Walmart announced expanded healthcare benefits for its employees beginning in 2027, confirming plans to cover more than 250 prescription medications without employee cost. The initiative includes coverage of diabetes treatments such as Novo’s Ozempic and Eli Lilly’s Mounjaro for individuals with Type 2 diabetes following new prior authorization requirements. The company will also provide no-cost coverage for certain inhalers and other medications.
The benefit expansion represents part of Walmart’s ongoing efforts to enhance employee compensation and address previous criticism regarding healthcare offerings and wages. The nation’s largest private employer, which has approximately 1.6 million workers in the U.S., structured the announcement to coincide with the open enrollment period closing later this month. Company leadership stated the changes reflect years of planning and testing to achieve meaningful improvements without reducing existing benefits or implementing significant premium increases.
Walmart will keep premium increases modest across its plans, raising rates for its starting plan by $1.50 per pay period to $39.80, representing a smaller increase than the prior year. The retailer is expanding an existing benefit that provides access to specialist consultations at major medical centers, extending it to cover second opinions for rare conditions including ALS, multiple sclerosis, and Parkinson’s disease. Additionally, Walmart introduced up to 12 weeks of neonatal intensive care unit leave for parents, available in addition to standard parental and maternity leave benefits.
The company emphasized that the benefit enhancements were designed without slashing coverage or substantially raising employee premiums. While Walmart expanded GLP-1 coverage for diabetes treatment, the company maintained its position of not covering these medications for weight loss purposes, aligning with practices at other major employers seeking to manage healthcare expenditures.
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