Weight-loss medications are becoming more visible in workplace health benefits as employers consider how they can support workforce health.
These GLP-1 medications are perhaps better known under the Ozempic, Wegovy or Mounjaro brands. There has been significant demand for these injections and now pills, which suppress appetite helping people lose weight and adopt healthier lifestyles.
But providers and advisers warn employers that these drugs aren’t an instant, or cheap, fix. Advisers say that employers offering such treatments need to explain what support is available, without creating unrealistic expectations or presenting weight management as a medication-only solution.
Communications should also be clear about eligibility and treatment, and this will needed to be tailored to different workforces. Employees are also likely to need reassurance that participation is voluntary and confidential.
Support available
Weight-management benefits can offer employees more than access to GLP-1 medication, with insurers combining clinical assessment with lifestyle and behavioural support.
Bupa’s Weight Management Plan forms part of a wider preventive healthcare approach, with clinically led support to help members achieve and maintain a healthy weight and reduce the risk of long-term conditions. The insurer provides employers with materials explaining the benefit and how employees can access support.
Vitality’s clinically led weight-management service offers eligible members both medicated and non-medicated pathways through Boots Online Doctor and Second Nature, alongside coaching and behavioural support. The service focuses on sustainable health improvements and developing healthier habits, rather than medication alone.
The provider also supports employers with information on eligibility, access to clinical guidance and the weight-management support available through employer communications, member emails, landing pages and its member channels.
Communicating the benefit
Communicating weight-management benefits presents a particular challenge because employees may have different health needs, levels of awareness and attitudes towards treatment.
Isio director Alison Byrne says many organisations do not fully understand the range of support already available through their benefits, which can include coaching, nutrition and education alongside medication.
“Many organisations do not fully understand the support they already have available or how to use it effectively. That understanding should shape their communications strategy, helping employers explain the right support to the right people in the right way.”
She adds that employers need to consider how different groups work and communicate, with manufacturing and construction workers potentially needing different communication channels from office-based staff.
Bupa UK head of corporate product Pamela Dermody says the insurer provides employers with communication materials that can be shared with employees or hosted on internal systems, while account managers can also hold sessions explaining the benefit, customer journey and how to access support.
VitalityHealth UK deputy CEO Dr Katie Tryon says the provider uses multiple touchpoints, including employer communications, member emails, landing pages and its member channels.
She says: “The most important thing is framing it as an option. Weight management should be communicated the same way as any other health support – providing the relevant information about what is available, how to be directed to further resources and choices on how to approach it.”
Byrne adds that information about the benefits and drawbacks of treatment should be communicated at the outset and revisited throughout treatment, because side effects can change as dosage changes.
“So you tell somebody at the start, these are the kind of pros and cons to everything, but that needs to be continual throughout, because as your dosage changes, things can change in terms of side effects.”
Eligibility
Eligibility for weight-management treatment is a clinical decision, with factors including BMI and existing health conditions determining who is suitable.
Byrne says weight-management benefits should be clinically led and tailored to individual needs, with clear eligibility criteria and triage to determine the most appropriate support. She says medication should form part of a wider pathway that could include nutrition, education and physical activity, rather than being treated as a standalone or cosmetic intervention.
Aon principal Rachel Western says employers considering GLP-1s should work with a clinically reputable provider and ensure eligibility is determined by the provider rather than the employer.
She notes: “This will likely focus on their BMI and co-morbidities but should be set and structured solely at a clinically approved level.”
Dermody says eligibility is determined through a GP consultation to assess whether treatment, including weight-loss medication, is clinically appropriate. The GP then explains the available options so the individual can make an informed decision.
Vitality also requires members to complete a clinical assessment before starting treatment, covering suitability, potential side effects, treatment and lifestyle support.
Western says employers should be prepared for questions from employees who do not qualify for GLP-1s but want other forms of weight-management support, including bariatric surgery or help with personal training and diet.
Dermody adds that employers should focus on making support available rather than directing employees towards a particular treatment.
Beyond medication
Long-term treatment is another consideration for employers, with providers and advisers stressing that GLP-1 medication should not be viewed as a standalone or short-term intervention.
Byrne says GLP-1s have significant benefits, but longer-term research is still needed to understand their impact and weight can be regained after treatment stops.
“It shouldn’t be used as a once and done exercise, and it needs to form part of a much bigger health strategy.”
Western says many employers are still weighing the potential health benefits of GLP-1s against questions around their longer-term effects, risks and limitations, while a lack of evidence on the potential return on investment is also making employers cautious about funding the medication, given the potentially steep costs.
According to Western, many employees are already taking GLP-1s on a self-funded basis, meaning employers may choose to support coaching, lifestyle and behavioural change tools without covering the cost of medication.
For Vitality, employees who leave their employer or are no longer covered by an eligible Vitality plan can continue treatment with Boots Online Doctor if they continue to meet the clinical eligibility criteria, but will no longer receive the discounted access available through the Vitality benefit.
Meanwhile, Dermody says employer-funded access ends if an employee leaves the company, although they can continue treatment and support on a self-funded basis through Bupa Health Services.
Privacy and the employer’s role
Privacy is another important consideration, with providers stressing that employees’ decisions about weight-management treatment should remain confidential and voluntary.
Dermody notes: “Use of Bupa’s Weight Management Plan should be entirely voluntary, with no participation targets or pressure placed on employees.”
Employers are not told which employees have accessed the benefit, with reporting limited to aggregated information such as appointment numbers and associated costs, subject to minimum reporting thresholds.
Tryon says an employee’s health information, participation and treatment remain between them and the relevant clinical provider. Employers cannot identify who is using the weight-management pathway or whether an individual is taking medication.
Confidentiality should be treated in the same way as any other medical treatment, with employers receiving reporting on the benefit but not information about individual employees, Byrne adds.
She says employers should act as facilitators of healthcare support rather than taking responsibility for an individual’s health, particularly as weight management can involve ongoing treatment and support.
Dermody says: “Employers can play an important role by making health and wellbeing support available to their people. Ultimately, decisions about whether to access that support, and what is right for an individual’s circumstances, should remain personal.”
Tryon adds: “Employers can support a healthy working environment, but they should not assume responsibility for monitoring an individual’s weight or directing further treatment.”