- Noom Med with SmartRx, in partnership with Waltz Health, drives significant ROI for employers who wish to cover GLP-1s as a supplemental benefit such that the payer can choose the level of financial assistance they will provide
- Noom Weight with GLP-1Rx delivers a proven obesity program and employee-pay access to affordable GLP-1s for employers who choose not to cover GLP-1s today
NEW YORK, Oct. 21, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Noom, the leading digital healthcare company committed to chronic disease prevention and empowering people to live better longer, is tackling the problem of GLP-1 availability, accessibility and inflated costs head-on by launching two distinct enterprise solutions that reduce obesity management costs while enabling access to life-changing medications: Noom Med with SmartRx in partnership with Waltz Health and Noom Weight with GLP-1Rx. Both options support different budgets and organizational priorities to reduce GLP-1 medication costs and lower overall healthcare expenditures.
Based on a recent third-party analysis conducted by the actuarial firm Accorded, Noom Med is expected to drive 4.1x ROI versus the most common alternative for employers who wish to cover GLP-1s for their workforce. Noom Weight with GLP-1Rx is designed for employers who choose not to cover GLP-1 medications today but wish to provide a comprehensive and effective obesity solution to their employees while enabling access to low-cost non-branded GLP-1 for employees who qualify clinically and wish to purchase them.
The high costs of GLP-1 medications have emerged as a major challenge for employers and health plans today. Many organizations have faced difficulties in providing this essential benefit, which employees increasingly expect. Research shows that 81% of employers acknowledge the interest of employees in GLP-1 coverage, but only 25% actually offer it, leading to a significant disparity between employee demand and employer offerings.
Noom Med with SmartRx, is the first program offering an end-to-end weight loss management solution that supports employers and health plans in delivering effective obesity care. Noom partnered with Waltz Health to provide direct, cost-effective access to GLP-1 medications, bypassing traditional intermediaries and reducing overall treatment costs for employers.
As many employers and health plans grapple with the financial implications of covering GLP-1 medications that have become critical to supporting patients' health, longevity, and productivity, SmartRx offers a sustainable approach to managing costs while promoting healthier outcomes for their members. Noom Med with SmartRx addresses this urgent problem by "rewiring” the GLP-1 supply chain to bypass traditional pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), helping members access medications more efficiently and at the lowest cost. The biggest advantage of the product is that it is structured as a supplemental benefit, allowing the employer or payer to determine the level of financial assistance they want to provide by risk tier.
The second program, Noom Weight with GLP-1Rx, caters to employers seeking to offer weight loss options without directly covering GLP-1 medications. For those employers looking for alternative support programs, Noom is introducing a member discount offering that ensures affordable access to branded and low-cost, non-branded GLP-1 medications. This offer allows employers to purchase Noom's proven behavior change program with an option for members to receive a discount for anti-obesity medications, including Noom's recently introduced compounded semaglutide product, GLP-1Rx. This option enables employers to offer comprehensive weight loss solutions and affordable access to GLP-1s without directly covering the cost of GLP-1 medication themselves.
"Both of these programs - Noom Med with SmartRx and Noom Weight with GLP-1Rx - are first-of-their-kind offerings that provide a level of choice, affordability, and support like nothing else in the weight loss space today,” said Cody Fair, Chief Commercial Officer at Noom. "We know that without a better cost management structure, most employers will be unable to cover GLP-1 benefits for weight loss, despite the extraordinary efficacy of the medications in reducing obesity. Our proprietary protocols already provide a projected 4x return on investment, and our partnership with Waltz Health will further boost that number. At Noom, we are passionate about ensuring everyone has access to care and support throughout their journey. Noom Med with SmartRx is our latest solution that helps us fulfill a key goal of democratizing healthcare.”
With each of these programs, the individual patient receives care and monitoring from Noom clinicians, access to one-on-one dedicated coaches, and support from Noom's state-of-the-art behavior change program, which leverages AI body-scanning technology and deep personalization to provide a highly effective and sustainable weight loss experience, providing insights into lean-mass retention, access to thousands of high-protein recipes, and a tailored workout plan via the company's Muscle DefenseTM solution.
As part of Noom's commitment to putting its clients first, Noom is proud to introduce outcomes-based pricing for each of these solutions. This approach ensures employers and health plans only pay for measurable success. "In a world where healthcare costs are rising, we believe businesses should pay for results, not promises,” continued Fair. "This model guarantees that our financial incentives are tied to meaningful, measurable improvements in people's health, giving our clients confidence that their investment in Noom is directly linked to real, transformative outcomes. We only succeed when employers and their employees do, too."
To mark the announcement of these new products, which will be available in January, Noom also published a whitepaper today "Breaking the GLP-1 Cost Cycle: Transforming Access, Cutting Costs, and Shaping the Future of Obesity Care” which is available here: https://noom.com/health/resources/white-papers/breaking-the-glp-1-cost-cycle/
For more information about Noom's enterprise offerings, please visit noom.com/health.
About Noom:
Noom is a digital healthcare company empowering everyone, everywhere to live better longer, through an unwavering commitment to innovation and whole-person health. Noom connects people to content, coaching, community, and clinicians to promote positive behavior and healthy habits, in an effort to promote healthspan and better living. Noom also works with leading health plans and employers offering Noom Med with SmartRx, Noom GLP-1 Companion, Noom Weight with GLP-1Rx, and Noom Diabetes Prevention to millions of covered lives. The company has been awarded multiple grants from the National Institutes of Health and was the first mobile application to be recognized by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as a certified diabetes prevention program. With offices in New York City and Princeton, NJ, Noom has been named one of Inc.'s Best Places to Work, Quartz's Best Workplaces for Remote Workers, and Fortune's Best Workplaces in Technology. For more information, please visit noom.com, subscribe to our blog, or follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn.
Contact:
Brandyn Bissinger
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/85fa6a86-bbc9-4e11-bab7-bdf2f2c81e3e
