A Louisiana overview of physician-supervised GLP-1 treatment through Astra, including local access context and the cities we cover. Every statistic on this page links to its source.
39.2% of Louisiana adults have obesity (2024 BRFSS) — 3rd-highest of the 50 states, trailing only West Virginia (41.4%) and Mississippi (40.4%) 1. Adding the 32.8% classified as overweight, 72% of Louisiana adults are overweight or obese 1. The rate has climbed from 36.2% in 2015 and 38.1% in 2020 1.
Louisiana's population was 4,597,740 as of July 1, 2024 2. What decides the cost of treatment here is a prior-authorization file that has been rewritten four times in two years.
Louisiana Medicaid does NOT cover Wegovy (semaglutide) or Zepbound (tirzepatide) for a standalone obesity or weight-loss diagnosis. Per the LA Dept. of Health's own prior-authorization criteria (Preferred Drug List effective 7/1/2026), both drugs are gated to narrow non-obesity comorbidity pathways: Wegovy is approved only for (a) established cardiovascular-disease risk reduction — age 45+, BMI 27 to <35 (or 35+ with a bariatric-surgery evaluation/referral), plus a prior MI, stroke, or symptomatic PAD with risk-factor control, or (b) biopsy/imaging-confirmed MASH (fibrosis stage F2/F3) prescribed with a GI or hepatology specialist 34. Zepbound is approved only for moderate-to-severe obstructive sleep apnea — age 18+, AHI 15+, BMI 30+, on or eligible for PAP therapy 5.
Both pathways explicitly exclude anyone with type 1 or type 2 diabetes, require a signed Treatment Agreement, and carry a point-of-sale block against combining with any other GLP-1 receptor agonist. This applies statewide: Fee-for-Service and all five MCOs (Aetna Better Health of LA, AmeriHealth Caritas LA, Healthy Blue, Humana, LA Healthcare Connections) 36. By contrast, the diabetes-formulation GLP-1s — Ozempic, Rybelsus, Mounjaro, Trulicity — are preferred, no-PA drugs on the same PDL 3. A bare high-BMI/obesity diagnosis alone qualifies for neither weight-loss drug.
This is a recently tightened, actively revised policy rather than a settled one: the Wegovy cardiovascular-disease criteria were created in July 2024, expanded in October 2024 to add the bariatric-surgery requirement, and the MASH indication was added in March 2026; the Zepbound OSA criteria were created in January 2026, and the current PDL took effect July 1, 2026 345.
Astra's price does not vary by state or city.
Astra's price in Louisiana is the same as everywhere else we operate: compounded semaglutide from $68 per month and compounded tirzepatide from $118 per month on 12-month plans ($816 and $1,416 billed annually), the same price at every dose. There is no Louisiana discount and no state-specific rate.
The Medicaid comorbidity pathways above are themselves an access problem: the MASH route requires a GI or hepatology specialist, and the Zepbound route requires sleep-medicine workup and PAP eligibility — services concentrated in the state's larger metros and thin across its rural parishes. Statewide telehealth licensing closes part of that gap by removing the drive to a clinic with an opening. Louisiana-specific shortage-area counts are covered on the city pages, not asserted here.
TODO — not yet verified. Telehealth prescribing in Louisiana is overseen by the Louisiana State Board of Medical Examiners. The board URL and rule summary were not verified in this research pass, so neither a link nor a rule is published here yet.
Astra is licensed to treat patients in Louisiana and in all 50 states.
Astra treats patients in Louisiana through state-licensed physicians.
Baton Rouge, Lafayette, and Shreveport pages carry local specialist access and verified clinic pricing.
No, not for a standalone obesity diagnosis. Louisiana Medicaid's Preferred Drug List (effective 7/1/2026) approves Wegovy only for cardiovascular-disease risk reduction or MASH, and Zepbound only for moderate-to-severe obstructive sleep apnea -- both require specific comorbidities beyond a high BMI, exclude anyone with diabetes, and apply statewide across Fee-for-Service and all five managed-care organizations.
39.2% of Louisiana adults have obesity (2024 BRFSS) -- the 3rd-highest rate of any state, behind only West Virginia (41.4%) and Mississippi (40.4%). Combined with the 32.8% classified as overweight, 72% of Louisiana adults are overweight or obese.
Astra's price doesn't change based on where you live: $68/mo for semaglutide and $118/mo for tirzepatide, both on 12-month plans, the same in Baton Rouge, Lafayette, Shreveport, or anywhere else in the state. Local clinic cash prices vary city to city -- see the Baton Rouge, Lafayette, and Shreveport pages for verified local pricing.
Yes. Because Louisiana Medicaid's weight-loss coverage is limited to two narrow comorbidity pathways, most adults seeking treatment for obesity alone pay directly. Telehealth providers licensed in Louisiana, including Astra, offer semaglutide and tirzepatide at a flat national price regardless of Medicaid status.
This hub covers statewide access and Medicaid rules. For city-specific specialist access, HPSA status, and local clinic pricing, see Baton Rouge, Lafayette, and Shreveport.
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Educational information, not medical advice. Treatment requires evaluation by a licensed physician.