More employers are dropping coverage of GLP-1 drugs for weight loss or offering smaller payouts, and some are shifting to third-party weight-management programs as healthcare costs climb. A WTW survey found 53% of employers with more than 100 employees cover GLP-1s for weight loss, down from 57% in 2025, while 16% are considering removing coverage, up from 9%. Marsh expects health insurance cost per employee to rise 8.2% in 2027, the biggest increase since 2003, with GLP-1 use accounting for one percentage point of that growth. Some employers direct workers to buy the drugs through NovoCare or LillyDirect, where self-pay Wegovy starts at $149 a month for the pill and $199 for the shot. Gallup reports that 11% of U.S. adults took GLP-1 medications for weight loss in 2026, up from 3% in 2024.
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