What did @bellanuce actually say?
The creator expressed genuine shock at how many people are using Ozempic, pointing directly at cost as the barrier: "It's literally like $1,200" without a diabetes diagnosis and a prescription tied to that condition. She's not making a medical claim here. She's asking a financial question, and it's a reasonable one.
The video doesn't push a product or a protocol. It's essentially a confused reaction to a cultural moment where semaglutide has become a household name. That context matters when evaluating what she actually got right and wrong about the price and access landscape.
Does the science back this up?
The pricing claim is roughly accurate, though the framing around needing a diabetes diagnosis to get a prescription is more complicated than she suggests.
Semaglutide (the active ingredient in Ozempic) is FDA-approved under the brand name Wegovy for chronic weight management in adults with obesity or overweight plus a weight-related condition. Ozempic is approved specifically for type 2 diabetes. A physician can prescribe Ozempic off-label for weight loss, but insurance coverage is a different story. Without insurance or a qualifying diagnosis, the cash price for a monthly supply of Ozempic typically runs between $900 and $1,300 depending on dose and pharmacy, according to GoodRx data and verified by the manufacturer's own list price of approximately $935 per pen as of 2024. So her $1,200 figure is in the right ballpark.
What drives the widespread use despite that price? A 2022 NEJM trial by Wilding et al. showed semaglutide 2.4mg produced average weight loss of 14.9% over 68 weeks, which created enormous consumer demand that didn't wait for insurance coverage to catch up.
What did they get wrong (or right)?
She got the price directionally right. She got the access framing partially wrong.
The claim that you can only get a prescription "because you have diabetes" overstates the restriction. Wegovy (same molecule, different brand and indication) is FDA-approved for obesity, not just diabetes. Physicians can also prescribe Ozempic off-label. The real barrier isn't diagnosis gatekeeping so much as insurance coverage: most commercial plans cover Ozempic for diabetes but are inconsistent or flat-out restrictive about covering Wegovy or off-label semaglutide for weight loss.
The other thing she's missing is compounded semaglutide. During the FDA shortage periods from 2022 through parts of 2024, 503B outsourcing facilities and some 503A pharmacies were legally permitted to compound semaglutide. Prices ranged from $200 to $500 per month depending on dose and source. This is almost certainly how a significant chunk of the "everyone's on Ozempic" crowd is actually accessing it. It's worth being clear: compounded semaglutide is not the same as FDA-approved Ozempic or Wegovy. Formulation, excipients, and quality controls differ.
What should you actually know?
Her confusion reflects a real access gap in the U.S. healthcare system. The sticker price of brand-name semaglutide is genuinely prohibitive without insurance, but the drug's visibility has outpaced most people's understanding of how it actually gets prescribed and paid for.
A few things worth knowing if you're in this situation:
- Wegovy (semaglutide 2.4mg) is approved for weight management, not just diabetes. If a provider is telling you Ozempic is only for diabetics, they may mean coverage, not legality.
- Novo Nordisk offers a savings card that can reduce out-of-pocket costs for commercially insured patients, though eligibility is restricted.
- Compounded versions were widely available during the shortage period, but the FDA has indicated that once shortage status is resolved, compounding is no longer permitted under the same exemption. The regulatory status has been shifting through 2024 and into 2025.
- Tirzepatide (Mounjaro for diabetes, Zepbound for weight loss) is a dual GIP/GLP-1 agonist with comparable or superior weight loss data from the SURMOUNT-1 trial (Jastreboff et al., 2022, NEJM), and its compounding situation has followed a similar pattern.
The bottom line: her confusion is valid. The system is genuinely confusing. But the answer to "how is everyone on Ozempic" is mostly: compounded versions, manufacturer coupons, employer-sponsored coverage, or paying out of pocket, not some secret workaround she's missing.