TennCare and GLP-1s
Most of the states on this site took something away in 2026. Tennessee did the opposite: its obesity GLP-1s went onto the drug list, and both Wegovy and Zepbound are preferred there. The trade is a shorter leash — three months to start, one product at a time, and a renewal measured in pounds.
What changed, and what the document says
The class went on the list
CoveredCriteria changed and the drugs joined the preferred drug list on the same date.
“Prior authorization criteria changes are expected to be effective January 1, 2026, for agents in the GLP-1 Weight Management Therapy class as they are added to the Preferred Drug List (PDL).”
State of Tennessee Division of TennCare — 12/01/2025
Ninety days to start
Conditions applyThe first approval used to run longer. From January it runs three months.
“Beginning January 1, 2026, initial authorizations for GLP-1 Weight Management Therapy agents will change to a 3-month prior authorization (PA) approval duration.”
State of Tennessee Division of TennCare — 12/01/2025
One at a time, enforced at the counter
Conditions applyThis is a hard edit at the pharmacy, not a policy sentence. The refill threshold is what lets you switch products.
“Members may refill a GLP-1 receptor agonist after meeting the 85% refill threshold, including when changing between products or strengths.”
State of Tennessee Division of TennCare — 12/01/2025
Three exceptions a year
ContextTitration and product changes get an override, and the allowance is counted.
“A member may receive up to 3 overrides per rolling calendar year.”
State of Tennessee Division of TennCare — 12/01/2025
Wegovy from age 12
CoveredThe floor is the label's, and for teenagers the test is a BMI percentile rather than a number.
“Patient must be the labeled age minimum (Wegovy ≥ 12)”
State of Tennessee Division of TennCare — September 1, 2026
Zepbound from age 18
ContextSix years apart, on the same criteria page, for the same use.
“Patient must be the labeled age minimum (Zepbound ≥ 18)”
State of Tennessee Division of TennCare — September 1, 2026
Obesity is the stated purpose
CoveredNo diabetes diagnosis, no cardiovascular event, no sleep study. This pathway is about weight and says so.
“Treatment is for the management of obesity;”
State of Tennessee Division of TennCare — September 1, 2026
Renewal turns on 5 percent
Conditions applyAdults have to show it. Teenagers are measured against BMI-for-age instead.
“For patients > 18 years of age, submission of medical records (e.g., chart notes) documenting a weight loss of ≥ 5% of baseline body weight”
State of Tennessee Division of TennCare — September 1, 2026
If the renewal fails
ContextYou don't stop that week. There's a month written into the criteria to come off the dose.
“Patients not meeting the below renewal criteria may be approved for up to one month to allow for titration off medication”
State of Tennessee Division of TennCare — September 1, 2026
Which of these companies serve Tennessee?
Of the 159 companies we grade, 19 publish a list of the states they are licensed in. We checked 137 more and found no such list on any page we read; 3 we have not checked either way.
11 of those lists name Tennessee: Gala Health, Care Bare Rx, Vita Bella, TelePeptide, Levity, WePeptideRx, Ways2Well, TeleClinic, Tyde Wellness, Willow and VevaRx. 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.
Sources
Each document below was fetched and read on the date shown beside it, which is the date printed on the document — not always the date in its web address. All of them were read in September 2026, the same session as the rest of this page.
- TennCare Pharmacy Program provider notice — GLP-1 Receptor Agonists; Obesity Management Agents Update — State of Tennessee Division of TennCare. the date printed in the top-left corner of both pages: 12/01/2025.
- Clinical Criteria, Step Therapy, and Quantity Limits for TennCare Preferred Drug List (PDL) — State of Tennessee Division of TennCare. the third line of page one, repeated in the running head of all 600-plus pages: September 1, 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
None of the above changes what a telehealth seller charges you. 1 of these 3 bills a fee every month on top of the medication, so the figure is the two added together. The other 2 say in the cell what we could capture and what we could not. Every number was read on the seller's own page; the adding up is ours.
LillyDirect, NovoCare Pharmacy and Hims pay us nothing — none of the 3 below does. The buttons run through our own redirect so we can count the click, and counting is all they do.
| Grade | Provider | What a month actually costs | The one thing that matters here | Go to the provider |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BMinor gap | LillyDirect | $149a month, medication onlybrand Foundayo 0.8 mg and 2.5 mgMedication only. We captured no separate monthly charge on the pages we read, which is what we found rather than proof that nothing else is billed.The 2.5 mg rate is marked as temporarily reduced through December 31, 2026.The lowest of the 8 medication prices we captured here | The maker of the tirzepatide TennCare just made preferred, selling it direct at $299, $399 and $449 by dose, with Foundayo at $149, $199 and $299. | See its prices at LillyDirect (opens in a new tab)Pays us nothing |
| BMinor gap | NovoCare Pharmacy | $149a month, medication onlybrand Wegovy tablets 1.5 mgMedication only. We captured no separate monthly charge on the pages we read, which is what we found rather than proof that nothing else is billed.Self-pay. One month is one bottle of 30 tablets.The lowest of the 9 medication prices we captured here | Novo's own counter for the semaglutide side. The $199 Wegovy pen is a two-fill introductory rate for new patients and becomes $349 after that. | See its prices at NovoCare Pharmacy (opens in a new tab)Pays us nothing |
| CCaveat | Hims | $298a month, everything billed monthly$149 brand semaglutide + $149 a month for membershipThe Weight Loss Membership itself. It runs $39 the first month and renews at $149 a month, is billed separately from the medication, and Hims says medication is not available without it.This is the medication price for the Wegovy oral pill. Hims states on the same page that the figure covers medication only and that an active Weight Loss Membership, billed separately, is required.The lowest of the 4 medication prices we captured here | Worth reading for the footnote rather than the headline: the $149 is medication only, and the required membership renews at $149 on top of it. | See its prices at Hims (opens in a new tab)Pays us nothing |
Our grading method and how we verify a price explain what those letters mean and where these figures came from.