As questions continue surrounding the coverage of popular glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) drugs, benefit providers are faced with managing costs while considering the overall health of their plan participants. The International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans has been tracking GLP-1 coverage in Canada since February 2024. Newly released survey data revealed the following key trends for GLP-1 drug coverage:
- 51% of employers provide coverage for diabetes only (a decrease from 56% in 2025 and 66% in 2024)
- 37% provide coverage for both diabetes and weight loss (on the rise from 31% in 2025 and 17% in 2024)
- 12% cover GLP-1 drugs for other conditions (sleep apnea, cardiovascular disease, etc.).
Organizations that cover GLP-1 drugs for weight loss typically do so through one of three ways: a prescription drug within a medical plan (85%), a dedicated weight management vendor point solution (12%) or a supplemental drug rider (4%).
Carey Wooton, CEBS, Associate Vice President of Education at the International Foundation, shared that coverage of GLP-1 drugs for weight loss in Canada continues to rise. She also noted that employers remain tasked with meeting employee demand while mitigating rising costs. Other typically covered benefits for diabetes and weight loss include nutritional counseling (54%), other prescription drugs (43%), lifestyle modification programs (24%) and disease/case/chronic care management (21%).
Among employers not covering GLP-1 drugs for weight loss, 17% of Canadian employers are considering adding coverage for weight loss. The majority (73%) of those employers are excluding coverage through a carve-out from their medical and/or prescription drug plan.
Other approaches to accessing GLP-1s for weight loss include the following:
- 15% of employers encourage employees to use their HCSA for GLP-1 drugs.
- 2% encourage employees to obtain via a direct-to-consumer platform.
The top ten factors for employers when considering GLP-1 coverage for weight loss are:
- Obesity as a risk factor for chronic diseases and associated costs—53%
- Long-term costs and difficulty measuring outcomes—38%
- Impact/effectiveness of cost-control mechanisms on health insurance premiums—38%
- Medication adherence factors—25%
- Immediate/short-term costs—25%
- Broker/consultant/PBM recommendations—25%
- Patient and prescriber demand—22%
- Oral pill forms available—22%
- GLP-1 label expansion/approval for secondary conditions—22%
- Side effects—19%.
According to ten survey responders, GLP-1 drugs accounted for an average of 11.1% of annual claims in 2026. Visit www.ifebp.org/CanadaGLP2026 for more information. (To view the 2026 U.S. GLP-1 drug survey data, visit www.ifebp.org/GLP2026 ).
