Obesity Action Coalition urges PepsiCo to keep GLP-1 coverage for employees

The Obesity Action Coalition (OAC), a nonprofit that advocates for people living with obesity, publicly called on PepsiCo on Sept. 2, 2026 to reverse what it described as a reported decision to end coverage of GLP-1 medications for obesity for some employees starting in October ^[1].

The group said reports indicate PepsiCo describes the change as necessary to keep healthcare sustainable and affordable for all employees. The OAC rejected that framing. "If PepsiCo is committed to protecting healthcare for all employees, that must include employees living with obesity," OAC President and CEO Joe Nadglowski said in the group's release. "Obesity is a chronic disease, and its treatment should not be singled out for exclusion." ^[1]

The OAC said employees affected by the change could instead be directed to manufacturer self-pay programs. Paying $300 to $500 every month to continue treatment "is not affordable access and is not a meaningful replacement for insurance coverage," the group said, adding that health plans routinely cover medications at a range of costs and that obesity treatment deserves the same consideration ^[1].

The group also argued that ending coverage clashes with PepsiCo's business strategy. It pointed to company products with added protein and fiber developed with GLP-1 consumers in mind, including Propel Clear Protein, which PepsiCo CEO Ramon Laguarta has said is targeted to GLP-1 medication users ^[1]. "PepsiCo should not view people using GLP-1s as consumers worth investing in while making treatment harder to access for its own employees," the OAC wrote ^[1].

The announcement did not say how many employees would be affected, which GLP-1 medications are involved, whether coverage for spouses or dependents would also end, or whether PepsiCo has responded to the campaign ^[1]. It also did not include data on how many large employers currently cover GLP-1 medications for obesity, and the OAC did not name other employers in the release ^[1].

Why it matters for patients

In the United States, whether a GLP-1 drug is covered is usually decided by an employer or a health plan, not by a single national rule. That means a decision made by one large company can change what its employees pay for a medication they may already be taking.

The dollar figure at the center of this dispute — $300 to $500 a month — is the OAC's estimate of what manufacturer self-pay programs would cost employees, not a number released by PepsiCo or an insurer ^[1]. The group's position is that this amount is not affordable access and is not a substitute for insurance coverage ^[1].

The OAC's central argument is that obesity is a chronic disease and that treatment for it should not be excluded when other conditions are covered ^[1]. For patients, the practical question in any employer coverage change is what happens to people mid-treatment: whether a plan stops paying, shifts members to a self-pay program, or requires a different step before covering a drug. The OAC release does not describe which of these applies at PepsiCo, and that detail has not been disclosed ^[1].

Coverage decisions like this one apply to the employees of the company involved. They do not change Medicare, Medicaid or marketplace rules, and no such change is described in the group's announcement ^[1].

What happens next

The coverage change the OAC describes is reported to begin in October ^[1]. No specific date in October was given ^[1].

The OAC is asking members of the public to contact PepsiCo through an action page on its website, arguing that cutting obesity coverage is not consistent with a commitment to providing healthcare for all employees ^[1].

No response from PepsiCo, and no timeline for one, was included in the group's Sept. 2 statement ^[1].