Nomi Health finds adolescent GLP-1 rise

Nomi Health said on May 20 that GLP-1 use among adolescents in self-insured employer health plans rose over the 2022-2025 period, with spending climbing faster than enrollment. The company’s analysis, published on its website and reported by MedCity News, covered prescription claims for members ages 12 to 17 across a national book of self-insured employer plans. Nomi said adolescent GLP-1 adoption rose more than 60% over the period, while total spend increased 111% to $1.8 million from $857,000. The data add a pediatric dimension to a cost debate that has mostly centered on adult use of obesity and diabetes drugs. ### Which adolescents drove most of the increase? Nomi Health said teens with type 2 diabetes accounted for the strongest trend in its claims review. In 2022, 4.2% of adolescent members with a type 2 diabetes diagnosis had a GLP-1 prescription; by 2025, that figure had reached 14.1%, or about one in seven, according to the company. Nomi also said diabetic teens made up 52% of adolescent GLP-1 users in 2022 and 61% in 2025. (nomihealth.com) The company said utilization intensity also rose. Scripts per member increased 30% and cost per member rose 32%, while cost per script stayed roughly flat at about $985, according to Nomi’s analysis. ### How much of this is obesity treatment versus diabetes care? (nomihealth.com) Nomi Health said obesity prescribing among adolescents remained low in absolute terms even as diagnosed obesity increased. The share of adolescent members with an obesity diagnosis who had a GLP-1 prescription rose to 0.44% in 2025 from 0.18% in 2022, while diagnosed obesity prevalence among adolescent members increased 20% over the same period, MedCity News reported, citing Nomi. (nomihealth.com) Nomi said that gap matters for employers because obesity prevalence is rising faster than treatment penetration. “The distance between disease prevalence and current prescribing rates is what makes this a cost planning question for self-funded employers,” the company said, according to MedCity News. (medcitynews.com) ### Why are employers focused on this now? Business Group on Health said in a 2026 employer survey that GLP-1s were already adding to company healthcare costs. Nearly eight in 10 employers reported that GLP-1s were driving an increase in health costs, and 67% of surveyed employers said they currently cover GLP-1s for weight management, the group said. (medcitynews.com) Ellen Kelsay, president and chief executive of Business Group on Health, said employers had “tremendous concern” about the drugs from a cost and financial viability perspective. The group said the survey was completed in February and March 2026 among 105 employer members, and it found companies were using tools such as eligibility checks, required participation in weight-management programs and formulary limits. (businessgrouphealth.org) ### What changed clinically for teens in recent years? Nomi Health said FDA approvals and guideline changes helped shape adolescent prescribing. The company said GLP-1s were first approved for adolescents with type 2 diabetes in 2019, with obesity-management approvals for adolescents 12 and older following in 2020 and 2022. Nomi also said the American Academy of Pediatrics issued clinical guidelines in 2023 recommending GLP-1s for adolescents 12 and older with obesity. (businessgrouphealth.org) A March 2025 review in Pediatrics said GLP-1 receptor agonists had become an important option in pediatric obesity care, while stressing that they should be used as part of a broader treatment plan that includes attention to mental health and nutrition. The review also said childhood obesity remained prevalent in the United States. (nomihealth.com) ### What are employers being told to do next? MedCity News reported that Nomi recommended employers review at least four years of adolescent GLP-1 claims, assess whether behavioral counseling and lifestyle support are in place, and model the budget effect of wider obesity prescribing before it accelerates. Brian Woods, Nomi Health’s senior vice president of market insights and strategy, told the publication that employers would need to think about both cost and utilization if the trend continued. (publications.aap.org) Business Group on Health said 2027 coverage decisions are still in front of employers. Among companies that currently cover GLP-1s for weight management, 72% said they were likely to continue that coverage in 2027, while 10% said they likely would not, according to the group’s 2026 survey. (businessgrouphealth.org) (medcitynews.com)