Premiums rise US$1.50 a pay period as the retailer adds 12 weeks of paid NICU leave
More than 250 medications will cost participants zero dollars under most Walmart medical plans in 2027, including some insulin and inhalers.
A memo released last Tuesday from Donna Morris, chief people officer at Walmart in Bentonville, Arkansas, told US associates the plans are changing how they cover prescription drugs in 2027, with lower-cost medications given priority.
“We’re adding even more ways to help you and your family live better through comprehensive and affordable healthcare and benefits,” Morris wrote in the memo.
CNBC reported that the no-cost list covers Novo Nordisk’s Ozempic and Eli Lilly’s Mounjaro for people with type 2 diabetes, subject to a new prior authorisation, and that Walmart still does not cover GLP-1s from either manufacturer for weight loss.
Reuters also listed GLP-1s among the medications moving to no cost.
Starting-plan premiums rise by US$1.50 per biweekly pay period to US$39.80, according to Reuters, citing Walmart’s website.
Walmart told CNBC it is minimising premium increases for employees and that the rise is smaller than its increase a year earlier.
Associates and dependents enrolled in most Walmart medical plans who are being evaluated for or diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease or ALS can connect in person with a specialist at Mayo Clinic or Cleveland Clinic for an evaluation and treatment review at no cost, the Morris memo said, through the Centers of Excellence program available under most 2027 medical plans.
CNBC reported the benefit already pays for employees to see cancer specialists at the two clinics, with the rare-conditions use functioning as a second opinion.
Walmart begins a dedicated paid leave of a maximum 12 weeks for parents of babies in neonatal intensive care (NICU) on November 17, World Prematurity Day.
Per the memo, the leave sits on the People Policies OneWalmart page and can be combined with other paid time off and leave benefits, including maternity leave and parental leave.
Annual Enrollment runs through November 6.
Existing benefits set out in the memo include no-cost access under most medical plans to specialists for complex conditions including virtually all cancers, 20 no-cost therapy sessions a year, zero-dollar virtual urgent care, primary care, mental health, physical therapy and digestive health services, and up to US$20,000 for fertility services, adoption or surrogacy.
Walmart employed roughly 2.1m associates worldwide at the end of fiscal year 2026, about 1.6m of them in the US, CNBC reported.
Reuters described the company as the largest US private employer.
“The steps we’re taking are based on years of planning and trying new things, which is allowing us to make meaningful improvements for associates without slashing benefits or significantly raising premiums,” Walmart said in a statement to CNBC.
