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: free coverage guides and a waitlist. We don't bill the VA, TRICARE, or CHAMPVA, we don't prescribe anything yet, and programs open at launch.
The gaps are documented
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
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 guideTRICARE
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 guideVA
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 guideWhat Standby actually is
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.
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.
At launch: an online intake, review by a licensed clinician, and medication shipped if prescribed. Cash-pay means the decision is clinical, not actuarial. Nothing is prescribed or sold today.
Where the VA stands
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
Planned launch pricing
Weight management
$99first month
Weight management
$149first month
Core program
$139/mo
Add-on
$69/mo
Add-on
$35/mo
Add-on
$45/mo
Planned launch pricing, not purchasable today. Verified veterans and first responders get a real service discount at launch.
Where we stand, plainly
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 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.
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 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.
Status: standing by
The waitlist is free, it is the only signup that exists, and it decides onboarding order. Until launch, use the coverage guides and keep your benefits doing what they already do well.