The load loss drug revolution helps gas rising well being care prices amongst employers, who’re increasing their advantages to maintain up with the sort of medical care that their workers need.
Protection for weight problems medication like Ozempic and Wegovy amongst giant firms (with 500 or extra workers) rose to 44% this 12 months, up from 41% final 12 months, in line with a brand new research from HR consulting firm Mercer launched this week. And round 64% of firms with 20,000 employees or extra now cowl it, in comparison with 56% in 2023.
“Increasing well being advantages can play an important function in attracting and retaining expertise,” Tracy Watts, nationwide chief for U.S. well being coverage at Mercer, tells Fortune. “Whereas the rising prices of well being advantages pose challenges, guaranteeing workers have entry to high quality care is paramount,” she notes.
That demand for these weight reduction medication is the primary driver behind growing spending for employers. Common well being care value per worker elevated 4.5% this 12 months to $16,501, in comparison with $15,797 in 2023 to $16,501, in line with the research. And employer well being care prices are anticipated to rise one other 5.8% in 2025.
About 12% of adults report having used some kind of GLP-1 drug, a class that features Ozemic and Wegovy, in line with a Could research from the Kaiser Household Basis, a non-profit well being care coverage analysis institute. On condition that roughly 40% of adults within the U.S. are thought-about overweight, in line with the Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention, the demand is more likely to keep robust.
Different specialised medical therapy can also be resulting in elevated employer spending on well being care. Fertility remedies, together with elective egg and sperm freezing, have gotten extra frequent in office advantages packages, and at the moment are provided by 64% of enormous employers with greater than 500 workers, the research discovered. Employers are additionally offering extra specialised help to workers with most cancers; roughly two-thirds of enormous employers provide some companies that embody issues like case administration, caregiver sources and office help.
To attempt to management prices, employers are increasing their portfolio of medical plan selections. Roughly 65% of enormous employers now provide three or extra well being care plans, together with unique supplier group (EPO) plans, which use a closed supplier community to maintain prices down and are cheaper than conventional PPO choices. Digital major care companies are additionally gaining traction.
On the subject of controlling prices round weight-loss drugs particularly, Watts recommends that firms work with pharmacy profit managers to implement scientific administration applications for sufferers. However they need to nonetheless take care to supply these choices.
These drugs “could flip the tide on the weight problems epidemic and positively influence downstream medical prices,” mentioned Watts. She provides that “even when workers or their households don’t personally want sure specialised applications or coverages, they recognize being a part of a company that prioritizes the well-being of all workers,” says Watts