Pricey Weight-Loss Drugs Spur Employer Efforts to Control Costs

The popularity of expensive new weight-loss drugs like Wegovy and Ozempic is spurring employer health plans to consider prior authorization and other means to limit their uptake, according to people who work with the plans.

“Some employers are either requiring prior authorization or are considering kind of a step therapy approach,” Julie Stich, vice president of content for the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans, said in an interview. Prior authorization requires approval from a health plan before the prescription is filled, and less costly treatments may be ordered first under step therapy.

Health insurance plans have come under fire ...