Doctor-guided GLP⁠-⁠1 care for Alabama

Yes. You complete a short medical intake online, and a doctor licensed in Alabama personally reviews it — no video visit needed (you can book one if you want it). If treatment is appropriate for you, your prescription is filled by a licensed US pharmacy and shipped overnight to your door anywhere in Alabama. Alabama asks for an in-person visit where telehealth care is not resolving a problem: if a doctor or practice treats you by telehealth more than four times in 12 months for the same condition without resolution, the doctor must see you in person, or refer you to a doctor who can, within a reasonable time of no more than 12 months. Separately, the Board of Medical Examiners' weight-loss rule (Ala. Admin. Code r. 540-X-17-.05(6)(a)) allows up to five refills of a non-controlled weight-loss medication, within six months, after an initial prescription and one follow-up visit for an in-person re-evaluation.

Semaglutide injections start at $135/month and tirzepatide at $169/month. The price includes the medication itself, your doctor visits, ongoing medical supervision, and overnight refrigerated shipping. There is no membership fee, and the intake and your doctor's first review or visit are free: you pay nothing until you choose to start medication.

Not at this time. For compounded medicine we charge one all-in monthly price with the medication, doctor visits, and shipping included, so there is no prior authorization. Brand-name care is $28/month for the doctor, and you buy the medicine from the maker's pharmacy. HSA and FSA cards are accepted at checkout, and we provide itemized receipts and a Letter of Medical Necessity on request.

Compounded semaglutide (the active ingredient in Wegovy and Ozempic) and compounded tirzepatide (the active ingredient in Zepbound and Mounjaro), each as a weekly injection. Tirzepatide and semaglutide injections may contain nothing added or a B vitamin. Your doctor recommends the medication, form, and dose that fit your health history and goals.

James Simmons, MD, our medical director, is licensed in Alabama and board-certified in emergency medicine (ABEM). He personally reviews your intake, meets with you over video when either of you wants a visit, and supervises your treatment over time.

All of Alabama. Care starts online and medication ships overnight statewide, so care is the same whether you're in Birmingham, Montgomery, Huntsville, Mobile, or a town without a weight-management clinic nearby.

Not through Gentle Health. We do not bill Medicare, Alabama Medicaid or private insurance, and everyone pays the prices shown on this page. To pursue coverage instead you would need a provider who accepts your plan and prescribes a medication it covers — the FDA-approved brands, not a compounded preparation. Where each programme stands:

1. Alabama Medicaid: Not covered for weight loss. The drug list says so by name: Wegovy is non-covered for weight reduction, and Zepbound is non-covered unless it is prescribed for obstructive sleep apnea. A separate rule excludes weight-loss agents generally.
2. Medicare: Coverage may still be possible through the federal GLP-1 Bridge: a $50 copay for Wegovy, Zepbound or Foundayo through December 31, 2027, for Part D enrollees with a BMI of 35 or more, or lower with specific heart, stroke, artery, blood-pressure, kidney or prediabetes conditions. Type 2 diabetes, moderate-to-severe sleep apnea and MASH are covered through regular Part D instead.

No. Ala. Code § 34-24-703(d) states that the physician-patient relationship may be formed without a prior in-person examination, and § 34-24-704 confines the rule requiring a synchronous visit plus an in-person encounter within the preceding 12 months to controlled substances — which GLP-1s are not.

Only with an Alabama nonresident pharmacy permit, and Alabama attaches real weight to it: shipping without one carries a penalty of four thousand dollars per violation.