Walmart plans to cover more than 250 prescription drugs at no cost to employees starting in 2027, including insulin, inhalers and GLP-1 diabetes medications like Novo's Ozempic and Eli Lilly's Mounjaro.
The nation's largest private employer, which has about 1.6 million U.S. workers, confirmed the benefit expansion to CNBC on Tuesday. The move comes as many employers scale back health coverage or raise costs to manage rising healthcare expenses. Walmart is taking the opposite approach, minimizing premium increases for workers.
The company will raise the starting plan premium by $1.50 per pay period to $39.80, which Walmart said is a smaller increase than the year prior. Employees seeking GLP-1 drugs specifically for weight loss will not receive coverage, consistent with most large employers who have either declined to cover or cut coverage for obesity treatments to control costs.
Donna Morris, Walmart's chief people officer, outlined additional benefits in a Tuesday letter to workers. Starting next year, employees under most plans can access a second opinion from specialists at Mayo Clinic or Cleveland Clinic for rare conditions including ALS, multiple sclerosis and Parkinson's disease. Walmart previously offered the specialist benefit for cancer patients only.
The retailer is adding 12 weeks of neonatal intensive care unit leave for parents, which can be stacked on top of existing parental and maternity leave.
Walmart said in a statement that the changes "are based on years of planning and trying new things, which is allowing us to make meaningful improvements for associates without slashing benefits or significantly raising premiums." The announcement arrives weeks before open enrollment closes on November 6.
The benefit expansion reflects Walmart's effort to attract and retain workers amid competitive pressure from other employers. The company faced criticism in prior years over healthcare benefits and wages offered to its roughly 2.1 million global employees.