The math reveals an uncomfortable truth: GLP-1 utilization tells only part of the metabolic health story. New analysis from the Peterson-KFF Health System Tracker examined GLP-1 utilization patterns across employer-sponsored insurance plans. The headline finding: 15% of covered adults used a GLP-1 in 2023. But with 42% of U.S. adults meeting obesity criteria, a significant…
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What the Evidence Says About Weight Management Programs That Actually Last
The GLP-1 durability conversation has established something important: medication alone doesn't produce lasting weight management outcomes for most patients. The Oxford BMJ meta-analysis (West et al., 2026) documented regain roughly 4x faster after stopping GLP-1s than after behavioral interventions. CMS is designing its BALANCE Model around the same concern — pairing drug access with lifestyle…
Your CFO Is Asking About GLP-1 Costs. Here’s How to Frame the Conversation.
Your CFO has seen the pharmacy numbers. The conversation is coming — if it hasn't already. GLP-1 spend is up. In some plans, it's among the fastest-growing pharmacy line items. And the questions you're getting aren't about the clinical evidence anymore. They're about the budget. Why are we paying this much? Is it going to…
This Week in Employer Health — April 06
Novo Nordisk launched Wegovy HD (semaglutide 7.2 mg) nationwide last week — the highest-dose Wegovy injection to date. In the STEP UP trial (Wharton et al., Lancet Diabetes Endocrinol, 2025), patients on the 7.2 mg dose lost an average of 20.7% of their body weight over 72 weeks, compared to 17.5% on the existing 2.4…
What Employers Can Learn From CMS’s New GLP-1 Coverage Model
In December 2025, CMS announced the BALANCE Model — Better Approaches to Lifestyle and Nutrition for Comprehensive hEalth. The name is bureaucratic. The design choice behind it is not. The model enables Medicare Part D plans and state Medicaid agencies to cover GLP-1 medications for weight management. What makes it notable isn't just the expanded…
Foundayo Lowers the Friction on GLP-1 Access. Here’s What Employers Should Watch.
The FDA yesterday approved Foundayo (orforglipron), Eli Lilly's oral GLP-1 for weight loss. It's the second daily GLP-1 pill to reach the market, following Novo Nordisk's Wegovy pill in December 2025. For anyone tracking the GLP-1 landscape from an employer benefits perspective, this approval matters — not because of the drug itself, but because of…
Introduction to the Key to Health Mediterranean-Style Low Carb Program
Ketogenic or low-carbohydrate and high fat (LCHF) diets have increased in popularity recently. Published data have shown that LCHF nutrition is extremely effective for weight loss, prevention or treatment of type 2 diabetes, and many other conditions[1-5]. LCHF nutrition also has favorable effects on biomarkers including fasting glucose and insulin, inflammatory markers, and most lipid…
Key to Health’s Take on Randomized Controlled Trials
In the previous article, we outlined our process to design Keyto, which is a Mediterranean-style ketogenic program. In summary, we used the best scientific evidence to arrive at a program that achieves the metabolic benefits proven with ketogenic diets, while also optimizing for LDL cholesterol levels. After program design, the next step was to find…
Key to Health Program
In previous posts, we outlined our method for designing the nutrition principles of the Keyto program. We then described why a randomized controlled trial (RCT) is the only unbiased test to determine its effectiveness. While the Keyto program includes nutrition advice, the more important job was to give users tools to succeed. To benefit millions…
Key to Health’s RCT results
In the previous posts, we’ve outlined how we designed the nutrition principles of the Keyto program, why RCTs are a gold standard test, and what is actually included in our program. In this post, we’ll discuss our RCT results. As a recap, the objective of our RCT was to determine whether our Mediterranean-style ketogenic program…