Will insurance cover Wegovy or Mounjaro in the UK?
Will insurance cover Wegovy or Mounjaro in the UK?
Injectable medications like Wegovy and Mounjaro have changed the game when it comes to weight loss.
These treatments belong to a class of drugs called GLP-1 receptor agonists, which help regulate appetite and blood sugar. Large clinical trials show Wegovy (semaglutide) typically helps people lose around 15% of their body weight while Mounjaro (tirzepatide) results in an average 21% reduction.
The evidence is clear. Both drugs are powerful tools for managing obesity and its health risks. However, NHS availability is still limited. That's why most people get their medication from private healthcare providers like SemaPen.
That begs the question: can you get Wegovy or Mounjaro as part of your health insurance in the UK?
Let's find out.
How health insurance usually works in the UK
Private health insurance in the UK is structured differently from many systems abroad. Its main purpose is to provide faster access to hospital care, diagnostic tests or surgery. Long-term prescriptions are rarely included, particularly if the same medicines are available on the NHS.
Even the most comprehensive policies tend to put limits on prescriptions. Some policies will fund medicines administered during a hospital stay, but exclude those prescribed for everyday use at home.
That means weight loss treatment covered by insurance is still rare. Bariatric surgery may be considered in very specific situations, but prescription medicines for obesity have historically been excluded.
This reflects how obesity was understood for decades: as a lifestyle issue rather than a chronic medical condition. Although modern science has shown that obesity involves complex biology, insurers have been slow to adapt their policies.
Will insurance cover Wegovy in the UK?
The short answer: not as a core benefit with most insurers.
- In 2025, Vitality became the first major UK provider to offer member discounts (up to 20%) on GLP-1 weight-loss medicines. This isn't full cover, but it reduces the private cost.
- Bupa makes Wegovy available on a pay-as-you-go basis through its Weight Management Plan.³ This is not an insured benefit, but gives policyholders an easier access route.
- Aviva has confirmed that Wegovy and similar medicines are 'not currently a benefit' under its health plans.
- AXA Health explicitly excludes outpatient prescriptions, which rules out Wegovy.⁴
So, while some insurers are beginning to incorporate these medicines into policy, none currently reimburse the full cost. For most people, private prescribing means paying out of pocket – even if their insurance helps with related consultations or diagnostics.
What about NHS availability?
On the NHS,
Wegovy is offered under strict criteria. The treatment is currently available to:
- Adults with a BMI of 35 or above and at least one weight-related health condition, like high blood pressure or sleep apnoea
- Adults with a BMI of 30 to 34.9 with a significant obesity-related condition
As people from certain ethnic backgrounds may experience health risks at a lower BMI, this may also be taken into account. Plus, every person must also provide documented attempts to lose weight through lifestyle changes.
Even then, treatment is usually limited to a maximum of two years and provided through specialist clinics with limited capacity. For many people, this makes private prescribing the only reliable option.
What health insurance covers Mounjaro?
As with Wegovy, no health insurance providers in the UK include fully paid-for Mounjaro prescriptions in their policies.
Initially licensed for type 2 diabetes, Mounjaro was authorised by the MHRA in 2023 for weight management. NICE recommended tirzepatide for obesity in December 2024, and in 2025, NHS England began a phased rollout.
Today, Mounjaro is prescribed on the NHS only through specialist weight-management services, with priority given to patients at the highest clinical risk.
On the private side, health insurers haven't yet adjusted their policies to reflect the availability and effectiveness of this new generation of medications. No major UK provider lists Mounjaro as a core insured benefit. Vitality extends its discount scheme to Mounjaro, and Bupa offers private prescriptions.⁴ However, patients are still expected to self-fund.
This paints a similar picture to the Wegovy situation: insurers may help you access these drugs, but they do not pay for the medication itself.
How the UK compares with the US
Health insurance in the UK contrasts with that in the United States, where some insurers do cover GLP-1s for obesity. Coverage there varies widely by employer plan and state, but it shows how different funding models shape access.
In the UK, where private health insurance is built to complement the NHS rather than replace it, the emphasis remains on hospital treatment and short-term interventions. Long-term prescriptions are almost always considered outside the scope of cover.
That distinction explains why weight loss treatment covered by insurance is far more common in the US than in the UK.
Why weight loss treatment is rarely covered by insurance
The lack of insurance cover for Wegovy and Mounjaro comes down to two main factors:
1. The structure of private medical insurance
UK private medical insurance is designed to protect against sudden, high-cost events such as accidents, cancer treatment or surgery. Covering long-term prescriptions would drive up premiums for all members. That's why outpatient medicines are usually excluded.
2. Historic stigma around obesity
For decades, obesity was framed as a lifestyle issue rather than a medical condition. This view shaped insurance policy, with many providers still grouping weight-loss drugs alongside 'cosmetic' or 'non-essential' treatments.
Yet the science tells a different story. In landmark trials, semaglutide users lost around 15% of their body weight on average while tirzepatide users lost about 21%. These medicines address the biology of appetite and metabolism, offering sustained results that lifestyle changes alone often cannot achieve.
Until policies catch up with the science, the gap between medical evidence and insurance cover will likely remain.
How SemaPen makes treatment accessible
While insurance doesn't cover these medicines just yet, safe and reliable options are available. At SemaPen, we provide private access to Wegovy and Mounjaro.
The process is straightforward: you simply fill out an online consultation, which is reviewed by one of our qualified clinicians. If they think treatment is appropriate and safe, we can issue you a prescription as part of one of our expert-led weight loss programmes.
We don't just leave you to it. Our benefits span from smart scale tracking and lifestyle coaching to tailored clinical supervision and personalised dose adjustment. Costs are clear from the start, and if it doesn't work for you, you can get your money back.*
Want to learn more about how we can help you achieve your weight loss goals? Explore our at-home weight loss programmes – or complete our online consultation to find out if you're eligible today.
Sources and small print
1. Wilding, J.P.H. et al. (2021) "Once-weekly semaglutide in adults with overweight or obesity"
The New England Journal of Medicine, 384(11)
https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMoa2032183
2. Jastreboff, A.M. et al. (2022) "Tirzepatide Once Weekly for the Treatment of Obesity" The New England Journal of Medicine, 387(3) https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMoa2206038
3. Bupa (2025) Weight loss treatment. Retrieved from https://www.bupa.co.uk/health/payg/weight-management-plan
4. AXA Health (2025) Outpatient health insurance. Retrieved from https://www.axahealth.co.uk/health-insurance/outpatient-option/
5. NICE (2024) Tirzepatide for managing overweight and obesity. Retrieved from https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ta1026
* Terms and conditions apply.
This article was reviewed and approved by Alice Fletcher, Lead Bariatric Dietitian, on 1 September 2025.
