Employers Eye Menopause Benefits, GLP-1 Coverage

Two of the hottest benefits trends may make their way into more employers’ coverage plans next year.

A number of employers are considering adding menopause benefits and GLP-1 drug coverage in 2025, according to new data from Mercer, which surveyed 697 organizations for its Survey on Health and Benefit Strategies for 2025 report.

Currently, about half of the large employers surveyed (52%) cover weight-loss medications, including GLP-1s.

Of the employers that don’t cover obesity drugs, 27% said they may add coverage for next year and another 1% said they intend to, compared to 17% that said they won’t add coverage. Of those that do already cover obesity medications, 42% said they will continue to cover it, while just 10% said they may discontinue coverage and 3% have recently discontinued coverage or plan to.

“Many employers that don’t already cover GLP-1 medications approved for treating obesity are facing growing pressure to do so,” Mercer’s report noted.

Although most employers that offer GLP-1 coverage for weight loss plan to continue to do so, Mercer noted that many employers that provide coverage are struggling with the cost—the treatments cost an estimated $1,000 per person per month—and may implement some strategies to reduce costs.

“We do see employers implementing strategies for tightening access, such as by adding preauthorization and reauthorization requirements, and by asking their PBMs [pharmacy benefit managers] or other vendor partners to revisit the criteria for access,” the Mercer report said. “As a first step to adding or updating utilization controls, sponsors need to examine how these therapies are being used currently (for what disease states and co-morbidities).”

The findings about obesity medications from Mercer follow an employer survey out June 13 from the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans (IFEBP), which found that employer coverage of the drugs is up 8 percentage points since last fall, with roughly one-third of companies now offering GLP-1 drug coverage for both diabetes management and weight loss. More than half of employers (57%) currently provide coverage for diabetes only—the original intended use for the drugs—up from 49% in 2023, the IFEBP found. Perhaps even more significantly, 34% provide coverage for both diabetes and weight loss (up from 26% in 2023), according to the benefits organization’s May survey of 279 employers.

Menopause Support

Meanwhile, Mercer found that 18% of employers plan to offer specific resources for women going through menopause in 2025, up from just 4% in 2023.

“Ensuring access to specialized care during menopause is a new but fast-growing benefit,” the report said.

Mercer’s survey comes on the heels of the 2024 SHRM Employee Benefits Survey, which similarly found that employers are considering more niche benefits like menopause support and grandparent leave as company leaders look to support employees during all phases of life and as a tight labor market persists. For the first time since SHRM started its annual benefits survey in 1996, it included menopause-specific support in the data, finding that 17% of employers provide related support, such as counseling and education. Another 2% said they offer menopause or menstrual leave above what is already covered by regular sick time.

“With things like menopause, I think it’s becoming more a part of the conversation,” Daniel Stunes, manager of data monetization with SHRM Data and Insights, said last month. “The more comfortable people are talking about it, the more businesses hear about it. And the more businesses hear about it, the more they realize, ‘Maybe we should do something about that.’ ”

[Also read: Employers Are Turning to a New Perk: Menopause Benefits]

Overall Benefits Strategy

Mercer also found that the majority of U.S. employers plan to maintain their current health benefits in 2025, despite rising health care costs.

To contain some costs, roughly a third of employers (36%) are leveraging strategies including offering a high-performance, narrow network or other alternative medical plan designed to steer employees to quality, cost-efficient care.

“Employers are juggling faster cost growth with the need to offer attractive benefits and keep health care affordable for all employees,” said Ed Lehman, leader of Mercer’s U.S. health and benefits division. “That’s why it’s important they assess their investments in employee health more carefully than ever to create real, long-term value for employees.”