Your employer may start covering weight-loss drugs soon
CNN
Hoping your company will begin paying for anti-obesity medications like Wegovy? You may be in luck.
Hoping your company will begin paying for anti-obesity medications like Wegovy? You may be in luck. A growing number of employers are considering covering the blockbuster weight-loss drugs, several surveys show. Workers will learn whether they’ll gain such coverage for the coming year during open enrollment, which launches this month at many companies. GLP-1 drugs, which treat diabetes, obesity and certain other conditions, have become super popular since they came on the market a few years ago because they help patients shed pounds. While employers typically cover the medications for diabetes, fewer of them do so for weight loss, in part because of the drugs’ high prices — which have also limited Americans’ access to them. The list price for Wegovy, for instance, is about $1,350 for a four-week supply. Nearly 40 million people with employer coverage are estimated to be eligible for anti-obesity medications based on their body mass index, according to KFF, a health policy research organization. “It could have a huge impact on premiums given the cost of the drugs,” said Matthew Rae, the associate director of KFF’s Program on the Health Care Marketplace. Still, more than a quarter of employers are considering adding coverage for GLP-1 drugs for weight loss in 2025 or 2026, according to a national survey conducted this year by Mercer, a human resources consulting firm.