A Maryland 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.
32.7% of Maryland adults have obesity, per the CDC's 2024 BRFSS prevalence estimates, up from 31.0% in 2020 1. Add the 36.3% who are overweight and 69.0% of Maryland adults sit above a healthy weight range 1.
Maryland's coverage answer is not a prior-authorization hurdle you can clear with paperwork. It is a categorical exclusion written into state regulation.
No. Maryland Medicaid does not cover GLP-1s for obesity or weight loss, and the mechanism matters: it is a categorical exclusion under COMAR 10.09.03.05.A(14), not a prior-authorization gate 2. There is no clinical documentation package that unlocks it.
The same molecules stay covered when prescribed for type 2 diabetes: Ozempic, Mounjaro, Trulicity, Rybelsus, Victoza, Byetta, Xultophy, and Soliqua 3. The July 2026 Preferred Drug List has no anti-obesity or weight-loss drug category at all, and Wegovy, Zepbound, and Saxenda do not appear anywhere in the 33-page document 34.
One limit on this finding: HealthChoice managed-care organizations' own pharmacy documents were not independently checked. They should be bound by the same COMAR floor, but that was not verified here.
Maryland's median household income is 02,905 (ACS 2024 1-year estimate, ± ,404) 6, among the highest of any state. That is context, never a basis for a state-specific price.
Astra's price in Maryland 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.
TODO — not yet verified. Maryland Board of Physicians telehealth-prescribing rules for GLP-1s, including informed-consent requirements, real-time audio-video mandates, and any Maryland-specific restriction beyond standard interstate licensure, have not been independently confirmed. This page states nothing beyond the general 50-state licensure claim until that check is done.
Verify current requirements directly with the Maryland Board of Physicians: mbp.state.md.us.
Astra serves patients in all 50 states, Maryland included, across a population that grew from 6,181,629 in April 2020 to 6,263,220 by July 2024 5. Visits and refills happen online, with medication from a state-licensed US compounding pharmacy.
Baltimore has its own page below.
Astra treats patients in Maryland through state-licensed physicians.
City-level detail for Maryland.
No. Maryland Medicaid categorically excludes weight-control drugs from pharmacy coverage under COMAR 10.09.03.05.A(14). The same GLP-1 molecules remain on the Preferred Drug List only when prescribed for type 2 diabetes — Wegovy, Zepbound, and Saxenda don't appear on the list in any form.
No. Astra charges the same national price everywhere it's licensed: $68/mo for semaglutide and $118/mo for tirzepatide, both on 12-month plans ($816 and $1,416 billed annually). There is no Maryland-specific rate.
32.7% of Maryland adults were living with obesity as of the 2024 BRFSS survey, and another 36.3% were overweight — nearly 7 in 10 adults statewide.
Yes. Astra is licensed to treat patients across all of Maryland, not only Baltimore — telehealth reaches counties on the Eastern Shore and in Western Maryland where in-person obesity-medicine specialists are scarce.
Astra is licensed to serve patients in all 50 states, including every county in Maryland.
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Educational information, not medical advice. Treatment requires evaluation by a licensed physician.