Drug Benefit Design Survey Touches on GLP-1s, ‘Unbundling,’ Gene Therapies, Tiering Strategies

June 27

When designing their drug benefits packages, deciding how to approach GLP-1 medications was a top concern for plan sponsors, according to Pharmaceutical Strategies Group’s 2024 “Trends in Drug Benefit Design Report,” sponsored by Prescryptive Health. The report is based on surveys of 223 individuals representing employers, health plans and union/Taft-Hartley plans.

The report highlighted the complexities presented by the demand and high costs of GLP-1 drugs. In 2024, over 90% of all employers and health plans covered GLP-1s for Type 2 diabetes, while just over 30% covered these drugs for obesity. Of those who excluded the medications for obesity from coverage, 38% considered them too expensive to cover.

0 Comments

Radar on Drug Benefits

Jinghong Chen Reporter

Jinghong has been producing infographics and data stories on employer-sponsored insurance, public health insurance programs and prescription drug coverage for AIS Health’s Health Plan Weekly and Radar on Drug Benefits since 2018. She also manages AIS Health’s annual executive compensation database for top insurers and Blue Cross and Blue Shield affiliates. Before joining AIS Health, she interned at WBEZ, Al Jazeera English and The New York Times Chinese. She graduated from Missouri School of Journalism with a focus on data journalism and international reporting.