Almost every provider in this category that mentions insurance is offering to file a claim from outside your network. These two are actually in it, which is a different thing entirely.
PlushCare states in-network status with major carriers including Aetna, Humana and Cigna, with most in-network patients paying $30 or less per visit on a $19.99 monthly membership — the cheapest membership in this dataset. Without insurance an initial visit is $129.
Shapely states in-network status with Medicare and most PPO plans including Aetna, Blue Shield and United, on a $99 monthly membership self-pay or copays only where accepted.
Medicare is the clearest dividing line
Medicare Part D is barred by statute from covering anti-obesity medication, so almost nothing in this market engages with it. Shapely names Medicare explicitly; PlushCare does not. If you are on Medicare, that alone decides this comparison.
Clinical model versus included support
PlushCare requires a live video visit with a physician rather than an asynchronous questionnaire, and publishes an explicit position on not treating patients with symptoms of an active eating disorder — a disclosure almost nobody else in this market makes, and among the most important exclusions in weight-loss prescribing.
Shapely includes monthly dietitian visits and a cellular-connected smart scale in its membership, which addresses lean-mass risk and removes self-reporting from progress tracking. Its scale carries an odd carve-out: unavailable with Aetna or Cigna as primary insurance.
Your muscle-protection numbers
Weight lost on a GLP-1 is not all fat. Protein intake and resistance training are the two levers with the best evidence behind them. Set your weight to see the targets.
Daily protein target
120–200 g
Roughly 30 g at each of four eating occasions gets you to the bottom of that range.
Resistance training
2–3 ×/week
Full-body sessions covering legs, push and pull. Loaded movement is the signal that tells your body to keep the muscle.
General nutrition and activity information, not medical advice. Protein targets can be inappropriate in kidney disease and some other conditions — check with your clinician before changing your intake.
If coverage fails
PlushCare states GLP-1 medication out of pocket usually runs about $1,000 a month, which is honest and means the cash route is to fill elsewhere — LillyDirect sells Zepbound at $299–$449 and NovoCare sells Wegovy tablets at $149.
Shapely offers compounded semaglutide at $99 and tirzepatide at $166 cash-pay, so about $198 and $265 all-in with its membership. That is a working fallback, though twice what the cheapest cash-pay providers charge.