The news: CVS MinuteClinic launched a cash-pay virtual weight loss program that offers GLP-1 prescriptions when a clinician deems it appropriate. Video visits cost $49 (exclusive of labs or medications) and require no subscription. Patients who begin treatment can schedule follow-up appointments as needed for ongoing medication management.

Why it matters: CVS was already participating in the weight loss drug market through MinuteClinic, but this dedicated, lower-cost offering deepens its push into the cash-pay telehealth GLP-1 space. The $49 visit fee matches Walgreens' recently launched GLP-1 program and puts CVS in direct competition with online healthcare companies that offer virtual GLP-1 prescribing and weight loss services, including Amazon One Medical, Hims & Hers, Ro, Noom, and WeightWatchers.

A digital GLP-1 program could help CVS keep MinuteClinic relevant as foot traffic erodes. The pool of consumers willing to pay out of pocket for telehealth visits and weight loss drugs is growing as self-pay prices decline. And CVS needs to access that pool as consumer healthcare activity increasingly shifts online: We estimate that the share of US consumers who visit a CVS retail clinic in person has fallen each year since 2023 and will drop another 9% this year and 12% next year, landing at 9.5% of the adult population (or nearly 26 million people).