The number of employees enquiring about weight loss programs, and by extension glucagon-like peptide-1 weight loss drugs like Ozempic, Wegovy and Zepbound, are the next big trend hitting the employee benefit world. Executives are wondering how to start — and how to afford these medications in their benefits plan.
The conversation surrounding GLP-1 drugs, which are designed to help lower blood sugar levels and moderate appetite, has picked up over the last two years. Driven largely by celebrity usage, pharmaceuticals typically prescribed for patients with diabetes have
PricewaterhouseCooper's October 2024
Data found that 60% of respondents took GLP-1s for weight loss, narrowly surpassing the 58% who selected diabetes treatment as their reasoning behind the choice. A separate 56% said if their children were diagnosed with childhood obesity, they were highly or somewhat likely to opt for treatments using GLP-1s.
Cost remains the biggest factor hindering more pronounced adoption, with 65% of respondents listing price as the most relevant reason for not taking GLP-1 medication. Hesitation was the second top reason with 47% and negative side effects in third with 39%.
Pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly launched its
This trend is set to grow exponentially in 2025.
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Some benefit firms that acknowledge the benefits of GLP-1s are adopting a more nuanced approach to the drugs, prioritizing behavioral changes first.
Ilant Health is one such firm. The obesity treatment fintech works with companies to offer employees access to specialized clinicians and a suite of tools designed to combat and prevent obesity through value- and evidence-based treatment programs.
"In the last few years, a lot of the conversation around obesity has been on the interest in GLP-1s and their cost," said Elina Onitskansky, founder and chief executive of Ilant Health. "We believe that GLP-1s are an important tool to address obesity, but think it's critical to focus the conversation not on a specific treatment, but broadly on the importance of treating obesity in a sustainable way to improve health, longevity and well-being — as well as the bottom line."
Treatment plans are built using the firm's
Available options range from behavioral therapy for those with low acuity, oral drugs such as Orlistat, metformin and SGLT2s in the middle range and both bariatric surgery and injectable pharmaceuticals like GLP-1s (Wegovy, Zepbound) for patients with higher acuities. GLP-1s and surgery are interchangeable based on a person's surgical risks and receptiveness to the weight loss drugs.
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Learn more about how benefit managers are exploring what weight loss benefits could yield for their companies.
Monetary rewards aren't the answer for improving weight loss benefits
Data from
In the survey of 73 employers that compared the employee engagement levels between companies that offered financial incentives and those that offered nothing, those with stimuli surpassed their counterparts by less than 2% in average sign-up rates. If you compare weight loss results, that margin shrinks to just 0.1%.
"Financial incentives are just not enough to change behavior in the long run," Dr. Tim Church, chief medical officer at Wondr Health, told Employee Benefit News. "Incentives can be a powerful tool to get people to do a step they maybe wouldn't have done otherwise, but they're not a cure-all."
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What goes into the choice to cover GLP-1s?
Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) medications are doing more than transforming waistlines and
As employers grapple with including GLP-1s in their benefits packages, they face a complex decision that boils down to two main factors:
Navigating this terrain requires a delicate balance of fiscal responsibility and commitment to employee well-being.
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A case study on the impact of weight loss benefits
After spending roughly 30 years on and off various diets and exercise programs, losing weight and gaining it right back, 52-year-old Robert Flores decided it was time for something new.
Flores started with Wondr Health's free one-year online training course through his employer Lumen Technologies at the start of 2024. Roughly one year later, he's shed 100 pounds.
"One of the things I was [already] doing was changing my mindset; getting out of the pressure-packed situation of, 'I have to lose X pounds by Y date.' Just a small shift, thinking not about losing weight, [but rather] how do I manage my health? I was really trying to reframe this effort to make it long-lasting," Flores told EBN
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What do employers need to know before adopting GLP-1 benefits?
GLP-1 drugs have boomed in popularity since the start of this year, as those seeking to lose weight flock to the medication developed to lower blood sugar levels and moderate appetite — and companies have started to take notice.
Data from an
"We truly have the tools to create prevention," Wondr Health's Dr. Church told EBN. "And isn't it about time we start shifting the healthcare dollar from treatment to prevention?"
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Behavioral health support is key for GLP-1 adopters
All anyone in
The historic weight loss, along with a high price tag, side effects, impact on lean body mass and weight regain are all hot topics. An eating disorder and obesity specialist shared her concern with EBN as to why behavioral health has been left out of the conversation, as it is a known risk factor for and comorbidity of obesity.
"Those who have worked in obesity care for a long time know that undiagnosed or untreated
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