Board asked to weigh cutting GLP‑1 anti‑obesity coverage as costs surge to $1.5M

County human resources staff asked the Board of Commissioners for direction on whether to eliminate coverage of GLP‑1 medications when prescribed solely for anti‑obesity purposes.

Director Brown told commissioners the county's plan had 115 people using these prescriptions in 2023 at a cost of about $625,000. "We are now over $1,500,000 a year being spent simply on the health care plan's costs for the anti‑obesity GLP‑1s," Brown said, adding that the drug class now accounts for roughly 20% of the plan's total prescription spend.

Brown said the county convened a Kalamazoo Healthcare Coalition of bargaining units and employees, and that coalition "did reach consensus on recommending that we do eliminate GLP‑1 coverage for anti obesity," while preserving coverage when the medication is prescribed for diabetes or other comorbidities. Commissioners pressed for concrete replacement options before removing coverage and for narrower employee polling to show tradeoffs (for example, "Would you accept this premium change in exchange for eliminating coverage?").

Commissioner DeLuc argued the drugs had been "a tremendous life change" for some employees and urged caution; other commissioners emphasized the steep cost growth and asked HR to bring back a resolution and specific replacement options (wellness stipends, nutritionists, Teladoc supports) at the next meeting so employees would have notice if coverage were to change.

Director Brown agreed to return with a resolution for a board vote and with concrete replacement proposals to evaluate.