Costco offering members access to weight loss program

Sesame has unveiled an expansion of its partnership with Costco to offer specialized health care for weight loss with pricing exclusively for Costco members, per a USA Today report. 

According to the Centers for Disease Control, 42% of U.S. adults are obese (defined as a body mass index above 30), comprising 108 million Americans.  However, with recent medical advances in exercise and nutrition, and the development of exciting, effective new drug therapies, clinically-based weight loss has never been better positioned to make a significant difference to the problem, at scale, the company noted.

“We are witnessing important innovations in medically-supervised weight loss,” said David Goldhill, Sesame‘s co-founder and CEO, and a serial author on American healthcare reform.  “Sesame’s unique model allows us not only to make high-quality specialty care like weight loss much more accessible and affordable, but also to empower clinicians to create care plans that are specific to — and appropriate for — each individual patient.”

[Read more: Costco offering members discounted outpatient medical care services]

When Costco Members sign up for the weight loss program within the Sesame marketplace at the exclusive discount price of $179, they will:

• Receive three months of clinical consultation;
• Select the clinician of their choice;
• Have an initial live video consultation with the clinician;
• Be able to message their clinician outside of scheduled appointments;
• Receive a nutritional guide and recommendations; and 
• Be guided to an individualized, clinically-appropriate treatment program.

Sesame clinicians will begin by collecting a detailed medical history from each patient, and help patients with appropriate diet, exercise and lifestyle modifications. When clinically appropriate, the clinician may pair these interventions with medications, subject to their availability. 

Individual patient eligibility for drug therapies available through Sesame are determined by the assessment of the appropriateness of each therapy by the Sesame-listed provider and are subject to availability.

The Sesame marketplace comprises primary care doctors and nurse practitioners, more than 40 health specialties, labs and imaging centers and includes virtual and in-person care.

Costco and Sesame announced a partnership in September 2023 to deliver exclusive, low pricing from Sesame’s marketplace to Costco Members for core healthcare services like virtual primary care (starting at just $29 for Costco Members), health checkups (including lab work, just $72), and virtual mental health therapy (just $79).

This weight loss program represents an expansion of the partnership, which thus far has garnered a Net Promoter Score of 82 – considered a “world class” score – from Costco Members utilizing Sesame.