Obesity is a complex, chronic disease. There’s no one cause, and no single solution.
Understanding your health plan’s GLP-1 cost-containment strategy is the first step — but employers also need to proactively balance emerging science with evidence-based interventions and smart business decisions. Here are some ideas to help you do that.
Provide comprehensive weight management support
GLP-1s should never be the first line of defense for weight management and should only be considered in conjunction with personalized physical, mental, and social health support. This could include things like counseling, nutrition education, digital tools, employee support groups, and subsidized fitness classes.
These medications are not substitutes for eating better, exercising, managing stress, and prioritizing sleep. Considering the low adherence and high cost associated with GLP-1s, behavior and lifestyle modifications remain essential to the long-term value of any workforce weight loss strategy.
Choose a health plan with a targeted prescribing approach
Before considering GLP-1 medications, physicians should carefully review each employee’s medical history to understand how weight has impacted their health — and what solutions have been explored before. Then, they should work together to create a holistic and sustainable treatment plan that addresses behavior changes, psychosocial support, and socioeconomic stressors — and may or may not include medication.
Advocate for equitable, evidence-based care
Ask your health plan how their physicians approach GLP-1s. Make sure these drugs are being prescribed to employees with type-2 diabetes and comorbidities, not just those with obesity. And — although this should go without saying — confirm that covered providers only prescribe GLP-1s for weight loss when clinically appropriate.
Emphasize clinical integration and engagement
If your GLP-1 program doesn’t integrate with your overall weight management program, it’s likely not worth the additional cost. Employees need to be educated before they start taking GLP-1s. And they should be carefully monitored by clinicians who are invested in and informed about their patients’ total health. Obesity treatment works best when it can be modified in real time — including discontinuing GLP-1s in favor of more effective medications.
The GLP-1 workforce health story is still being written
These drugs have sparked what’s been called a “weight loss revolution.” And we may be entering a new era — not just in how obesity is treated, but how it’s understood.
And as we continue learning, it’s essential for clinicians who prescribe these drugs for weight loss to be deeply invested in their patients’ total health. A collaborative, evidence-based, multi-modal approach is essential for both safety and success. Employers invested in long-term workforce wellness will simultaneously explore the emerging possibilities of GLP-1s while offering holistic, time-tested, and evidence-based weight loss support that goes beyond a prescription.
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