Most large employers hold steady on GLP-1 coverage, for now

About 66% of the employers surveyed now cover the drugs for treatment of obesity, and that 70% of those employers intend to maintain coverage, according to a summary of the survey results posted by Chantell Sell Reagan, WTW's national pharmacy clinical leader, and Cody Midlam, director of WTW's Rx Solutions business.

About 12% of the employers with GLP-1 coverage for treatment of obesity said they were likely or very likely to drop it, and another 18% said they were somewhat likely to drop coverage.

Many employers with GLP-1 coverage for treatment of obesity that want to keep the coverage in place already combine, or are planning to combine, the benefits with obesity management programs.

"Most are not planning to eliminate GLP‑1 coverage in the near term," the analysts write. "Instead, the prevailing strategy balances affordability and member demand with longer-term cardiometabolic value through targeted subsidies and vendor management."

What it means: Makers of GLP-1 agonists and other new-generation anti-obesity medications may have another year to show that the overall value of covering the drugs at current price levels justifies the expense.

The backdrop: The Food and Drug Administration has approved use of GLP-1s to treat diabetes and some other conditions, not just obesity, but most of the controversy surrounds use of the drugs to treat uncomplicated obesity.

WTW is seeing at least temporary signs of employer GLP-1 coverage stability at a time when other benefits firms are reporting signs that the cost of covering the drugs for treatment of obesity may be unsustainable.

Espresa, a benefits platform, recently reported that GLP-1s now account for about 10% of prescription drug claims at typical employers.

Benefitfocus, another benefit plan services firm, found the drugs accounted for 20% of prescription drug spending at the large self-insured employer plans it serves.

Related: Payers rethink GLP-1 coverage as drug costs continue to rise

Some researchers have concluded that there is little evidence at this point that use of GLP-1s to treat obesity will reduce employer plans' overall health care spending to justify spending on GLP1s.

But other researchers are predicting that the drugs could reduce the impact of conditions like diabetes to save about $12,000 per patient, and other researchers are now suggesting that the drugs could help cut spending on substance use disorders.