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StandbyShop protocols

Cash-pay care for veterans, for what your coverage won't pay for

The VA is good at what it covers. Standby is for everything else, and for when you don't want to wait: weight management, TRT, sleep, hair, and sexual health at posted cash prices.

What Standby is today: a cash-pay shop plus the coverage guides. We don't bill the VA, TRICARE, or CHAMPVA. A licensed clinician still has to say yes.

The gaps are documented

Three coverage rules, straight from the policy documents

Not marketing claims. Each one cites the primary source, and each one gets re-checked when the rules change. Start with the guide that matches your coverage.

CHAMPVA

No for weight loss. Yes through three doors.

CHAMPVA does not cover GLP-1s prescribed for weight loss. It covers them for type 2 diabetes, for moderate to severe sleep apnea (Zepbound, with a sleep study in the last 12 months), and for MASH or cardiovascular risk (Wegovy), all behind OptumRx prior authorization.[4]

Read the guide

TRICARE

One date rewrote the rules.

Effective August 31, 2025, TRICARE ended weight loss drug coverage for TRICARE For Life and direct-care-only beneficiaries, and voided their existing prior authorizations.[5] Prime and Select keep coverage, behind prior authorization.[6]

Read the guide

VA

Covered, but behind a program.

VA weight management drugs require participation in a structured lifestyle program, MOVE! or an equivalent, plus BMI thresholds.[7] Semaglutide, tirzepatide, and liraglutide sit nonformulary, with criteria for use.[8]

Read the guide

15.8M

veterans in the United States, per the 2023 American Community Survey.[1]

41%

obesity prevalence among the 4.9 million VA primary care patients in the national FY2014 study.[2]

Aug 31, 2025

the day TRICARE weight loss drug coverage ended for TRICARE For Life and direct-care-only beneficiaries.[5]

What Standby actually is

Benefits-literate, cash-pay, built for the gap

Answers you can check

Every coverage claim on this site cites the policy document it came from, and gets re-verified when policy changes. If your benefits already cover it, we say so, plainly, before we say anything else.

Posted cash prices

The full planned price ladder is public before we open the doors. No quote calls, no surprise balance, no claim denial after the fact. See the ladder.

Care without the queue

GLP-1 protocols can be started on this site. A licensed clinician still reviews intake before anything ships. Cash-pay means the decision is clinical, not actuarial.

Where the VA stands

We're not here to replace the VA

In fiscal 2025, 2.9 million veterans used VA telehealth, and 91.7% of users reported being satisfied.[3] That's earned. Standby exists for what coverage structurally won't pay for, and for the moments when the timeline doesn't work. When your benefits cover what you need, we'll tell you to use them.

Read this first

  • In an emergency, call 911. In crisis, dial 988, then press 1 for the Veterans Crisis Line.[9]
  • If TRICARE, CHAMPVA, or the VA covers your care and the timeline works for you, use your benefits. The guides on this site will help you confirm what's covered.
  • Standby is not an emergency service, not a pharmacy, and not a benefits administrator.

Planned launch pricing

Posted cash prices

Full pricing and terms

Weight management

Semaglutide program

$99first month

Weight management

Tirzepatide program

$149first month

Core program

TRT program

$139/mo

Add-on

Sleep support

$69/mo

Add-on

Hair

$35/mo

Add-on

Sexual health

$45/mo

Semaglutide and tirzepatide check out on this site. Other protocols are listed with prices; their on-domain pay is next. A clinician can still refuse.

Where we stand, plainly

What we will and won't claim

Built for this community, honestly

Standby is being built for veterans and first responders, and we're hiring veteran clinical leadership before launch. Until those names are real, you won't see them implied here.

No borrowed valor

No flags, no eagles, no stock salutes, no invented member counts. If a claim on this site involves your service, it carries a citation or it doesn't appear.

Independent, and clear about it

Standby is a private, cash-pay company. We are not affiliated with, or endorsed by, the VA, DoD, TRICARE, or CHAMPVA, and we never bill them.

A discount that means something

A real service discount at launch, applied after verification against your service record. Not a coupon-code game, and not a number we'll invent before it's final.

Sources cited on this page

  1. [1] U.S. Census Bureau, Veterans Day 2024 facts for features (15.8 million veterans, 2023 American Community Survey). https://www.census.gov/newsroom/facts-for-features/2024/veterans-day.html. Accessed 2026-08-01.
  2. [2] Breland et al., The Obesity Epidemic in the Veterans Health Administration, Journal of General Internal Medicine (2017). https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5359156/. Accessed 2026-08-01.
  3. [3] VA News, 2.9 million Veterans used VA telehealth for part of their care in fiscal 2025. https://news.va.gov/144279/91-7-veterans-use-va-telehealth-are-satisfied/. Accessed 2026-08-01.
  4. [4] VA Community Care, CHAMPVA program page. https://department.va.gov/vha/community-care/family-member-care/champva/. Accessed 2026-08-01.
  5. [5] myAirForceBenefits, TRICARE Coverage of Weight Loss Medications: What To Know. https://myairforcebenefits.us.af.mil/TRICARE-Coverage-of-Weight-Loss-Medications-What-To-Know. Accessed 2026-08-01.
  6. [6] Express Scripts, TRICARE pharmacy FAQ on GLP-1 and weight loss medications. https://militaryrx.express-scripts.com/faq/are-glucagon-peptide-1-glp-1-and-weight-loss-medications-covered-through-tricare-pharmacy. Accessed 2026-08-01.
  7. [7] VA Pharmacy Benefits Management Academic Detailing, Weight Management: A VA Clinician's Summary (2025). https://www.pbm.va.gov/PBM/AcademicDetailingService/Documents/508/IB10-1784_WeightMgmt-ClinicianSummary_P97235.pdf. Accessed 2026-08-01.
  8. [8] U.S. Medicine, 2025 Compendium of Federal Medicine, Determining What Weight Loss Medications Are Best for Veterans. https://www.usmedicine.com/2025-compendium-of-federal-medicine/determining-what-weight-loss-medications-are-best-for-veterans/. Accessed 2026-08-01.
  9. [9] Veterans Crisis Line. https://www.veteranscrisisline.net/. Accessed 2026-08-01.

Shop is open

Start a protocol, or read the coverage rules first.

GLP-1 checkout stays on standbyclinic.com. If your benefits already cover the care, use them. The guides still say that plainly.