Eli Lilly is launching a program to boost employer coverage of obesity drugs

Eli Lilly On Thursday, it launched a new program designed to help more employers cover obesity medications in the United States, targeting a major barrier to access for patients.

Lily and her main competitor Novo Nordiskmoved to lower the cash prices of popular obesity injections for those who want to pay entirely out of pocket. Employer coverage of obesity medications remains uneven due to rising costs, leaving nearly half of people with commercial insurance unable to start or continue treatment, Lilly said in a statement. List prices for Lilly’s weight loss and diabetes treatments, Zepbound and Mounjaro, are above $1,000 per month.

Nearly a fifth of companies with more than 200 workers, including 43% with 5,000 or more workers, said they covered GLP-1 weight loss drugs as of October, according to a survey by the Peterson-KFF Health System Tracker.

“I think we’ll learn in the coming months whether this is a solution that maybe enables some employers who have been sitting on the sidelines to choose obesity coverage for their employees,” Kevin Hearn, Lilly Employer’s senior vice president, said in an interview. Some employers may choose to add coverage in the coming months, while others could wait until 2027, he added.

Eli Lilly’s new “Employer Connect” platform gives employers more flexibility in how they cover obesity treatments, with the goal of expanding employees’ access to medications at lower costs, while also reducing expenses for businesses. Hearn said The program addresses some “key tensions” for employers when considering obesity drug coverage, including transparency around drug prices, flexibility in benefit design and the ability to choose among independent administrators.

Through the program, employers can pay a net discounted price of $449 per month for a new multi-dose form of Zepbound across all doses, Hearn said. He added that this arrangement does not include discounts, and that the net price gives employers greater insight into determining whether they can provide the drug.

Instead of relying on traditional benefit designs, employers can use Lilly’s platform to connect with more than a dozen different third-party program managers who help manage obesity treatment benefits and costs.

“Every employer is different. They all want to tailor things to their unique needs and workforce,” Hearn said.

Employers can choose from 15 administrators to design benefits that fit their budget and workers’ needs. Some administrators may focus on managing obesity benefits for employees, handling basic functions such as enrollment, eligibility, claims, and more. Other administrators may specialize in comprehensive obesity management, providing telehealth, nutrition and lifestyle support to patients.

Lilly plans to increase the number of program managers on the platform, which already includes GoodRx, Mark Cuban’s Cost Plus Drug Company, Sesame, Teladoc Health, 9amHealth, Andel, Calibrate Health, Crux Health, eMed, FlyteHealth, Form Health, Goodpath, Ilant Health, Onsera Health, ReviveHealth, SALTA Direct Primary Care, Transcarent and Waltz Health.

“Our goal was to create a platform where these companies could compete…with the value of their services to employers,” Hearn said. All managers offer the same medication at the same price, so employers will determine “who can provide me the best service with respect to the administration of this program as I determine.”

Those with government insurance could also see easier access to obesity drugs: Under landmark deals Lilly and Novo struck with President Donald Trump, Medicare will cover these drugs for the first time later this year.