Costs: what may be charged separately

What medical weight-loss care costs in Canada

A headline price is not a quote. Up to six separate charges, each shown in the unit the provider used.

What this page answers

• The six separate charges a weight-care service can bill: initial care, recurring care, dispensing, delivery, laboratory and medication.
• What each documented service displays for each charge, in its own unit, and where a fee is waived on one page and charged on another.
• Why per visit, per 28 days, per calendar month and per three-month commitment are not the same price.
• What to ask before paying. This page never adds components into a total or picks a dose to finish a calculation.

A headline price is not a quote. Weight care through an online service can involve up to six separate charges, and providers display them in different places, in different units and sometimes in conflicting amounts. This page separates the components, shows each one as the provider displayed it, and gives you a worksheet and a checklist.

The six components

1. Initial care fee. The first assessment or consultation. Some services waive it; some show a waived fee on one page and a charged fee on another.
2. Recurring care fee. Follow-up visits, renewals or a membership. The billing period matters: per visit, per 28 days, per calendar month and per three-month commitment are not the same thing.
3. Dispensing fee. Charged per drug per fill by the pharmacy. Sometimes included in a displayed medication estimate, sometimes not stated.
4. Delivery or shipping. Often free within a service's own pharmacy network; not always stated for an outside pharmacy.
5. Laboratory and requisition. Some provincial plans cover ordered tests; some services charge for home collection; some say no bloodwork is needed. The actual patient bill was not established for any service.
6. Medication. The largest component and the least comparable. Prices depend on product, strength, quantity, a manufacturer support program, and insurance. This site shows medication prices only as displayed, with their conditions and dates.

Billing and commitment

The ongoing fee is only half of the question. What matters as much is the unit it is charged in, whether you are enrolled for a fixed period, how renewal works and when you have to cancel. The table shows what each service's own pages say, with nothing inferred.

This table scrolls sideways.

Component ledger, all services

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Cost-component worksheet

Questions to ask before paying

Print this section and ask the provider, the pharmacy and your plan.

• Is the first visit charged, waived, or refundable, and under what condition?
• How often are follow-ups required, what does each cost, and is the timing set by the clinician or by a subscription?
• Is there a minimum commitment (for example three months), and what happens if I stop early?
• Which pharmacy fills the prescription, can I choose my own, and what is the dispensing fee per fill?
• Is delivery charged, and does that change if I use my own pharmacy?
• Which lab tests are required, who pays for them, and is home collection extra?
• For the medicine: what is the exact product, strength and quantity behind the displayed price, and does it depend on a manufacturer support program?
• Does the price shown include the dispensing fee, tax and shipping?
• Will the pharmacy bill my private plan directly, and will I get a receipt I can submit?
• If my public plan lists the medicine for another condition, does that affect me at all? (Usually it does not; see the coverage page.)

Public medication price tables

Public drug price comparison tables are deliberately not part of this site yet. Displaying prescription drug prices to the public in Canada is regulated, and this site's owner is a licensed pharmacist, so the layout of any future price table waits for a professional and legal review. The documented prices that appear on provider records are shown as the provider displayed them, with the conflict where one exists.