Walmart plans to cover more than 250 prescriptions, including insulin, inhalers and GLP-1 for diabetes, at no cost to its employees in 2027, the company confirmed to CNBC on Tuesday.
The retailer also is expanding existing benefits and adding new ones to attract and retain workers at a time when many other employers are offsetting rising health care costs with higher prices and reduced plan benefits. The announcement comes weeks before open enrollment for Walmart employees closes on November 6.
Walmart, the largest private employer in the United States, will offer de Novo Ozempic diabetes injection and Eli Lilly’s rival shot Mounjaro free for people with type 2 diabetes after new prior authorization.
But the company still doesn’t cover GLP-1 from Novo and Lilly for weight loss purposes. Similarly, other large employers either do not cover these obesity treatments or have recently dropped their coverage to reduce healthcare costs.
The latest benefits changes build on Walmart’s years-long effort to increase employee pay after previously receiving criticism over the benefits and wages it offers. Walmart employed approximately 2.1 million associates globally, of which approximately 1.6 million were based in the United States, as of the end of fiscal 2026.
In a statement, the company said it was minimizing premium increases for its employees, increasing its starting plan rates by $1.50 per pay period, to $39.80. Walmart told CNBC that was a smaller increase than the company made last year.
The company is also expanding an existing benefit that allows employees to see cancer specialists at the Mayo Clinic or Cleveland Clinic, according to a letter to workers Tuesday from Donna Morris, Walmart’s chief human resources officer. Starting next year, employees of most plans will be able to use this benefit to get a second opinion from a specialist for rare diseases like ALS, multiple sclerosis and Parkinson’s disease.
Other additional benefits include 12 weeks of neonatal intensive care unit leave for parents, which can be added to regular parental and maternity leave, the letter said.
“The steps we’re taking are based on years of planning and testing new things, allowing us to make meaningful improvements for associates without reducing benefits or significantly increasing bonuses,” Walmart said in its statement to CNBC.
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