Walmart Will Give Workers Free Ozempic, Insulin and Inhalers in 2027
Walmart announced Tuesday that starting in 2027 it will cover more than 250 prescription medications at no cost to its employees, including certain insulins, asthma inhalers and GLP-1 diabetes drugs. The list mixes common generics with headline-grabbing brand-name treatments — most notably Novo Nordisk's Ozempic and Eli Lilly's Mounjaro, which workers with type 2 diabetes can receive free after a new prior authorization. Other covered drugs treat migraines, dementia and cardiovascular conditions.
The plan was disclosed in a staff memo from Donna Morris, Walmart's chief people officer. "We're adding even more ways to help you and your family live better through comprehensive and affordable healthcare and benefits," she wrote. The company confirmed the details to CNBC after Bloomberg first reported the memo, framing the expansion as a way to attract and retain workers at a time when many employers are scaling back.
One boundary matters: the free GLP-1s are for diabetes only. Walmart still does not cover Ozempic or Mounjaro when prescribed for weight loss, CNBC reported. That mirrors the wider corporate trend of paying for the drugs as diabetes medicine while refusing to fund their obesity use — even as peer employers drop the benefit entirely.
The announcement lands weeks before Walmart's annual open enrollment period closes on Nov. 6, giving employees reason to sign up or upgrade coverage. Full-time and eligible part-time associates can enroll in medical coverage starting at $38.30 per biweekly pay period, according to the company website; Walmart told the Associated Press that 2027 plans start at $39.80 per pay period, a $1.50 increase from 2026.
Walmart employs roughly 2.1 million associates worldwide, about 1.6 million of them in the United States, as of the end of fiscal 2026. No US company has more workers on its health plan, so a benefits decision of this scale is closely watched across the employer insurance market.
Beyond drugs, Walmart is widening its existing Centers of Excellence program. It already pays for cancer patients to see specialists at the Mayo Clinic or Cleveland Clinic; starting next year, associates on most plans who are being evaluated for or diagnosed with ALS, multiple sclerosis or Parkinson's disease can get no-cost specialist consultations, treatment reviews and care recommendations, with travel expenses covered.
Walmart is also adding up to 12 weeks of paid leave for employees whose newborns are in a neonatal intensive care unit — one of the few non-drug additions in the package and a direct answer to a common crisis for retail workers' families.
The expansion comes as corporate America retreats from exactly these costs. Mercer projects employer health benefit costs will rise 8.2% per employee on average in 2027, the biggest jump since 2003 — and that figure already assumes cost-cutting; without changes, employers estimated an 11% increase. Mercer's own research found 44% of large employers cover GLP-1s and 5% plan to drop them next year. Marsh consulting found 6% of employers dropped GLP-1 coverage in 2026, another 5% plan to drop in 2027, and 27% are adding restrictions such as BMI thresholds. Starbucks ends its GLP-1 weight-loss coverage this October. A Business Group on Health survey of 105 large US employers found 67% currently cover GLP-1s for weight management, but only 72% of those plan to keep the benefit in 2027.
For drugmakers, the decision is a bright spot: a stable base of American retail workers will now use the diabetes brands at zero out-of-pocket cost, even as the obesity market faces coverage cuts. For competitors like Target and Costco, Walmart turning benefits into a recruiting pitch raises the bar for hiring store-level staff.
Two tests lie ahead. The first is whether participation rises when enrollment closes on Nov. 6. The second is how prior authorizations and the free-drug list actually perform once the 2027 plans take effect. Walmart has not disclosed the cost of the program or said whether the medication list will grow over time.