{"id":933214,"date":"2026-10-14T22:16:18","date_gmt":"2026-10-14T22:16:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/933214\/"},"modified":"2026-10-14T22:16:18","modified_gmt":"2026-10-14T22:16:18","slug":"walmart-to-offer-free-glp-1-drugs-more-than-250-medications-to-employees-in-2027","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/933214\/","title":{"rendered":"Walmart to offer free GLP-1 drugs, more than 250 medications to employees in 2027"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>FOX Business correspondent Grady Trimble reports on how GLP-1 weight loss drugs are fueling a massive demand for whey protein on &#8216;The Claman Countdown.&#8217;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxbusiness.com\/category\/walmart\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Walmart<\/a> will offer certain GLP-1 medications for Type 2 diabetes at no cost to eligible employees starting in 2027, part of a broader expansion of health benefits that includes more than 250 free prescription drugs.<\/p>\n<p>The nation&#8217;s largest private employer is expanding prescription coverage under most of its <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxbusiness.com\/healthcare\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">medical plans<\/a>, including certain insulin products and inhalers, according to an Oct. 13 letter to employees from Chief People Officer Donna Morris.<\/p>\n<p>The expanded benefits come as employers and workers face rising health care costs, even as Walmart plans to increase premiums for its starting health insurance plan.<\/p>\n<p>Premiums for the plan will rise by $1.50 per biweekly pay period to $39.80, Reuters reported, citing the company&#8217;s website.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxbusiness.com\/lifestyle\/walmart-recalls-4-4-million-grill-brushes-over-serious-injury-risk\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">WALMART RECALLS 4.4 MILLION GRILL BRUSHES OVER SERIOUS INJURY RISK<\/a><\/p>\n<p>    <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/walmart-tap-to-pay-001.jpg\" alt=\"Walmart store exterior with the retailer\u2019s logo and an American flag outside the building\"\/> <\/p>\n<p>A Walmart store as the retailer prepares to roll out tap-to-pay technology across its U.S. locations. (Joe Raedle\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;We&#8217;re adding even more ways to help you and your family live better through comprehensive and affordable healthcare and benefits,&#8221; Morris wrote in the letter.<\/p>\n<p>Walmart is also expanding its Centers of Excellence program to provide specialized medical care for employees being evaluated for or diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, Parkinson&#8217;s disease or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).<\/p>\n<p>    <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Walmart.jpg\" alt=\"A Walmart store in Illinois.\"\/> <\/p>\n<p>FILE &#8211; Walmart announced it is slashing prices on summer essentials. (Christopher Dilts\/Bloomberg via Getty Images)<\/p>\n<p>Under most medical plans, eligible employees will have access to no-cost evaluations and treatment reviews with specialists at Mayo Clinic or Cleveland Clinic.<\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxbusiness.com\/category\/retail\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">retailer<\/a> is also introducing up to 12 weeks of dedicated paid leave for employees whose children are receiving care in a neonatal intensive care unit. The benefit takes effect Nov. 17 and can be combined with existing maternity, parental and other paid leave benefits.<\/p>\n<p>    <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/walmart-checkout-counters.jpg\" alt=\"A view of the checkout counters inside Walmart\"\/> <\/p>\n<p>A view of the checkout counters inside Walmart, NW 79th Street, Miami, Florida.\u00a0 (Jeffrey Greenberg\/Universal Images Group via Getty Images \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n<p>The company will continue offering existing benefits, including 20 no-cost mental health therapy sessions annually and up to $20,000 in financial support for fertility treatments, adoption or surrogacy.<\/p>\n<p>Walmart, which employs approximately 1.6 million workers in the United States, is rolling out the changes as its annual benefits enrollment period continues.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxbusiness.com\/apps-products\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">CLICK HERE TO GET FOX BUSINESS ON THE GO<\/a><\/p>\n<p>The company&#8217;s annual benefits enrollment period runs through Nov. 6.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"FOX Business correspondent Grady Trimble reports on how GLP-1 weight loss drugs are fueling a massive demand for&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":933215,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[49,48,84,392],"class_list":["post-933214","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-healthcare","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-health","tag-healthcare"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/933214","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=933214"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/933214\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/933215"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=933214"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=933214"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=933214"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}