Skip to content
Doseworth
PlushCare

Provider review

PlushCare Review: $19.99 a Month, and None of It Is Medication

PlushCare charges $19.99 a month for membership and $129 for a visit without insurance, and neither buys a milligram of anything. Its own Terms say so: "The PlushCare Service is not an online pharmacy." The drug is a separate bill from Novo Nordisk or Eli Lilly, at prices PlushCare republishes in more detail than almost anyone here — $199 a month for Wegovy's first two months, then $399, per 28-day supply.

By Marla Whitfield, Pricing Editor

Disclosure: Some links on this site are affiliate or referral links. If you start a treatment or buy a product through them, we may earn a commission at no additional cost to you. Read our full disclosure.

The money verdict

I would use PlushCare as a route to the manufacturer's own cash price, which is what it actually is. It republishes that channel more honestly than almost anyone and takes no markup on the drug. I would not treat the $19.99 as a treatment price, because it buys access and nothing else.

Worth it if

  • You have insurance and want the video visit billed to it rather than paid in full.
  • You want the branded drug at the manufacturer's own cash price, with nobody taking a markup in between.
  • You want to see and book a named doctor, same day, seven days a week.
  • You are certain you will stay a year — the annual membership is a real saving on the monthly one.

Look elsewhere if

  • You need the follow-up visits costed: no follow-up price is published, on a treatment PlushCare says needs routine ones.
  • Your schedule moves — late cancellation, late rescheduling and a no-show each carry a penalty, inside a two-hour window.
  • You are relying on the introductory Wegovy price: it covers two months at the two lowest doses, and its own end date has passed.
  • You travel — PlushCare requires you to be physically in a state where it operates during the visit, and choosing the wrong one triggers a fee.
Cheapest — Semaglutide

$418.99/cycle

States served

All 50 states and the District of Columbia

Billing cycle

Every 4 weeks (13×/yr)

51 entries, read from the state gate inside PlushCare's own booking flow rather than from a marketing claim, with D.C. listed by name alongside the states. The gate is a hard one: PlushCare's doctors are licensed by state, the signup flow asks where you will physically be during the visit, and the Terms require that "you must be physically present in a state where PlushCare operates when using the Care Service". Selecting a state you’re not in during the appointment triggers a cancellation fee.

At a glance

$328/cycle

Advertised

the first-cycle rate

$418.99/cycle

Walk-away

vs. advertised

$5,446.87

Year at this price

$418.99 × 13

The same Semaglutide price, three ways

The short bar is the number PlushCare leads with. It lasts one cycle.

Advertised

first cycle only

$328

Walk-away

every cycle after

$418.99

Ready to check PlushCare’s current price?

Prices may change.

Best for: You have insurance and want the video visit billed to it rather than paid in full. Skip it if: You need the follow-up visits costed: no follow-up price is published, on a treatment PlushCare says needs routine ones.

Visit PlushCare

What’s included

  • A video visit with a board-certified physician, bookable same-day seven days a week — $129 without insurance, or your copay with it
  • The $19.99/month membership, which PlushCare's Terms define as covering "non-medical features (e.g., navigation support, digital tools, lifestyle offerings)"
  • Unlimited in-app messaging with a Care Team, and free memberships for family members
  • Prior-authorization paperwork filed on your behalf if you’re trying to get the drug covered
  • A prescription discount card advertised at up to 80% off, and discounted lab tests
  • NOT the medication, and not labs. PlushCare's own note: "any medication or lab work costs are not included"

Pricing, per compound

Everything PlushCare sells, cheapest year first. “Advertised” is the price it leads with; “Walk-away” is what you pay if you stop after one cycle.

ProviderAdvertisedWalk-awayYear at this price
Semaglutide — Wegovy, brand

Both figures are sums, because PlushCare charges for the care and NovoCare Pharmacy charges for the drug. Advertised: $0 membership (PlushCare's own "$19.99 First month free" 30-day trial) + $129 initial visit without insurance + $199 medication = $328. Walk-away: $19.99 membership + $399 medication = $418.99. Both medication figures are PlushCare's own words: "Wegovy® costs $199 per month (28-day supply) for the first two months of the two lowest doses, then $399 per month (28-day supply) when filled through NovoCare® Pharmacy."

$328.00/cycle$418.99/cycle$5,446.87

$418.99 × 13 four-week cycles

Tirzepatide — Zepbound vials, brand

Same construction. Advertised: $0 membership (first month free) + $129 initial visit + $299 medication (the 2.5 mg starting vial through LillyDirect) = $428. Walk-away: $19.99 membership + $449 medication = $468.99. PlushCare publishes the whole ladder rather than a teaser, which is rare: "$299 (2.5 mg), $399 (5 mg), $449 (7.5 mg–15 mg) per month", self-pay only, with refills that "must be purchased within 45 days of the prior delivery/receipt date". The walk-away uses $449 because that’s where anyone who titrates ends up. Choosing the pen instead costs far more — PlushCare quotes Zepbound KwikPens at a "Flat $650 monthly self-pay price", $201 a month above the top vial. No follow-up visit fee is included because none is published, so this is a floor.

$428.00/mo$468.99/mo$5,627.88

$468.99 × 12 months

The year at this dose — 12 payments, or 13 where a seller bills every four weeks. Several charge more as you move to a higher dose; where they publish that, the row says so.

Every figure above was read on plushcare.com, one product at a time. Check the current price before you buy.

See PlushCare’s prices

How this compares

Pros and cons

Pros

  • The Terms say the membership is optional, in capitals: paying it "IS NOT A REQUIREMENT TO RECEIVE MEDICAL SERVICES AT PLUSHCARE."
  • There is an annual membership at $149 a year for anyone certain they will stay, and it is a real 38% saving rather than a headline dressed as one.
  • No FDA warning letter for PlushCare or for either corporate name in its own Terms.
  • PlushCare republishes the manufacturer channel in more detail than almost anyone here — the full Zepbound vial ladder, the pen price, the NovoCare structure.
  • The drug is bought at the manufacturer's own cash price with no markup by PlushCare, which does not sit in the middle of that transaction.
  • The exclusion is disclosed rather than buried: "Any medication or lab work costs are not included" sits under the price box on every weight-loss page.
4 more
  • The clinical screen is real, and it runs before you’re asked for money — pregnancy, medullary thyroid cancer, MEN2, eating disorders, substance abuse, type 1 diabetes and pancreatitis, then a BMI gate.
  • All fifty states plus the District of Columbia, taken from the signup flow's own state gate rather than from a marketing claim, with D.C. named explicitly in the list.
  • You see the actual clinician before you commit — the booking step names a specific doctor, shows their rating and reserves a real appointment slot.
  • Insurance is genuinely accepted rather than gestured at, and PlushCare quotes most in-network patients at $30 or less per visit.

Cons

  • "All fees are in U.S. Dollars and are non-refundable", and if PlushCare terminates you for breach, "no refunds will be issued".
  • The Wegovy page contradicts itself — its hero says "from $499 through NovoCare" while its own FAQ, on the same page, says "then $399 per month".
  • The introductory price is out of date on the live page: PlushCare says it is "valid through March 2026" and was still advertising it in August.
  • Three separate $75 penalties — late cancellation, late rescheduling and no-show — each triggered inside a two-hour window.
  • Billing is per 28-day supply rather than per month, so a year is 13 charges — about $5,187 for Wegovy rather than the $4,788 that "$399 per month" implies.
  • The Terms and the marketing disagree about whether the membership is optional, with how-it-works saying access "is only valid if you stay an active member".
8 more
  • The membership buys nothing clinical by PlushCare's own definition — "non-medical features (e.g., navigation support, digital tools, lifestyle offerings)".
  • The signup flow misspells the drug it’s selling. Its headline claim reads "a treatment plan that includes terzepatide" while the footnote directly beneath it says tirzepatide, and the same misspelling repeats on the results screen.
  • Neither the $19.99 nor the $129 buys any medication. The honest all-in for Wegovy at a maintenance dose is $418.99 per 28 days, not $19.99 a month.
  • $199 is doubly restricted in ways the headline doesn’t carry: two months only, and only at "the two lowest doses".
  • No follow-up visit price is published anywhere on the site, on a treatment PlushCare itself says requires "routine follow-up appointments". The only visit prices given are $129 for a visit and $169 for therapy.
  • The Zepbound pen is priced $201 a month above the top vial — a "Flat $650 monthly self-pay price" against $449 — and the choice between them is easy to make wrongly.
  • The results screen shows a broken sentence — "with a 12-month treatment plan that includes terzepatide in when starting at 240 lbs" — beside a personalized weight-loss projection, which isn’t where a reader wants to see unfinished copy.
  • PlushCare warns that its service "may not be reimbursable by Medicare, Medicaid, or other government programs", so the self-pay path is the real one for many patients.

Where else PlushCare appears

Boards this company appears on

Compare the cost of Zepbound · Compare the cost of Wegovy

How we verified this

What we checked

  • Every price read off plushcare.com — 2 products, checked one at a time
  • The billing cycle taken from the company's own terms, not assumed from the price
  • States, inclusions and cancellation terms read on the company's own pages
  • Screened against the FDA's live warning-letter index

What to double-check before you buy

  • Semaglutide: Two caveats PlushCare supplies itself.
  • Prices may change. Confirm before you buy.

Key terms

Show definitions
Walk-away price
What one cycle costs at the ongoing rate with no commitment — what you actually pay if you stop after month one.
Year at this price
The walk-away price multiplied by however many times a year it's actually billed. It's the year at this dose only — several sellers charge more as you move up, and most don't publish the ladder.
Four-weekly billing
A cycle that repeats every 4 weeks rather than on the calendar month, so it bills 13 times a year, not 12. A stated shipping interval is not a billing interval.

Bottom line

The membership and the visit are the only things PlushCare sells you; the medicine comes from NovoCare or LillyDirect at their price. Budget the drug at $399 per 28 days — thirteen charges a year, about $5,187 — and add the visit fees on top.

Visit PlushCare

Frequently asked questions

What does PlushCare actually cost?

For the care, nothing in month one and $19.99 a month after — or $149 a year if you commit — plus $129 for a doctor's visit if you’re paying without insurance, or your copay if you’re not. For the medication, a separate bill from a separate pharmacy: $199 per 28-day supply for the first two months of Wegovy at the two lowest doses, then $399, or $299 to $449 for Zepbound vials depending on dose. So the numbers that matter are the sums — $328 for month one and $418.99 per cycle after that for semaglutide; $428 then $468.99 for tirzepatide at a maintenance dose. Read off plushcare.com on August 9, 2026 and confirmed by walking its booking flow to the appointment-reservation step.

Why is $19.99 not the real price?

Because it’s not a drug price and PlushCare doesn’t pretend otherwise — it just puts the disclosure in smaller type than the number. Under the pricing box on every weight-loss page: "Please note that any medication or lab work costs are not included." In the Terms: "The PlushCare Service is not an online pharmacy." And the Terms go further, defining what the membership does buy as "non-medical features (e.g., navigation support, digital tools, lifestyle offerings)". What you’re paying PlushCare for is a prescriber, a Care Team you can message, prior-authorization help and a discount card. What you’re paying Novo Nordisk or Eli Lilly for is the drug.

Where does the medication actually come from, and does PlushCare mark it up?

From the manufacturer, and no. Semaglutide goes to NovoCare Pharmacy, Novo Nordisk's own self-pay channel; tirzepatide to LillyDirect, Eli Lilly's, with a Walmart pickup option for vials. You pay that pharmacy directly at the published cash price and PlushCare takes nothing from it. This is the best thing about the arrangement: the drug half of your bill is the cheapest legitimate branded price available to a self-pay patient, and it’s identical whether you reach it through PlushCare or on your own. PlushCare's contribution is the prescriber and the paperwork.

Is Wegovy $399 or $499 through PlushCare?

PlushCare's own page says both, and that’s a real problem rather than a quibble. The hero at the top reads "Now available from $499 through NovoCare® Pharmacy, no insurance required". The FAQ further down the same page reads "then $399 per month (28-day supply) when filled through NovoCare® Pharmacy". This review uses $399, because that’s the figure that arrives with its structure explained — the two lowest doses, the first two months, the 28-day supply. It’s worth knowing where the $499 comes from, though: PlushCare's Ozempic page prices that drug at "$399 or $499 per month (28-day supply, price depends on dose)", so $499 is a genuine NovoCare number that appears to have been attached to the wrong product.

Is the $199 introductory price still available?

PlushCare says it expired, on the same page that advertises it. The sentence runs: "Wegovy® costs $199 per month (28-day supply) for the first two months of the two lowest doses, then $399 per month (28-day supply) when filled through NovoCare® Pharmacy. This price on the initial doses is currently valid through March 2026." That was read on August 9, 2026. The identical sentence, with the identical date, is on the Ozempic page too. Treat the $199 as something to confirm with the pharmacy before you count on it, and budget the $399.

What about follow-up visits?

This is the gap in PlushCare's otherwise good disclosure. Its own copy says its physicians "monitor your progress through routine follow-up appointments", and its GLP-1 page tells you to raise an insurance denial "at your follow-up appointment" — but no follow-up price is published anywhere on the site. The only visit prices given are "Initial visits are $129" on the price box, "$129 for a visit" on the how-it-works page, and $169 for a therapy appointment. Every page and the whole booking flow were searched. That means the figures in this review are floors: they cover one initial visit and the ongoing membership, and anything your doctor asks you to come back for is unpriced until you’re already inside.

Do I actually have to pay the membership?

PlushCare's two documents give opposite answers. The Terms of Use are in capitals: "PAYMENT OF THE MEMBERSHIP FEE TO PLUSHCARE IS NOT A REQUIREMENT TO RECEIVE MEDICAL SERVICES AT PLUSHCARE." The how-it-works page says: "Access to the PlushCare service is paid through your monthly/annual membership fee and is only valid if you stay an active member." Both are live, and they can’t both be true. The rows in this review include the $19.99 because that’s how the signup flow presents the price. If you would rather not pay it, the Terms are the document to quote.

Why does a year cost more than twelve times the monthly price?

Because the medication doesn’t bill monthly. Every NovoCare figure PlushCare quotes is written "per month (28-day supply)", and 28 days is thirteen fills a year rather than twelve. Wegovy at $399 is therefore about $5,187 a year, not the $4,788 that "$399 per month" implies — a difference of roughly $400 that nothing on the page draws attention to. PlushCare's own $19.99 membership does bill on a calendar month, so the annual figure on this page is a few dollars generous to it; the drug is where the money is, and the drug is on a 28-day clock.

Does PlushCare serve my state?

Everywhere, including Washington, D.C. That comes from PlushCare's own booking flow rather than a claim on a marketing page: the state gate, expanded via its "View all states" control, lists fifty-one entries — every state plus the District of Columbia by name. The gate is strict for a reason PlushCare explains, which is that its doctors are licensed individually by state. You must be physically in the state you selected during the appointment, and the signup flow warns that if you’re not, "standard cancellation fees will apply" — $75 on PlushCare's published schedule.

Has the FDA written to PlushCare?

No. The live warning-letter index was queried on August 9, 2026 as "plushcare" (0 results), "plush care" (0), and the deliberately broad "plush" (2), plus both corporate names PlushCare publishes in its own Terms — "accolade" (1) and "fabric health" (36). Every query returned its full result set with no truncation, and every row was re-matched against the company column by string test: not one contains plush, accolade or fabric. They are bakeries, seafood processors, device makers and supplement firms that happened to share a word with the search. Nothing is filed on a resemblance.

What are the fees nobody mentions?

Three of them, all $75, all triggered by a two-hour window. Cancel within two hours of your appointment and it’s a $75 late cancellation fee. Reschedule within two hours and it’s a $75 late rescheduling fee. Fail to show up and it’s a $75 no-show fee. In each case PlushCare says you won’t also be charged the appointment price, so $75 is a cap rather than an addition — but on a $129 visit it’s well over half. The state gate carries the same exposure: if you’re not physically in the state you selected when the visit begins, the appointment can’t go ahead and the cancellation fee applies.

Sources

Every price above was checked against PlushCare’s own pricing page — never a third-party aggregator:

Show every source link

Medical disclaimer: This content is for general educational purposes only and is not medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always consult a licensed healthcare professional before starting, stopping, or changing any treatment.