Online weight loss clinic to offer free insurance checks

Weighing whether one’s health insurance covers popular GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy usually requires a doctor’s visit or two, lab work and a prior authorization.

Betting that insurance can cover the drugs for more than 47 percent of overweight patients who seek them, online health care company Ro offers a free service that checks insurance coverage before a doctor’s visit.

Announcing the launch of the Insurance Coverage Checker on Tuesday, Ro said it wants to take the guesswork — and expensive doctor visits — out of the equation by allowing potential patients to fill out an online form with insurance information.

“Understanding your insurance coverage and out-of-pocket costs before treatment should be table stakes in health care. Unfortunately, it is not and it is almost impossible for patients to be able to get this information without going to the doctor’s office or, even later in the journey, to their pharmacy,” said Zachariah Reitano, co-founder and CEO of Ro, in a statement.