Vermont Medicaid and GLP-1s
Vermont's preferred drug list rules out weight-loss drugs in its opening notes, then lists two GLP-1s further down under headings that have nothing to do with weight. Both carry a line saying the drug isn't being used for weight loss only. The board that oversees this counted 1,183 people who started a GLP-1 in ten months, and four in a thousand were on the Wegovy route.
What changed, and what the document says
The exclusion, up front
Not coveredThree categories, one sentence, in the notes that introduce the whole list.
“Drugs used for weight loss, drugs used to promote fertility, and drugs used for cosmetic purposes or hair growth are excluded from coverage under the Vermont Medicaid Pharmacy program.”
Department of Vermont Health Access, Pharmacy-Benefit Management Program — Updated: 8/1/2026
The diabetes class
ContextEvery drug in it, preferred or not, needs the diagnosis first.
“Clinical criteria for all drugs: patient has a diagnosis of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus.”
Department of Vermont Health Access, Pharmacy-Benefit Management Program — Updated: 8/1/2026
The qualifier that carries Wegovy
Conditions applyFive words, and they're what let a drug excluded on page one appear as preferred on page fifty.
“Medication is not being used for weight loss only”
Department of Vermont Health Access, Pharmacy-Benefit Management Program — Updated: 8/1/2026
And you can't have diabetes
Conditions applyThe cardiovascular route is written for people the diabetes class doesn't cover.
“Patient does not have diagnosis of diabetes”
Department of Vermont Health Access, Pharmacy-Benefit Management Program — Updated: 8/1/2026
Zepbound's number
Conditions applyA sleep study with a threshold on it, plus a BMI floor and a CPAP prescription already in hand.
“Zepbound: Patient has a diagnosis of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) demonstrated by a sleep study with an AHI (events per hour) > 15 and meets the following criteria:”
Department of Vermont Health Access, Pharmacy-Benefit Management Program — Updated: 8/1/2026
CPAP first
Conditions applyNot a suggestion in the criteria. A condition listed alongside the BMI floor.
“Has been prescribed CPAP therapy”
Department of Vermont Health Access, Pharmacy-Benefit Management Program — Updated: 8/1/2026
How many people this reaches
ContextA count from the state's own review board, over ten months of claims.
“A total of 1,183 members initiated GLP-1 RA therapy during the analysis period.”
Department of Vermont Health Access, Drug Utilization Review Board — May 14, 2026
And how the two exceptions split
Not coveredAlmost nine in ten of those starts were for diabetes. The Wegovy route accounted for four in a thousand.
“GLP 1 RA utilization was primarily driven by T2DM (87.6%), with smaller proportions for OSA treated with Zepbound (12.0%) and minimal use for MACE risk reduction with Wegovy (0.4%).”
Department of Vermont Health Access, Drug Utilization Review Board — May 14, 2026
Which of these companies serve Vermont?
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.
10 of those lists name Vermont: Gala Health, Care Bare Rx, Vita Bella, TelePeptide, Levity, Wisp, WePeptideRx, Ways2Well, TeleClinic and Tyde Wellness. 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.
- Vermont Preferred Drug List and Drugs Requiring Prior Authorization (includes clinical criteria) — Department of Vermont Health Access, Pharmacy-Benefit Management Program. printed under "Effective Version" in the top-right corner of page one: Updated: 8/1/2026.
- Drug Utilization Review Board Meeting Minutes — Department of Vermont Health Access, Drug Utilization Review Board. the meeting date printed under the title on page one: May 14, 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. None of the 3 rows below carries both a medication price and a monthly fee we could capture, so no figure here is a sum. Each cell says what its number covers and what we could not confirm, and every number was read on the seller's own page.
Alan Meds, Levity and Noom Med 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 | Alan Meds | $315a month, medication onlycompounded semaglutideMedication 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.$158/mo is Alan Meds' own "buy 1 month, get 1 month free" promotional price, published on the same line as the $315 list price — not a hidden or fine-print figure.The lowest of the 2 medication prices we captured here | One of the few that puts a real month-to-month semaglutide number on the page, which is what you need when the state route depends on a sleep study you may not have. | See its prices at Alan Meds (opens in a new tab)Pays us nothing |
| CCaveat | Levity | $1,199a month, medication onlybrand OzempicMedication 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 cheapest of the three. First month $1,149 with a code.The lowest of the 3 medication prices we captured here | Sells branded pens at $1,199 to $1,599 a month with everything folded in, and publishes a real state list — though its homepage advertises $129 to $179 in the hero above those figures. | See its prices at Levity (opens in a new tab)Pays us nothing |
| CCaveat | Noom Med | $279a month, medication onlycompounded semaglutideMedication 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.Advertised at $129The lowest of the 2 medication prices we captured here | Publishes a price table and then disagrees with itself on the same page: $129 then $279 in the table, $79 then $179 in the paragraphs above it, for one program. | See its prices at Noom Med (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.