Whoever has to pay for Ozempic is the next big workplace fight

Copyright © HT Digital Streams Limit all rights reserved. Callum Borchers (with input from the Wall Street Journal) 4 min Read 02 Apr 2025, 08:31 AM IST Illustration: Natalie Peeples for WSJ, istock summary questions about the insurance coverage for weight loss medicine becomes more intense as cheaper alternatives are off the market. Medicines for weight loss medicines such as Ozempic form the next power struggle between employers and employees. Some companies have curbed or terminated the coverage of the weight loss known as GLP-1s. It was the regret of employees who could not afford to pay for the drugs on their own. The shift sets up a test of leverage and loyalty. As with recent disciplinary or war on balance between work and life and the freedom to work at home, the question is how generous businesses must be to attract and retain talent. Lawyers for GLP-1 coverage say the benefit is not just about money, but also about the feeling of workers or businesses caring for their health. They predict people with skills in demand will cover businesses that do not cover weight loss medicines. Right now, people can buy cheaper copies at online pharmacies such as RO and Hims & Hers Health. But the Food and Drug Administration is about to recall Telehealth enterprises license to sell off, which only allowed the agency while the name branded goods were not available. This means that people who pay about $ 200 a month may have to pay $ 500 a month or longer for the right transaction. Or they will have to find a new job where the medicine is included in the company’s health plan. Look at the full Beeld Robert Andrews, CEO of the Health Transformation Alliance, says some of its group companies require GLP-1 users to participate in supplementary weight loss programs. Photo: Duane Furlong Studios Some employers say the preceding costs of covering medicines only pay off if closed workers stay around long enough for their other healthcare expenses on obesity-related conditions such as heart disease and joint replacement-to go down. Even if the moderate work after a madness of the pandemic era, long-term investments in employees are a difficult sale to businesses. “Pay a GLP-1 for himself? The answer is no,” says Robert Andrews, CEO of the Health Transformation Alliance, whose members include about 80 major companies such as JPMorgan Chase, Coca-Cola and General Electric. Rough Math Andrews, a former Democratic Congressman of New Jersey, has collected anonymous health care data on employees of the member companies. He found that people with type 2 diabetes who were on weight loss medicine at least nine months had fewer heart attacks, strokes and visits to emergencies than diabetics who did not use the same medication. But GLP-1 users were even more expensive for their employers. The reduction in unfavorable health events was not enough to compensate the spending on the medicine. He says these costs member companies have about $ 650 per head each month after discounts. Andrews says some companies limit access to employees with diabetes and refuse to cover weight loss medications alone. Others require employees to seek GLP-1 coverage to participate in supplementary weight loss programs. This is because maintaining the fat -burning consequences is often challenging, and that businesses do not want to pay for temporary results. Members of Andrews’ group are generally large enough to take up the costs, although resentful, he says. Look at the full Beeld Millicent Gorham, CEO of the Alliance for Women’s Health and Prevention, says companies will lose talent if they do not cover weight loss medicine. Photo: Congress Black Caucus Foundation Some smaller businesses use a different approach to GLP-1s. “Many people are actively asking us to stop covering them for weight loss, or to give the employer the option to exclude them for their employees, simply because of the incredibly high price of this medicine,” said Amy Mchugh, a spokesman for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts. Massachusetts is one of more than a dozen states where Medicaid GLP-1s cover to treat obesity, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. It is a sign that employers believe they have the upper hand if they do not feel compelled to offer a health care benefit available to people receiving public assistance. George Huntley, CEO of the Diabetes Leadership Council, argues that many businesses underestimate the cost of ensuring obese workers. He predicts that companies will eventually come to the idea that the payment of weight loss medicines is a net saving. This is after they replace the cost of renting and training people to replace employees who jump to competitors with better health plans. The prospects I can’t help but wonder if companies are looking for more immediate savings overweight employees for discharge or cannot rent in the first place to prevent them from paying for weight loss medicine. Overweight workers are already paid on average less and promoted than trimmer colleagues. “Weight prejudice and discrimination have long been a factor in employment,” says Joe Nadglowski, CEO of the Obesity Action Coalition. “But we don’t see it getting worse now.” He says an increase of expensive GLP-1s is that it helps obesity as a chronic disease with a pharmaceutical solution, rather than a result of bad habits. In addition, with about two in five American adults meeting the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s definition of obese, businesses may not alienate such a large part of the workforce. “These are very good people who have a lot to these employers,” says Millicent Gorham, CEO of the Alliance for Women’s Health and Prevention, who advocates for companies to cover weight loss medicines. She argues that medicine can deliver productivity profit by reducing sick days and keeping employees more involved, with less thoughts about weight dividing their attention. Some businesses that resist paying weight loss can only bring in if the most important point changes, says Rena Conti, a health economist at the University of Boston. The FDA approved the first generic GLP-1, a version of Victoza, in December. Generic versions of Trulicity and Saxenda can arrive in 2027. Conti expects the price of these alternatives to discount 60% to 80%. “Insurers and employers have this short-term choice about whether they will cover GLP-1s, but they will probably make another choice in two or three years,” she says. Write to Callum Borchers at [email protected] Look at the full image health economist Rena Conti says the cost of weight loss medicines has exceeded the forecasts of companies. Photo: Adriane Ayling captures all the business news, market news, news events and latest news updates on live mint. Download the Mint News app to get daily market updates. More Topics #Healthcare #Healthvista #Insurance Mint Special