimited messaging, oversight |
| Oral Wegovy pill | From $149/mo | Promotional pricing for lower doses |
| Wegovy pen | $199 → $349/mo | $199 for the first two fills, then $349 |
| Zepbound vials | $299–$499/mo | Varies by dose |
| With insurance | From $25/mo medication | Via Sesame's insurance navigation |
Two details to hold on to. First, $99 every 28 days is 13 payments a year, not 12 — an extra $99 that monthly-billed competitors do not charge. It is disclosed, but it is easy to read as "monthly".
Second, the Wegovy pen price nearly doubles after two fills, from $199 to $349. Budget on $349, not $199 — the introductory rate covers roughly the titration period you are meant to pass through.
On level, the programme fee plus the oral Wegovy pill is about $248 all-in, which is more than NovoCare Pharmacy's $149 direct price but includes labs, video visits and unlimited messaging that NovoCare does not. If you have insurance, the $25 medication figure makes the comparison one-sided in Sesame's favour.
FDA-Approved Only — Why That Matters Now
Sesame does not offer compounded semaglutide or tirzepatide at all. That is a deliberate policy, and in August 2026 it is worth more than it was a year ago.
The FDA resolved the tirzepatide shortage in October 2024 and the semaglutide shortage on 21 February 2025, and on 30 April 2026 proposed excluding semaglutide, tirzepatide and liraglutide from the 503B bulks list, with the comment period closing on 30 July 2026. It has also issued warning letters to around 30 telehealth companies over compounded GLP-1 marketing — our MEDVi and Strut Health reviews cover two of them. Hims launched a compounded semaglutide pill in February 2026 and withdrew it within five weeks under manufacturer pressure.
A provider that never entered that market has no exposure to how it resolves. You also get medication whose published trial evidence genuinely applies to what is in the box — which, as our compounded vs brand-name guide explains, is not true of compounded preparations.
Eligibility, Contraindications, and Side Effects
Because Sesame prescribes only approved products, eligibility follows the approved indications, assessed by the board-certified provider you choose. Included lab testing is a clinical plus most cheap providers skip. See our eligibility guide.
Semaglutide and tirzepatide carry a boxed warning regarding thyroid C-cell tumours, based on rodent studies. You should not take these medications if you or a family member have had medullary thyroid carcinoma, if you have Multiple Endocrine Neoplasia syndrome type 2, or if you have had a serious hypersensitivity reaction to the active ingredient. They are not for use in pregnancy. A history of pancreatitis, gallbladder disease, gastroparesis or other severe gastrointestinal disease, or diabetic retinopathy, warrants specific discussion first.
Common side effects are gastrointestinal — nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, constipation and abdominal pain — worst after a dose increase. Serious but less common risks include pancreatitis, gallbladder disease and acute kidney injury from dehydration. Unlimited messaging with a provider you chose is a genuine asset when that happens. Our side effects guide covers management.
How Sesame Compares
| Provider | Programme fee | Medication | Choose your doctor | Labs included | Our rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sesame Care | $99 / 28 days | FDA-approved only | Yes | Yes | 4.0 / 5 |
| Ro | $74–$149/mo | FDA-approved only | No | Available | 3.7 / 5 |
| Hims | $149/mo | FDA-approved only | No | No | 3.6 / 5 |
| NovoCare Pharmacy | None | FDA-approved only | Bring your own | No | 4.5 / 5 |
Sesame's $99 fee is cheaper than Hims's $149 and buys more — labs and a doctor you choose. NovoCare is still the cheapest route if you already have a prescriber and need nothing else.
Pros and Cons
Pros
- FDA-approved medication only — no compounding exposure at all
- You choose your own board-certified provider, with patient feedback visible
- Lab testing included in the programme fee
- Unlimited messaging and clinical oversight included
- Use your own pharmacy — you are not tied to one supply chain
- Active insurance navigation, with medication as low as $25/month
- Oral Wegovy pill from $149 for needle avoidance
- $99 programme fee undercuts Hims and month-to-month Ro
- Nationwide
Cons
- Billed every 28 days — 13 payments a year, not 12
- Wegovy pen jumps from $199 to $349 after two fills
- No compounded option, so no cheap route for the uninsured
- Programme fee stacks on top of medication
- Zepbound up to $499 without coverage
- Cancellation and refund terms not detailed
- Provider quality varies — you are choosing from a marketplace
Who Should Pick It, and Who Should Look Elsewhere
Sesame is a strong choice if you want FDA-approved medication and a clinician you actually chose, or if you have insurance — the navigation service plus a $25 copay makes this one of the best-value options on the site. It is also the right pick if you have been burned by a provider's fulfilment before, since you can use your own pharmacy.
Look elsewhere if you are uninsured and price is decisive: compounded providers like Cora Health and Trimi Health start at $99 all-in, against roughly $248 here. And if you already have a prescriber, NovoCare Pharmacy sells the same approved medication at $149 with no programme fee.
Limitations of This Review
This review is based on independent coverage of Sesame's published pricing and programme structure, checked on 7 August 2026. Some medication prices are promotional and time-limited, so confirm current figures. Insurance outcomes vary by plan and we have not tested Sesame's navigation service. Cancellation and refund terms are not detailed in what we could access. Because this is a marketplace, individual provider quality varies and no platform-level review can predict who you will book. We have not signed up or been prescribed.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does Sesame Care cost?
$99 every 28 days for the programme — video visits, labs, unlimited messaging and oversight — plus medication. The oral Wegovy pill starts at $149, the Wegovy pen is $199 for two fills then $349, and Zepbound runs $299–$499. With insurance navigation, medication can be as low as $25.
Does Sesame offer compounded semaglutide?
No. Sesame prescribes FDA-approved brand-name medication only — Wegovy, Zepbound and Ozempic. That makes it more expensive for cash payers and removes all compounding-related risk.
Can I really choose my own doctor?
Yes — Sesame is a marketplace. You search board-certified providers, read previous patient feedback and pick the one you want. That is unusual; most GLP-1 telehealth assigns you an unseen clinician.
Is the $99 monthly?
It is every 28 days, which works out to 13 payments a year rather than 12 — roughly $99 more annually than a monthly-billed equivalent.
Verdict
4.0 / 5
FDA-approved medication only, a doctor you choose yourself, labs and messaging included for $99, and real insurance navigation — held back only by 28-day billing and cash prices that cannot match the compounded market.
Sesame gets two big structural decisions right. Refusing to sell compounded GLP-1s looked expensive a year ago and looks prudent now that the FDA is closing that market. Letting patients choose their own board-certified provider, see prior feedback and use their own pharmacy solves the two problems that generate most complaints elsewhere: unreachable clinicians and undelivered medication. It is not the cheapest way to get a GLP-1 if you are uninsured — nothing approved-only is — but it is one of the few where you can see exactly who and what you are buying.
Medical Disclaimer & Review Date
This review is general consumer information, not medical advice. GLP-1 medications are prescription drugs with serious contraindications, and whether any treatment is appropriate for you is a decision only a licensed healthcare provider who knows your medical history can make. Nothing here should be used to start, stop, or change a medication.
Details in this review come from Sesame Care's own published materials as of the date below. Pricing, medication availability, state coverage, and policies in this category change frequently — verify current terms directly with the provider before purchasing.
Date reviewed: August 7, 2026
Run the Insurance Check First
Sesame's insurance navigation is the difference between $25 and $349 medication. Do that before comparing anything else — and budget the pen at $349, not $199.