Starbucks ends GLP-1 weight-loss coverage as employer costs climb

Starbucks will stop covering GLP-1 weight-loss drugs for employees in October, the latest sign that soaring pharmacy costs are forcing employers to recalibrate a benefit that has reshaped corporate health plans.

Starbucks will end health-plan coverage of GLP-1 medications prescribed for weight loss starting in October, joining a growing list of employers retreating as the drugs consume an outsized share of corporate health claims. The Seattle-based coffee chain will maintain coverage when the drugs are prescribed for other conditions, a spokesperson confirmed.

"We spend more than $250 million a year on GLP-1 coverage for employees, about 13 percent of our more than $2 billion annual healthcare budget, and we view it as an investment in employee health," Brian Moynihan, chief executive officer of Bank of America, said this week, offering a counterpoint to the pullback at Starbucks and other large employers.

GLP-1 drugs accounted for 11.4 percent of corporate employers' total annual health claims last year, up from 6.9 percent in 2023, according to a 2026 survey by the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans. Average health-benefit costs per employee rose 6 percent last year and are projected to rise 6.7 percent this year, Mercer said, with broader use of the costly medicines a leading driver.

The decision reverses a benefit that has become a recruiting and retention tool, and it exposes the tension employers face between supporting employee health and containing premiums. Starbucks offers health benefits to full- and part-time employees who work at least 20 hours a week.

Employer health budgets face wider pressure

The pullback extends beyond Starbucks. Allina Health, a Minnesota-based health system, ended weight-loss GLP-1 coverage for employees and covered dependents in January 2025, citing pressure on medical premiums. PwC has also reportedly stopped covering the drugs for weight loss.

The cost math is stark. KFF data show 34 percent of non-elderly people with employer-sponsored insurance — about 36.2 million people — have a body mass index that would medically qualify them for a GLP-1 drug. Among firms with 200 or more workers, 19 percent cover the drugs for weight loss, a share that rises to 43 percent at firms with 5,000 or more employees, KFF found.

Coverage narrows as demand accelerates

The International Foundation survey shows the direction of travel: 36 percent of corporate employers covered GLP-1s for both diabetes and weight loss in 2026, while 60 percent covered them only for diabetes. PwC analysis finds large self-funded employers covering the drugs for weight loss are seeing pharmacy trend increases exceeding 20 percent year over year, versus low-teens growth for employers that limit coverage to diabetes.

The drugs, originally developed for diabetes, have become widely used for obesity, which is linked to cardiovascular disease, cancer and other chronic conditions. New approvals for additional diagnoses — including certain cardiovascular risks and the liver disease MASH — are expected to widen eligibility further, keeping pressure on plan budgets.

For Starbucks, the change takes effect in October. For the broader market, the question is whether more employers follow Allina and PwC in narrowing coverage, or follow Bank of America in treating the drugs as a long-term health investment. The answer will shape pharmacy spending across the U.S. employer-sponsored insurance market, which covers roughly 150 million Americans.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.