Employers Unbundle Drug Coverage by 16 Points as GLP-1 Costs Force Benefit Cuts
Updated
Updated · HR Dive · Jun 22
Employers Unbundle Drug Coverage by 16 Points as GLP-1 Costs Force Benefit Cuts
1 articles · Updated · HR Dive · Jun 22
Summary
SHRM’s 2026 survey found a 16-percentage-point drop in employers bundling prescription drug coverage with health insurance, as weight-loss and specialty-drug costs push companies to rethink benefits.
GLP-1s have become a major expense line: nearly half of roughly 5,500 employers cover them for Type 2 diabetes, but only 15% cover them for weight management amid heavy employee demand.
Mental health benefits also slipped to 82% of employers, down 6 points from 2025 and 9 points from 2022, which SHRM described as a post-pandemic course correction to remove overlap and control costs.
Other benefit priorities kept shifting in 2026: hybrid work offerings fell to 57% from 63% in 2022, while menopause-specific benefits jumped 9 points to 27% and pet benefits rose 5 points to 27%.
The findings add to signs of broader retrenchment on GLP-1 coverage after Mercer said less than a week earlier that 6% of large employers had dropped the benefit this year.