Modern Healthcare documents the employer retreat: Cigna and PwC out this year, PepsiCo and Starbucks in October

Employers are increasingly cutting coverage for GLP-1 drugs prescribed for weight loss, and the list of names is getting bigger. Modern Healthcare reported that Cigna Group and PricewaterhouseCoopers eliminated the benefit during 2026, with PepsiCo and Starbucks set to follow in October ^[1]. The reporting cited Business Group on Health data showing that about 60% of large employers cover GLP-1s for weight loss this year, down from 72% in 2025 ^[1].

Starbucks confirmed separately that it will end employer-sponsored coverage of GLP-1 medications when they are prescribed for weight loss, effective in October ^[2]. Coverage continues when the same drugs are prescribed for diabetes and other approved conditions ^[2]. The change affects benefits-eligible employees, which at Starbucks includes workers logging at least 20 hours per week ^[2]. The same class of drugs is involved either way: semaglutide is sold as Ozempic and Rybelsus for type 2 diabetes and as Wegovy for weight management, while tirzepatide is Mounjaro for diabetes and Zepbound for weight and sleep apnea.

What happens to diabetes coverage at Cigna, PwC and PepsiCo is not spelled out in the available sources, and neither is the number of employees affected at each company.

The wider numbers

Different surveys measure the retreat differently, and they do not line up neatly. A 2026 Mercer survey found 6% of large employers dropped GLP-1 weight-loss coverage in 2026, with another 5% planning to do so in 2027 ^[2]. That is a measure of year-over-year drops, while the Business Group on Health figure measures the share of large employers offering the benefit at all, which fell from 72% to 60% ^[1].

The cost pressure behind the cuts is easier to pin down. The International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans reported that GLP-1 drugs made up 11.4% of corporate employers' total annual health claims in 2024, up from 6.9% in 2023 ^[2]. Aon projected a 9.5% increase in employer health care costs for 2027, based on data from more than 1,100 US employers covering $135 billion in health spending, with average per-employee spending topping $19,000 — the fourth straight year of near double-digit increases ^[2].

GLP-1s are not the only benefit on the chopping block. Disney will stop covering working spouses who can get coverage elsewhere starting in 2027, affecting its more than 200,000 US employees ^[2]. Bloomberg will charge employees monthly premium contributions for the first time ^[2]. Deloitte is cutting paid parental leave from 16 weeks to eight for one employee segment and ending a $50,000 adoption and surrogacy reimbursement program for that group ^[2]. Zoom cut paid parental leave for birthing employees from 22–24 weeks to 18 ^[2]. As one Mercer benefits partner put it, when health cost increases run into the low double digits, everything in the benefits budget is fair game ^[2].

Why it matters for patients

For someone taking a GLP-1 for weight loss through an employer plan, the practical question is whether the prescription still has a payer behind it after the plan year changes. When a formulary exclusion takes effect, the drug is typically still legal to buy, but the list price shifts to the patient unless another route applies. A formulary exclusion for a drug class requires advance notice to affected employees ^[2], so a plan letter or open enrollment packet is usually the first signal.

The diabetes-versus-weight-loss line matters too. Starbucks is keeping coverage when the drugs are prescribed for diabetes and other approved conditions ^[2], which means the diagnosis on the prescription, not the molecule, can determine whether a claim pays.

It is also worth noting what the sources do not say: they do not describe what alternatives, if any, these employers are offering — such as manufacturer direct-pay programs, lifestyle programs or narrower eligibility rules — and they do not say whether any of the companies plan to revisit the decision.

What happens next

October is the effective date for the Starbucks weight-loss exclusion ^[2] and, per Modern Healthcare, for PepsiCo as well ^[1]. The 2027 open enrollment conversation is already underway for employers with calendar-year plans ^[2], and Mercer's survey suggests another 5% of large employers intend to drop the benefit in 2027 ^[2]. Deloitte's changes take effect January 1, 2027, and Disney's spousal change starts in 2027 ^[2].