GLP-1 Weight Loss in Ann Arbor, MI: A $225 Local Floor in a Low-Obesity College Town

What Michigan Medicaid now covers for weight-loss GLP-1s

Michigan Medicaid covers GLP-1s such as Wegovy, Zepbound, Saxenda and liraglutide for obesity alone only in narrow cases. For dates of service on or after January 1, 2026, coverage for that use, including continuation requests, was reduced, and approval requires prior authorization showing the patient is morbidly obese, has documented failure of all other clinically appropriate weight-loss interventions (including preferred anti-obesity agents), and that the drug is considered only to avert higher-cost bariatric surgery ¹⁰. The state letter names no BMI number; Aetna's 2026 criteria for its Michigan HIDE plan (for people enrolled in both Medicare and Medicaid) give a baseline BMI of 40 or higher as an example of morbid obesity ¹². Authorizations granted before January 1, 2026 are honored for the remainder of the authorization period ¹⁰¹¹.

Coverage for GLP-1s requested for other existing indications, such as type 2 diabetes, is not changing ¹⁰. Priority Health, a Michigan Medicaid health plan, says its Wegovy and Zepbound criteria include non-weight-loss indications such as reducing major adverse cardiovascular events or severe obstructive sleep apnea, with prior authorization required for all indications ¹¹. Plan rules vary, so anyone on Michigan Medicaid in Ann Arbor should check with their Medicaid health plan for the criteria that apply.

What GLP-1 care costs in Ann Arbor today

Restore Hyper Wellness's Ann Arbor studio at 3225 Washtenaw Ave runs a self-pay compounded semaglutide or tirzepatide program at $225 to $750/month depending on medication and dose, including an initial qualification consult and ongoing NP telemed visits, with a choice of in-studio injection, studio pickup, or home delivery. The site states plainly that it does not take insurance ⁸⁹.

That is a real, published number, which is rarer than it should be, and it is also the number to measure against. Astra's price is national and identical everywhere it is licensed: $68/month for compounded semaglutide and $118/month for compounded tirzepatide, both on 12-month plans billed annually at $816 and $1,416. There is no Ann Arbor rate, no local discount, and no consult required to find out the number. At the bottom of Restore's range the local floor is roughly two times Astra's semaglutide plan; at the top it is roughly six times.

Two specialist systems in town

Ann Arbor is home to Michigan Medicine, the University of Michigan's academic health system, and to IHA/Trinity Health Michigan, both running endocrinology and weight-management programs locally. Unlike many mid-size cities, Ann Arbor is not specialist-poor on paper.

The shortage picture is similarly thin. No general-population Primary Care HPSA is active for Ann Arbor. The one geography-based designation touching the city, "LI-Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti SA" (score 12, ratio about 5,789:1), is listed as Proposed For Withdrawal as of 09/22/2025, meaning it is being removed rather than newly found ⁷. A facility-specific Primary Care HPSA remains Designated at Packard Health, Inc., an FQHC, score 17, designated 08/18/2019, reflecting that clinic's low-income panel rather than the city at large ⁷.

Telehealth here is not filling a hole in supply; it removes the wait-time question and the price question at once. Astra serves all 50 states, including Michigan.