U.S. insurers and large companies are restricting coverage of injectable weight loss pens like Ozempic, Wegovy, and Zepbound due to rising operational costs. Without health plan subsidies, the price of these GLP-1-based treatments ranges from $900 to $1,350 per month per patient. At large American corporations, spending on these medications has jumped from a marginal cost to more than 10% of the entire annual budget allocated for prescription drugs.
Research from consulting firms Mercer and Business Group on Health shows that the proportion of large companies covering obesity medications dropped from 72% in 2025 to 60% in 2026, while 14% of companies have already cut or plan to cut this coverage. Companies like HCA Healthcare, PricewaterhouseCoopers, and Cigna have already changed their policies to limit access to these therapies.
Health insurers maintain coverage for medications intended for the treatment of type 2 diabetes, but refuse when the same drugs are prescribed for obesity. Data from consulting firm IQVIA shows that more than 60% of GLP-1 prescriptions for weight loss are rejected directly at pharmacies. Florida Medicaid, which does not cover GLP-1 treatments for weight loss, affects more than 3.6 million residents who depend on public health programs in the state.
Faced with denials, patients in Florida are turning to private clinics, pharmaceutical discount programs, and local health networks that have managed to reduce treatment costs by up to 21% through integrated medical follow-up.
