Bank of America Backs GLP-1 Coverage

Bank of America is spending over $250 million a year on GLP-1 medications for its employees. That’s according to CEO Brian Moynihan, who shared the number during a CNBC interview on Wednesday. He didn’t sound alarmed by it, either. In fact, he called it a smart bet on his workforce.

Consider the scale here. The bank covers roughly 211,000 employees. Its total healthcare budget tops $2 billion a year. That means the cost of GLP-1 drugs alone now accounts for about 13 percent of the company’s total employee health spending.

And this expense basically didn’t exist a few years ago. Moynihan said the number has climbed from close to zero over the past four or five years. That’s a startling jump for any single drug category.

So what are these drugs, exactly? GLP-1 medications work by mimicking hormones that control appetite and blood sugar. Semaglutide, sold as Ozempic and Wegovy, falls into this class. So does tirzepatide, marketed as Mounjaro and Zepbound.

The FDA has approved these drugs for type 2 diabetes. Some versions also carry approval for chronic weight management in people with obesity. All of them require a prescription; none are available over the counter.

Here’s where it gets interesting for employers like Bank of America. Growing research suggests GLP-1 drugs may lower cardiovascular risk in people who already have heart disease. That’s on top of their more established effects on weight loss and blood sugar. Moynihan cited this potential heart benefit as one reason the bank continues to pay for coverage.

The company doesn’t just hand out prescriptions and call it done, though. It pairs drug coverage with health coaching, so employees get support as they navigate weight changes and new habits. Moynihan admitted that some workers will leave the company before they see the full payoff. Still, he argues it’s the right move regardless.

Not every employer sees it that way. A July survey from the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans looked at more than 30,000 organizations. It found that only 36 percent of employers cover GLP-1 drugs for both diabetes and weight loss. That’s up slightly from 34 percent in 2024, but it hasn’t moved at all since 2025.

Among the employers who do offer coverage, the financial impact has been significant. GLP-1 drugs made up 11.4 percent of their annual healthcare claims in 2026. Back in 2023, that number sat at just 6.9 percent. Costs, in other words, have nearly doubled in three years.

Drugmakers know coverage decisions like these shape their entire market. That’s why Eli Lilly rolled out a new pricing option in March. Employers can now buy a multi-dose version of Zepbound at a discounted rate of $449 a month, regardless of dosage. Novo Nordisk has been pushing similar deals to expand its own employer coverage.

Even with these programs, sticker price tags remain steep for anyone without solid insurance. Annual costs can still run into the thousands of dollars per patient. That gap between negotiated employer pricing and what regular consumers pay has become one of the biggest tension points in the obesity drug market.

Federal policy may soon shift that picture, too. The Trump administration recently announced pricing agreements with Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly through a new platform called TrumpRx. Under the deal, monthly prices for Ozempic and Wegovy are expected to drop from $1,000 and $1,350 to $350. Medicare patients with obesity and related health conditions could pay as little as $50 a month for Wegovy or Zepbound.

None of this solves the access problem overnight, though. Large, self-insured employers like Bank of America can negotiate aggressively with pharmacy benefit managers. Smaller companies and public agencies often can’t do the same. As more people seek out these drugs, that imbalance is likely to keep shaping who can actually afford them.