Should Your Benefits Plan Cover Weight-Loss Drugs Like Ozempic

While many employer plans cover the weight-loss drug Ozempic as a diabetes treatment, only 22 percent of U.S. employers cover any kind of prescription drugs for weight loss, according to a survey from the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans, a nonprofit membership organization that provides information for those working in the employee benefits industry.That could change soon.

On August 9, 2023, Wegovy drugmaker Novo Nordisk reported the results of a new study that showed once-weekly Wegovy injections cut the likelihood of serious cardiac events such as heart attacks, strokes, and cardiovascular deaths by nearly 20 percent–and analysts say a proven heart-health benefit beyond weight loss could increase pressure on more U.S. employers and insurers to pay for Wegovy and similar weight-loss drugs.

“The results [of the study] could improve the willingness to pay for obesity drugs and provide a higher incentive to treat obesity at an earlier stage,” Henrik Hallengreen Laustsen, an analyst at Jyske Bank, told Reuters. Given that more than 70 percent of adults in the U.S. are considered overweight or obese, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there’s a great need for glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) drugs that suppress food cravings….Story continues…