Noom is rolling out two new solutions that aim to make it easier for employers and members to manage GLP-1s, and it's teaming up with Waltz Health to power one of the offerings.
The first offering, Noom Med with Smart Rx, is a program for weight loss that offers end-to-end support for both employers and workers in managing obesity. Waltz brings direct and cost-effective access to GLP-1 drugs, which reduces treatment costs by going around traditional middlemen, according to the companies.
Noom said in an announcement that the program is built as a supplemental benefit, which allows employers or payers to set for themselves the amount of financial assistance they will offer to members.
"I think that will lead to more and more employers and payers deciding to cover GLP-1s," Geoff Cook, CEO of Noom, told Fierce Healthcare in an interview.
The program leans on Waltz Health's Waltz Connect platform, which manages specialty coverage through patient engagement support and a specialty pharmacy network that competes on price and outcomes.
Waltz Connect will combine with Noom's evidence-based obesity care model and behavior change program to drive sustained weight loss and lower medical costs through the Noom Med with Smart Rx offering, the two companies said in the announcement.
Waltz Health CEO Mark Thierer said the company is focused on addressing the cost of critical drugs, and there are few classes as central to the conversation in healthcare today as GLP-1s.
"At the end of the day, we're looking to improve the affordability of medications for very important meds," Thierer told Fierce Healthcare.
The second program, called Noom Weight with GLP-1 Rx, is built more for employers that may not want to directly cover GLP-1s but want to offer workers weight management services nonetheless. Through this program, employers can provide access to Noom's obesity management services alongside a potential discount for members to put toward GLP-1s or other drugs, including Noom's own compounded semaglutide product.
The company said taking this approach makes it easier for workers to access these drugs without requiring employers to foot the bill themselves.
Cody Fair, chief commercial officer at Noom, told Fierce Healthcare that employers and payers are looking for a program that works beyond simply making GLP-1s available to patients and that takes a whole-person approach to obesity.
"They're looking for a holistic solution to make sure their employees or members are making healthier decisions while they're taking these medications and engaging in behavior change along the way," he said.