According to a survey of global employers that was released on Thursday by the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans, approximately one-third of employer health plans in the United States now cover GLP-1 medications for the management of diabetes and weight loss, which is an increase from the previous year.
GLP-1 medications for weight reduction developed as a part of bosses’ general clinical cases spending to 8.9% in 2024 from 6.9% in 2023, the exchange gathering’s study found.
Around 26% of managers offered the medications barely a year ago. By making the stomach empty more slowly and suppressing appetite, GLP-1 drugs help people lose weight.
Wegovy by Novo Nordisk (NOVOb.CO) and Zepbound by Eli Lilly (LLY.N), which were first approved for the treatment of diabetes, are in high demand due to their demonstrated ability to reduce weight by around 20%.
The drugs are only covered by 57% of the employers surveyed for diabetic care. 19% of those people are thinking about offering the drugs for losing weight. In the United States and Canada, the foundation has over 33,000 member companies or public institutions with over 25 million employees.
According to the report, consultant recommendations and obesity’s association with chronic and more expensive conditions were the most frequently cited reasons for employers to consider covering GLP-1 drugs.
According to some forecasts made by analysts this year, global sales of GLP-1 drugs should reach $150 billion annually by the beginning of the 2030s. By the beginning of the following decade, a forecast for 2023 predicted sales of $100 billion.
According to a report published in December by Morgan Stanley, insurer resistance to covering the drugs is a constraint on the expansion of drugmakers’ sales.
According to the report, 40 million of the 110 million Americans who are obese currently have access to GLP-1 drugs for weight loss through their healthcare plans.
