But experts warn patients could see those costs double, if employers drop coverage<\/a>.<\/p>\n Two-thirds of U.S. companies currently cover the drugs for weight loss but 10 percent are planning to eliminate the coverage next year, a May survey<\/a> from the employer organization Business Group showed. GLP-1s were found to be the biggest factor in an expected record increase in costs of employer-sponsored health insurance next year, a separate survey<\/a> from the global insurance firm Marsh found.<\/p>\n That\u2019s why some companies have already pulled coverage, including beverage giant PepsiCo. The company will still cover weight-loss medications for employees with diabetes but has also limited coverage. <\/p>\n “Prescription weight loss medications have become one of the fastest-growing costs in the PepsiCo Plans,” the company wrote in a letter to employees, shared with The Independent Wednesday. <\/p>\n Removing the coverage enables the company to provide an affordable and sustainable healthcare program with a high value benefits package, PepsiCo wrote. <\/p>\n Healthcare group Cigna and coffee chain Starbucks have also stopped GLP-1 coverage for weight loss, according to recent reports from Reuters<\/a> and Business Insider<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cAs availability has increased and new options \u200bhave emerged, we’ve made the decision to end our plan’s coverage for GLP-1s for \u200bweight loss,” a Cigna spokesperson said. “We remain committed to supporting our employees\u2019 health \u2060through a range of weight management programs and resources.\u201d<\/p>\n The Independent has contacted both Cigna and Starbucks for comment. <\/p>\n Other companies say they have seen GLP-1s have great benefits for employees.<\/p>\n An investment in the drugs is a worthwhile investment in the workforce, Bank of America Chief Executive Brian Moynihan told CNBC<\/a> last month. GLP-1 drugs account for 13 percent of the company\u2019s healthcare spending.<\/p>\n \u201cWe spend about $250 million or more on GLPs, and that\u2019s up from zero\u201d four or five years ago, Moynihan said. \u201cWe see a great impact on the employees.\u201d<\/p>\n Recent research<\/a> has shown that GLP-1s could lead to fewer sick days for employees. Preliminary research has also indicated that GLP-1s could help people live longer<\/a>, although more studies are needed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Your support helps us to tell the story From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":772974,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[43],"tags":[71525,155046,6494,13676,102,2960,11237,9334,42367,6487,58030,254956,56,54,55,659],"class_list":["post-772973","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-healthcare","tag-arts-culture-and-entertainment","tag-brian-moynihan","tag-color-image","tag-event","tag-health","tag-healthcare","tag-horizontal","tag-library","tag-north-dakota","tag-photography","tag-talking","tag-theodore-roosevelt-us-president","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom","tag-usa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/772973","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=772973"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/772973\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/772974"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=772973"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=772973"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=772973"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Two-thirds](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/33f2108ddfda8d50ce045b5bfa907413Y29udGVudHNlYXJjaGFwaSwxNzU2OTc0OTA1-2.80825585.jpg\")
Two-thirds of U.S. companies currently cover the drugs for weight loss but 10 percent are planning to eliminate the coverage next year (PA)<\/p>\n![\"Bank](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/2284375985...jpeg\")
Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan says the company spends $250 million or more on GLP-1 drugs for employees (Getty)<\/p>\n