Walmart to cover some GLP-1s, inhalers and insulin for employees at no cost as it expands benefits

Walmart plans to cover more than 250 prescriptions, including some insulin, inhalers and GLP-1s for diabetes, at no cost to its employees in 2027, the company confirmed to CNBC on Tuesday.

The retailer is also expanding existing benefits and adding new ones to attract and retain workers at a time when many other employers are offsetting rising healthcare costs with higher prices and scaled-back plan benefits. The announcement comes weeks before open enrollment for Walmart employees closes on Nov. 6.

Walmart, the biggest private employer in the U.S., will offer Novo's diabetes injection Ozempic and Eli Lilly's rival shot Mounjaro without charge for people with Type 2 diabetes after a new prior authorization.

But the company still does not cover GLP-1s from Novo and Lilly for the purpose of weight loss. Other large employers similarly don't cover those treatments for obesity or have recently dropped coverage to tamp down on their healthcare costs.

The latest benefit changes build on Walmart's years-long effort to boost employee compensation after previously receiving criticism for the healthcare benefits and wages it offers. Walmart employs roughly 2.1 million associates worldwide, with about 1.6 million of those workers based in the U.S., as of the end of fiscal year 2026.

In a statement, the company said it's minimizing premium increases for its employees, raising rates for its starting plan by $1.50 per pay period to $39.80. Walmart told CNBC that's a smaller increase than the company made last year.

The company is also expanding an existing benefit that pays for employees to see cancer specialists at the Mayo Clinic or the Cleveland Clinic, according to a Tuesday letter to workers from Donna Morris, Walmart's chief people officer. Starting next year, employees under most plans can use that benefit to get a second opinion from a specialist for rare conditions such as ALS, multiple sclerosis and Parkinson's.

Among the other added benefits is 12 weeks of neonatal intensive care unit leave for parents, which can be added on top of regular parental and maternity leave, the letter said.

"The steps we're taking 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," Walmart said in its statement to CNBC.