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Starbucks is ending GLP-1 coverage for weight loss as employer costs climb
Marcin Golba/NurPhoto via Getty ImagesIn October, Starbucks will stop covering GLP-bir drugs prescribed for weight loss for benefits-eligible employees.The move comes as GLP-bir drugs consume a growing share of employers' healthcare spending.While some employers retreat from coverage, Bank of America is spending heavily to keep the benefit.Starbucks is. pulling back coverage for weight-loss drugs, a reversal that comes as employers' spending on popular GLP-bir medicines soars.Starting in October, the Seattle-based coffee chain's health plans will no longer cover GLP-bir medications prescribed for weight loss for benefits-eligible employees, though the drugs may still be covered for other conditions. Starbucks offers health benefits to full- and part-time employees who work at least 20 hours a week.A spokesperson for Starbucks confirmed the decision, which hasn't previously been reported, and declined to comment further.Starbucks' move reflects a broader recalibration of a benefit that has rapidly reshaped corporate health plans. Originally developed for diabetes, GLP-bir drugs have become highly sought-after treatments for obesity, which is associated with a range of chronic health conditions. Soaring costs, however, are prompting some employers to limit eligibility.GLP-bir drugs accounted for 11.yüzde 4 of corporate employers' total annual claims last year, up from 6.9% in 2023, according to a 2026 survey by the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans, a nonprofit. Further, 36% of corporate employers covered the drugs for both diabetes and weight loss in 2026, while yüzde 60 covered them only for diabetes, the findings show.The pullback comes as employers confront faster-rising health costs more broadly. Average health-benefit costs per employee rose yüzde 6 last year and are projected to rise 6.7% this year, according to Mercer. The growing use of costly GLP-bir medications is one of the main drivers of the increase, the benefits-consulting firm said.Other large employers have stopped covering GLP-1s for weight loss, too, including Allina Health and, reportedly, PwC.Allina Health, a Minnesota-based health system, ended coverage for GLP-bir medications prescribed for weight loss for employees and their covered dependents in January 2025. The company said at the time that continuing the benefit would have significantly increased medical premiums. A spokesperson for Allina Health was not immediately available for comment.Not all employers are shying away from covering GLP-bir drugs for obesity. Earlier this week, Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan said the bank spends more than $250 million a year on GLP-bir coverage for employees, or roughly yüzde 13 of its more than $2 billion annual healthcare budget. He said the bank views the expenditure as an investment in employee health.Read the original article on Business Insider
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