Gentle Health reviews

What does Gentle Health charge for compounded semaglutide and tirzepatide?

Gentle Health prices each compounded medication in three dose bands. Each band has one monthly price with the medication included, and every plan is billed monthly with the consultation included.

Compounded semaglutide is $135 a month for the starting band of 0.24 to 0.48 mg a week, $159 for 0.48 to 1.2 mg, and $199 for 1.2 to 2.4 mg.

Compounded tirzepatide is $169 a month for the starting band of 2.5 to 5 mg a week, $219 for 5 to 10 mg, and $269 for 10 to 15 mg.

Each price includes the doctor, unlimited messaging and video visits, injection supplies and refrigerated shipping. There is no membership fee, no sales tax is added, and the price is the same in every state served.

Does the price change with the dose?

Yes, and the price follows the band you are prescribed. Gentle Health's semaglutide page gives the range as running from the starting band to the high-dose band, depending on your weekly dose, and its tirzepatide page does the same.

A change of medication, dose or monthly price does not change your billing until you have accepted the new terms. After you accept, there is no same-day charge: the next bill, on your usual billing date, is the new monthly amount, and part-months are never charged or credited for a change.

Which states does Gentle Health serve?

Gentle Health names each state it serves on its home page, and the list includes D.C. Every prescription comes from one physician who holds an individual license in each state served.

The price does not vary by state, but the route does. Arkansas, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi and West Virginia require a video visit first.

Why is there a two-month minimum?

Compounded plans carry a two-month minimum commitment: after your first payment, you must make one more monthly payment before you can cancel. After each refill, you can cancel 30 days after the date you requested it.

Gentle Health gives a reason. Compounded medication ships two or more months at a time, depending on dose, to save on refrigerated overnight shipping costs, so you are billed when you start and again one month later.

Billing then continues monthly until you cancel. That includes a month in which no medication is sent because you have not requested a refill. Read the minimum as two payments at least, and then a monthly charge that does not pause.

When is the first charge, and what is free?

The intake and the doctor's first review or visit are free, and the first charge for compounded medication comes when you request your first shipment. If you are not eligible, your doctor decides treatment is not appropriate, or you cancel before treatment starts, there is no charge and nothing to refund.

Ongoing treatment is a recurring monthly subscription. Each later payment comes on the same date every month as the first, or on the last day of a shorter month.

What happens if you cancel?

Cancelling takes effect immediately and stops future billing, but the remainder of the current billing month is not refunded. Charges already made, including the current month's, are neither prorated nor refunded.

There is no pause. To start again, you request medication again, and that begins a new subscription with a new charge rather than resuming the old one.

Once the minimum is met, cancelling near the end of a billing month wastes less of it than cancelling near the start.

When do you get money back?

Before treatment starts, nothing is charged, so there is nothing to refund. After an order is sent to the pharmacy, refunds are handled on a case-by-case basis.

That is not a fixed rule, so ask what Gentle Health would do in your situation before you accept treatment, and keep its answer.

What does the brand-name route cost with Gentle Health?

The brand-name route charges $28 a month for the doctor's care only. The subscription starts when your doctor writes the prescription, before you buy the medicine.

The medicine is bought separately from LillyDirect for Zepbound or Foundayo, or from NovoCare for Wegovy, at the maker's self-pay price, which can change, and Gentle Health does not set or sell it. Zepbound adds LillyDirect's monthly supply kit.

There is no minimum commitment, and you can cancel any time. That makes this route a low monthly fee plus a second bill from someone else, so the figure here is not the cost of treatment. Price the medicine with the maker before you decide.

Which pharmacies fill the compounded orders, and how fast?

Compounded orders are filled by one of three licensed US pharmacies: AllMedRx Specialty Pharmacy, Premium Compounding Pharmacy or Absolute Pharmacy, depending on the medication and where you live.

Once the doctor prescribes, the order is typically filled and shipped within 5 to 7 business days and arrives overnight in refrigerated packaging. Shipping is included in the monthly price.

Does insurance pay for any of it, and can you use an HSA or FSA?

No. Gentle Health does not bill insurance, and its pricing is self-pay. It says it designed the pricing to avoid surprise bills, prior authorizations and insurance paperwork, and it accepts HSA and FSA cards.

On the brand-name route, LillyDirect may take insurance for some Lilly medicines unless the plan needs a prior authorization, which Gentle Health does not file. NovoCare home delivery is self-pay only.

What we'd do first

We would start by deciding which route you are pricing, because the two are not comparable. The compounded plans are all-in figures with a two-month floor. The brand-name route is a doctor's fee with the medicine billed elsewhere.

If you take a compounded plan, budget for two monthly payments at your band, because you cannot cancel before the second one, and remember that billing does not pause between refills. If you take the brand-name route, add the maker's self-pay price to the doctor's fee before you compare it with anything.