Weight-loss drug coverage is up in the U.S. at the largest firms

About 44% of U.S. employers with 500 or more employees cover drugs for weight loss in 2024, up from 41% in 2023, according to a survey from consulting firm Mercer released on Wednesday.

Mercer also said 64% of U.S. employers with over 20,000 employees covered weight-loss drugs in 2024, compared with 56% last year.

That includes the highly effective newer GLP-1 drugs Wegovy from Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly’s Zepbound that have been shown in trials to reduce weight by 15% to 20%, as well as older drugs in the class that promote less weight loss, such as Novo’s Saxenda.

Obesity drugs have driven costs up for employers this year and contributed to an increase in overall healthcare benefit costs, the survey found, resulting in changes to how patients access the drugs.

“Cost is clearly a concern, and employers are adding authorization requirements to ensure the medications are used by members who will benefit the most,” said Tracy Watts, Mercer’s national leader for U.S. health policy.

Those include clinical coordination, or management of patient care by pharmacy benefit managers and insurers, the report said.

Only about 24.4 million Americans have access to GLP-1 drugs through commercial health plans, Reuters reported on Monday. Mercer’s survey question referred to weight-loss drugs from any class of medicines.