What does medical weight loss cost? A clear overview of GLP-1 costs

Costs per treatment programme: medication and supervision

At Qlinic you pay one fixed programme price per month, including medication, prescription and home delivery. In addition, you pay a one-off €400 for the intake and ongoing supervision by our doctor. That way you know exactly what the total is beforehand, without separate consultation fees afterwards.

All programmes: plus a one-off €400 for supervision. Prices as stated on qlinic.nl.

Included in every programme:

• intake and consultation with our own BIG-registered doctor (the BIG register is the Dutch register of healthcare professionals)
• prescription and discreet home delivery through registered Dutch pharmacies
• follow-up every 4 weeks by the doctor personally, not by a call centre
• quick and easy contact, including for side effects
• pausing or stopping in consultation with the doctor

A worked example makes it concrete. If you choose the programme with semaglutide (Ozempic) per 3 months, you pay €699 plus a one-off €400 for supervision: €1,099 for your first 3 months. After that, each 3-month period costs €699. For the programme with tirzepatide (Mounjaro), that is €1,399 for the first 3 months and €999 per period after that. That way you can work out in advance what six months or a year will cost you, without surprises afterwards.

When comparing costs, look carefully at what is and isn't included. Some providers only mention the price of the medication and charge separately for supervision, consultations or shipping. Others do mention supervision costs, but don't put an amount on them. A low "from" price therefore says little about what you actually pay per month. So always ask for the total price per month, including consultations and shipping.

Weight loss with injections: what are you paying for?

With weight loss injections you pay for three things: the medicine itself, the pharmacy that supplies it safely and the medical supervision around it. If you only look at the price of the injection pen, you are missing two thirds of the story.

GLP-1 is a natural hormone that tells your brain you are full. Medicines such as Mounjaro, Ozempic and Saxenda mimic that hormone: your hunger decreases and you feel full sooner, so eating less comes naturally. You inject Mounjaro and Ozempic once a week with an injection pen, Saxenda daily. You can read exactly how that works in our explanation of GLP-1.

The dose partly determines your costs. Every treatment starts low and is increased step by step, so your body can adjust and side effects stay limited. A higher dose means a more expensive injection pen. With a fixed programme price, as with us, you notice nothing of this: your monthly amount stays the same, regardless of the dose the doctor prescribes.

The bare medicine prices are public. The cost overview of GLP-1 agonists from Zorginstituut Nederland (the Dutch National Health Care Institute) shows the official pharmacy price per medicine and dose, excluding dispensing fees and consultations. Useful as a reference, but bear in mind that as a private individual you never pay just that bare price: a prescription, dispensing and medical monitoring always come on top.

Why do you pay more at a clinic than that bare pharmacy price? Because GLP-1 medication requires a prescription, and for good reason. A doctor has to assess whether the medicine suits you, build up the dose step by step and intervene if there are side effects. That is why medical weight loss with injections always comes with medical supervision, not a loose box from a webshop.

Is medical weight loss covered by your health insurer?

In most cases it is not: if you use GLP-1 medication to lose weight, you almost always pay for it yourself. Basic health insurance only covers these medicines in specific situations.

The main points of coverage:

• With type 2 diabetes, basic health insurance covers GLP-1 medicines such as Ozempic under certain conditions, on prescription from your own doctor.
• For weight loss without diabetes, only liraglutide (Saxenda) is covered, and only for severe overweight in combination with a recognised lifestyle programme and additional medical conditions.
• Wegovy and Mounjaro are currently not covered by basic health insurance for weight loss.

Two practical points if you do fall under a coverage scheme. Covered medicines count towards your deductible (eigen risico), so it is rarely completely free. And the conditions change regularly; so always check your own policy or ask your health insurer before you count on anything.

If you fall outside those narrow coverage rules, paying yourself is the reality. That is exactly when a transparent total price matters: you don't want to discover halfway through your programme that consultation or shipping costs come on top. When your situation does qualify for coverage is set out in our article on weight loss medication covered by insurance.

No coverage, but done with diets that don't work? At Qlinic you know exactly what you will pay beforehand: one fixed programme price, including doctor and home delivery. Take the eligibility check →

When are you eligible for medical weight loss?

That depends on the route you choose: via the GP strict criteria apply, while at a specialised clinic a doctor assesses your situation personally. In both cases a doctor decides, never you yourself or a webshop.

In regular healthcare, medication only comes into the picture late. According to Thuisarts.nl (the Dutch GP association's patient website), the GP (huisarts) may consider medicines for obesity from a BMI of 40, or from 35 with a condition such as osteoarthritis or heart problems, and only after a lifestyle programme of at least a year has not helped enough. Moreover, not every GP prescribes these medicines.

At Qlinic, our doctor assesses your situation personally. Whether medical weight loss is medically suitable for you depends on, among other things, your health, the medicines you take and your BMI; the doctor assesses this during the intake. The eligibility check quickly gives you a first indication beforehand.

Many of our clients recognise themselves in the same story: years of trying all sorts of things, and still the kilos stay on. Women going through the menopause, whose weight sticks despite a healthy lifestyle, also often come to us. For them it is usually not a matter of willpower but of biology, and that is exactly where GLP-1 medication can make the difference: less hunger makes sticking with it achievable.

How quickly will you see results from your investment?

Most people notice the first effect after about 4 weeks: hunger decreases, so eating less is no longer a daily battle. That is exactly what the programme does: above all it takes away the feeling of hunger, giving you room to change your eating pattern for good.

The scientific results are well supported. In the SURMOUNT-1 trial, published in The New England Journal of Medicine, participants on tirzepatide lost an average of 15 to 21% of their body weight over 72 weeks, depending on the dose. Research on semaglutide shows similar, slightly lower percentages.

It is also true that these are averages from research, not a guarantee. How much weight you lose varies per person and is linked to your lifestyle alongside the medication. Researchers also see that weight can return after stopping if eating and exercise patterns have not changed. So see the medication as support to change your lifestyle for good, not as a replacement for it.

And like any medicine, GLP-1 medication has side effects: most often gastrointestinal symptoms such as nausea, usually mild to moderate and mainly in the build-up phase. That is exactly why building up the dose under a doctor's supervision is not a luxury, but a necessity.

Why supervision by a BIG-registered doctor?

Because your investment is only worth something if the programme is safe and sustainable. GLP-1 medication requires a prescription: the right dose, monitoring for side effects and assessing whether the medicine suits your health belong with a doctor.

That is why at Qlinic you work with your own BIG-registered doctor. No changing practitioners or anonymous chat service, but one doctor who knows your file and does the follow-up personally every 4 weeks. If you run into questions or side effects in between, there is quick and easy contact. Your medication is delivered discreetly to your home through registered Dutch pharmacies. If you want to pause or stop, you simply discuss it with your doctor.

This is what it looks like in practice:

1. Consultation and intake: our doctor goes through your health, medication and goals and assesses whether medical weight loss is right for you.
2. Prescription and home delivery: if it is a good fit, the doctor writes the prescription and a registered Dutch pharmacy delivers the medication discreetly to your home.
3. Weight loss with support: every 4 weeks the doctor discusses your progress, adjusts the dose where necessary and answers your questions.

We are deliberately small-scale. So far we have helped around 50 clients, who rate us 5.0 on Google based on more than 20 reviews. There will always be somewhere cheaper. But with a medicine that affects your body, the real question is not what the cheapest pen costs, but who is keeping an eye on you.

Want to know whether medical weight loss is right for you? Complete the eligibility check and quickly see whether a programme with our doctor suits your situation. Take the eligibility check →

Frequently asked questions about GLP-1 costs

Which GLP-1 medicines are covered?

With type 2 diabetes, basic health insurance covers GLP-1 medicines such as Ozempic under certain conditions. For weight loss without diabetes, only liraglutide (Saxenda) is covered, exclusively for severe overweight in combination with a lifestyle programme and additional conditions. Wegovy and Mounjaro are currently not covered for weight loss.

How quickly can you lose weight with GLP-1?

You usually notice the first effect after about 4 weeks: your hunger decreases. In research, participants on tirzepatide lost an average of 15 to 21% of their body weight over 72 weeks. How much and how fast you lose weight varies per person and also depends on your lifestyle.

How do you become eligible for GLP-1?

Always through a doctor, because GLP-1 medication requires a prescription. Via the GP, strict criteria apply: a BMI from 40, or from 35 with an additional condition, after at least a year of a lifestyle programme. At Qlinic, our doctor assesses during the intake whether medical weight loss is right for you; the eligibility check quickly gives you a first indication beforehand.

Is Ozempic the same as GLP-1?

No. GLP-1 is a natural hormone and at the same time the collective name for the group of medicines that mimic that hormone. Ozempic is a brand name with the active ingredient semaglutide. Other GLP-1 medicines are Wegovy (also semaglutide), Saxenda (liraglutide) and Mounjaro (tirzepatide, which also acts on a second hormone).

Can you buy GLP-1 without a prescription?

No, not legally: all GLP-1 medication requires a prescription. The CBG and the IGJ warn (the Dutch Medicines Evaluation Board and the Dutch Health and Youth Care Inspectorate) about illegal online offers of weight loss medication: the origin, dose and safety of those products are unknown. So never buy without a prescription; the safe route always runs through a doctor and a registered pharmacy.

Are there hidden costs at Qlinic?

No. You pay the fixed programme price per month (or per 3 months) and a one-off €400 for supervision. That covers everything: consultations with the doctor, prescription, home delivery and the follow-up every 4 weeks. If you want to pause or stop, you can discuss it with the doctor at any time.