State guide

Arkansas Medicaid and GLP-1s

Published by Telehealth Graded · Updated October 2026

The takeaway

Arkansas Medicaid covers Zepbound only for sleep apnea, after a sleep study, a specialist, a weight program and six months of CPAP that didn't work.

Reading the state documents

Arkansas says in plain words that wanting to lose weight is not a reason it will pay for a drug. It will pay for Zepbound — two strengths, one diagnosis, and a gate that takes half a year to walk through. You need a polysomnography result, a specialist who ran it, a documented weight management program behind you, and a CPAP record showing the machine did not fix the problem. A year later the program pulled Wegovy tablets into the same criteria document and repeated the refusal in the same paragraph.

documents cited

sourced facts

primary sources

What changed, and what the document says

The rule, in one sentence
Not covered
This is the program's own framing, printed directly above the criteria it then goes on to list.
“Arkansas Medicaid does not cover medications solely for weight loss.”
Arkansas Department of Human Services, Division of Medical Services Pharmacy Program — May 14, 2025
What the tirzepatide criteria are actually for
Conditions apply
The scope is stated before the checklist, so nothing in the checklist can be read as a weight benefit.
“The criteria listed below pertain to the obstructive sleep apnea indication only.”
Arkansas Department of Human Services, Division of Medical Services Pharmacy Program — May 14, 2025
The CPAP requirement
Conditions apply
The machine has to have been tried, used nightly, and documented as not working — for half a year — before the drug is on the table.
“Beneficiary must have at least a 6-month history of compliant positive airway pressure (CPAP or BiPAP) use without a decrease in AHI below 15 events per hour.”
Arkansas Department of Human Services, Division of Medical Services Pharmacy Program — May 14, 2025
A listed reason to refuse
Not covered
The purpose of the request is itself one of the bullet points that stops an approval.
“Requested for weight loss only”
Arkansas Department of Human Services, Division of Medical Services Pharmacy Program — May 14, 2025
How much, and for how long
Context
The quantity edit and the authorization window are both short, so this is a benefit that gets re-examined twice a year.
“If approved, the PA will be approved for 6 months”
Arkansas Department of Human Services, Division of Medical Services Pharmacy Program — May 14, 2025
The 2026 change
Conditions apply
When the oral form arrived, it was filed under the heart-risk criteria rather than given criteria of its own.
“Wegovy tablets have been added to the Wegovy injection page in the PA criteria document concerning the MACE indication. The tablets will follow the same criteria as the injection.”
Arkansas Department of Human Services, Division of Medical Services Pharmacy Program — May 13, 2026
And the refusal, a year on
Not covered
The newer memorandum restates the exclusion in the same breath as the addition, which is how you can tell the earlier one still stands.
“The Arkansas Medicaid Pharmacy Program does not cover medications for weight loss.”
Arkansas Department of Human Services, Division of Medical Services Pharmacy Program — May 13, 2026

Telehealth in Arkansas

Gala HealthPartner
CCaveat
$1,299
a month, medication only
brand Ozempic (semaglutide), cash price
Additional fees not verified.
Price details
- No separate monthly fee was found in the pages reviewed. Other charges may apply.
- Brand-name Ozempic, quoted as a cash price. Gala says insurance may reduce it and does not publish what it would reduce it to.
See Gala Health pricing (opens in a new tab)

Some providers pay us a commission when you sign up through our links, at no extra cost to you.

Which of these companies serve Arkansas?

Of the 387 companies we grade, 34 publish a list of the states they are licensed in. We checked 251 more and found no such list on any page we read; 102 we have not checked either way.

13 of those lists name Arkansas: Gala Health, Care Bare Rx, TelePeptide, Wisp, WePeptideRx, Ways2Well, TeleClinic, Tyde Wellness, Trimi, Rx.com, Mojoon, Peak Wellness, and Allara Health. That is a licensure claim each company makes about itself, not something we checked with a state board.

A published list is a starting point, not a guarantee. If availability decides your choice, ask before you pay and get the answer in writing.

Coverage decides what you pay before cash does. See how state Medicaid programs cover GLP-1s and what a prior-authorization denial turns on.

Sources

Source dates below are the dates printed on the documents.

Memorandum — AR Medicaid Prior Authorization Edits approved at the AR Medicaid DUR Board April 16, 2025 meeting — Arkansas Department of Human Services, Division of Medical Services Pharmacy Program. DATE line at the head of the memorandum: May 14, 2025.
Provider Memorandum — AR Medicaid Prior Authorization Edits and Preferred Drug List updates approved at the AR Medicaid DUR Board April 15, 2026 meeting — Arkansas Department of Human Services, Division of Medical Services Pharmacy Program. DATE line at the head of the memorandum: May 13, 2026.

Nothing on this page is medical advice, and nobody here is a clinician. Coverage rules change; check the linked document before you rely on it.

If you're paying cash instead

These providers list Arkansas in their service area. Partners appear first. These are medication prices, not confirmed monthly totals. Other fees may apply; check each provider’s terms before choosing.

Some providers pay us a commission when you sign up through our links, at no extra cost to you.

Provider	Monthly price and terms	Go to the provider
Gala HealthCCaveat	$1,299 a month, medication only brand Ozempic (semaglutide), cash price Brand-name Ozempic, quoted as a cash price. Gala says insurance may reduce it and does not publish what it would reduce it to. Additional fees not verified. Price details No separate monthly fee was found in the pages reviewed. Other charges may apply.	View pricing at Gala Health (opens in a new tab)Partner
TeleClinicAVerified	$79 a month, medication only compounded semaglutide Billed monthly, same price at every vial strength, and the product page says the rate is locked for the life of the membership. Additional fees not verified. Price details No separate monthly fee was found in the pages reviewed. Other charges may apply.	View pricing at TeleClinic (opens in a new tab)
TelePeptideAVerified	$229 a month, medication only compounded semaglutide Dissolvable tablet, month-to-month. TelePeptide states on the same page that it does not sell branded GLP-1s. Additional fees not verified. Price details No separate monthly fee was found in the pages reviewed. Other charges may apply.	View pricing at TelePeptide (opens in a new tab)
Care Bare RxBMinor gap	$199 a month, medication only compounded tirzepatide Both compounded drugs are quoted at the same starting figure, on one line that also puts brand names on them. Additional fees not verified. Price details No separate monthly fee was found in the pages reviewed. Other charges may apply.	View pricing at Care Bare Rx (opens in a new tab)
Peak WellnessBMinor gap	$249 a month, medication only compounded semaglutide $179 covers the first month only, and the page says so on the same line. Prepaying drops it: $597 once for three months, which is $199 a month, or $990 once for six, which is $165 — but a prepaid plan is not refundable. The price is the same at every dose. Additional fees not verified. Price details No separate monthly fee was found in the pages reviewed. Other charges may apply.	View pricing at Peak Wellness (opens in a new tab)
Rx.comBMinor gap	$175 a month, medication only compounded semaglutide One month, all-in: the visit, the medication at any dose, supplies and cold shipping. The $146 headline is the six-month plan, paid as $875 in one payment. Additional fees not verified. Price details No separate monthly fee was found in the pages reviewed. Other charges may apply.	View pricing at Rx.com (opens in a new tab)
TrimiBMinor gap	$175 a month, medication only compounded semaglutide, billed monthly Month to month. $99 is the twelve-month rate, billed $1,188 upfront, and it's the only semaglutide figure on the homepage. Medication, supplies, provider access and shipping included. Monthly renewal is automatic; payment precedes provider review. Additional fees not verified. Price details No separate monthly fee was found in the pages reviewed. Other charges may apply.	View pricing at Trimi (opens in a new tab)
MojoonCCaveat	$390 a month, medication only compounded tirzepatide Advertised at $1,000. The bottom of a $390–$490 range. Unlike the semaglutide page, this one never says what moves the price across that range. Additional fees not verified. Price details No separate monthly fee was found in the pages reviewed. Other charges may apply.	View pricing at Mojoon (opens in a new tab)

Our grading method and how we verify a price explain what those letters mean and where these figures came from.

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