PwC has announced weight loss drugs will be dropped from US employees health plans starting this July. With this in mind, Howden’s Global Employee Health Report 2026 looks at the differing views of employees vs employers when it comes to including weight-management drugs in health plans.
Cheryl Brennan, Managing Director of Howden Employee Benefits, commented:
“The demand for these drugs is obvious, and employers can simply not afford to ignore it. However, the financial impact of new obesity medications also cannot be overlooked. It is no longer a future projection – it’s a current reality that is forcing business leaders to rethink their plan design and budget allocations.”
“Costs are rising rapidly and medical inflation is set to be 7%, meaning when combined with general inflation, businesses are facing combined price hikes of over 10% over the next year. As a result, the focus of healthcare is changing to preventative measures, in an attempt to mitigate the effects of costs as early as possible, and weight-management drugs are becoming more popular as a prevention tool.
“Treading the line on which drugs to cover will be weighing on the minds of business leaders. There remains plenty of drugs and treatments which are currently not covered by employers’ health plans. So firms will need to justify why they chose to cover weight loss drugs ahead of others. And with demand soaring, consideration must be given to the guardrails in place surrounding eligibility. Businesses will have to work out if this improvement balances the scales enough to absorb the cost and cover these drugs as part of their healthcare plans, which has the potential to reshape the employee healthcare space dramatically over the coming years.”
