The New Way to Cut Employee Healthcare Costs

Start with lifestyle, not limitations

More than half of large U.S. employers are preparing to shift the rising cost of employee healthcare onto their teams, driven mainly by expensive prescription drugs like GLP-1 weight-loss and diabetes medications.

But some organizations are taking a smarter path forward. Instead of trimming coverage or raising premiums, they’re tackling the root causes of these costs by helping employees live healthier, more balanced lives that reduce long-term claims.

Here’s what we’ve seen: many companies offer health coaching, generic content, or gym memberships, yet these perks rarely address the real, day-to-day challenges people face when trying to improve their health. The biggest gap is behavior change – and that’s where most employee healthcare programs fall short.

A senior benefits leader in a meeting discusses how to lower employee healthcare costs by adopting a lifestyle-first care model.

Chronic conditions are the real budget breaker

It’s not ER visits or one-off procedures that push costs through the roof. It’s chronic conditions.

Employees managing obesity, diabetes, or sleep issues are far more likely to need ongoing care and medications. On average, workers with obesity cost employers nearly twice as much each month in healthcare expenses. That’s before adding the recent surge in GLP-1 prescriptions, which now make up more than 10% of many employers’ annual claim costs.

In fact, a large majority of benefits leaders say weight-loss drugs, diabetes, and other specialty medications are their top cost concerns for the coming year.

Proactive employers are taking action well before renewal season begins. They’re integrating programs that help employees improve their nutrition, movement, sleep, and mental health before chronic conditions spiral.

At Alterra Health, we take a patient-first approach shaped by more than a decade of hands-on clinical experience. Our team has spent years in one-on-one counseling, uncovering what truly impacts employee health – the habits, barriers, and daily stressors that traditional wellness programs often miss.

A person holding a prescription pill bottle, illustrating the rising employee healthcare costs from medication dependency, a problem addressed by lifestyle-first care.

GLP-1 alone isn’t a long-term fix

GLP-1 medications can be powerful tools, but they’re not a long-term solution on their own. Without consistent lifestyle support, most users regain weight once they stop taking them. That leaves employers paying for recurring prescriptions without lasting results.

The organizations getting it right are pairing medication access with sustainable wellness programs that focus on:

  • Nutrition and exercise guidance to build healthier daily routines
  • Mindset and stress management to reduce emotional eating and burnout
  • Sleep hygiene tools that improve focus and recovery
  • Chronic disease prevention pathways designed to lower long-term claims

The outcome: reduced medication dependency, healthier employees, and lower overall healthcare costs.

Alterra Health makes it simple

With easy-to-follow programs, guided education, and community events that drive engagement and motivation, all while giving employees the flexibility to access what they need, when they need it.

Alterra Health powers wellness for leading clubs and healthcare organizations

🚀 Schedule a call to see how our wellness programming can help your organization generate additional revenue and deliver an unrivaled member experience.

Implementing Alterra Health is a breeze with options to integrate directly within your existing apps and platforms.