City staff recommend shifting cosmetic GLP‑1 weight‑loss drugs to full member cost to rein in Fort Worth employee health spending

Summary

City staff told the Fort Worth council the group health fund is strained by rapidly rising pharmacy costs tied to GLP‑1 drugs and proposed making cosmetic GLP‑1 prescriptions 100% member‑paid while preserving coverage for qualifying comorbidities; staff will return with detailed participant counts and cost data.

City staff told the Fort Worth City Council during a budget work session that rising use of GLP‑1 weight‑loss medications has sharply increased pharmacy spending in the employee health plan and recommended making cosmetic uses of those drugs entirely member‑paid.

Kristen, a city benefits staff member who led the presentation, said GLP‑1 medications represented about 40% of total pharmacy costs over a recent six‑month period — roughly $7,000,000 — and that approximately $5,000,000 of that amount was for purely cosmetic uses. "For just a six‑month period, GLP‑1s represented about 40% of our total pharmacy cost," Kristen said. She told the council that Zepbound and Wegovy have seen rapid increases in utilization and that a newly available oral formulation could further accelerate demand.

The recommendation presented would keep employer coverage when GLP‑1s are used for qualifying medical…

City staff recommend shifting cosmetic GLP‑1 weight‑loss drugs to full member cost to rein in Fort Worth employee health spending

Summary

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