Walmart to offer free GLP-1 drugs, more than 250 medications as it expands employee health benefits
The retailer is expanding prescription coverage and specialized medical care while raising premiums for its starting health insurance plan
FOX Business correspondent Grady Trimble reports on how GLP-1 weight loss drugs are fueling a massive demand for whey protein on 'The Claman Countdown.'
Walmart will offer certain GLP-1 medications for Type 2 diabetes at no cost to eligible employees starting in 2027, part of a broader expansion of health benefits that includes more than 250 free prescription drugs.
The nation's largest private employer is expanding prescription coverage under most of its medical plans, including certain insulin products and inhalers, according to an Oct. 13 letter to employees from Chief People Officer Donna Morris.
The expanded benefits come as employers and workers face rising health care costs, even as Walmart plans to increase premiums for its starting health insurance plan.
Premiums for the plan will rise by $1.50 per biweekly pay period to $39.80, Reuters reported, citing the company's website.
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A Walmart store as the retailer prepares to roll out tap-to-pay technology across its U.S. locations. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
"We're adding even more ways to help you and your family live better through comprehensive and affordable healthcare and benefits," Morris wrote in the letter.
Walmart is also expanding its Centers of Excellence program to provide specialized medical care for employees being evaluated for or diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).
FILE - Walmart announced it is slashing prices on summer essentials. (Christopher Dilts/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Under most medical plans, eligible employees will have access to no-cost evaluations and treatment reviews with specialists at Mayo Clinic or Cleveland Clinic.
The retailer is also introducing up to 12 weeks of dedicated paid leave for employees whose children are receiving care in a neonatal intensive care unit. The benefit takes effect Nov. 17 and can be combined with existing maternity, parental and other paid leave benefits.
A view of the checkout counters inside Walmart, NW 79th Street, Miami, Florida. (Jeffrey Greenberg/Universal Images Group via Getty Images / Getty Images)
The company will continue offering existing benefits, including 20 no-cost mental health therapy sessions annually and up to $20,000 in financial support for fertility treatments, adoption or surrogacy.
Walmart, which employs approximately 1.6 million workers in the United States, is rolling out the changes as its annual benefits enrollment period continues.
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The company's annual benefits enrollment period runs through Nov. 6.