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Self-Funded with Spencer
Published research
Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism, 2025
Open-ended coverage climbs with no exit plan. Embla starts with coaching, keeps doses at the lowest effective level and tapers from month 16, cutting GLP-1 costs by up to half.
And your client has two bad answers.
A pharmacy line with no ceiling. Doses climb, spend climbs, and there is no end date.
A harder benefits package to defend with candidates and staff. Employees pay out of pocket or look elsewhere.
Most employers who chose to cover it learned the same lesson.
Medication without behavior change leaves the habits, and the weight, waiting.
Standard schedules step toward the maximum dose, and the cost rises with them.
Coverage is open-ended. Nobody plans the exit.
Fix those three and GLP-1 coverage becomes something you can defend.
Behavior does the work. Medication only helps. Every member starts with a coach, medication stays at the lowest effective dose, and there is a planned way off. One fixed fee keeps everyone pointed at the same result.
For members
Fixes: nothing changes underneath
Every member gets a dedicated human coach. Caseloads are capped, so each coach has real time for every member, not a queue of thousands.
Fixes: doses only go up
When an independent licensed clinician prescribes a GLP-1, it stays at the lowest effective dose: 1.08 mg a week on average. Enough to quiet hunger so members can work on their habits, with fewer side effects, so treatment is easier to stay on and easier to come off.
Fixes: nothing changes underneath
Coaches, independent licensed clinicians, nurses, pharmacy and support work on one platform, with one member record, to make new habits stick.
Fixes: there is no way off
From month 16, members follow a structured plan to taper off medication. After that, Embla Embrace helps them keep the weight off, with as much support as each member needs.
For your client
From day one
Embla sources medication at a lower price, so the direct drug cost drops the day your client signs on.
Risk on Embla
Coaching, clinical care through independent licensed clinicians and medication sit in one fee per engaged member. If members need more medication, Embla absorbs the cost, so Embla is paid to keep doses low and results lasting.
Proven and reported
The model is published in a peer-reviewed study of 2,694 members. Your client gets regular reports on engagement, weight and medication use, shaped around what they need to see.
2,694 members, 64 weeks, less than half the standard dose.
average weight loss over 64 weeks
less GLP-1 medication
TRIM study: Seier et al., Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism, 2025 (n=2,694). TRIM is Embla's own peer-reviewed research. Dosing decisions are made by each member's independent licensed clinician. Individual results vary.
Open-ended GLP-1 coverage has no ceiling and no end date. With Embla, medication sits inside one fixed fee per engaged member, so Embla is paid to keep doses low and taper, not to raise them.
Drug prices are coming down. What standard coverage buys is not changing: medication, at full dose, with no coaching and no end date. Embla covers the whole program for under $500 per engaged member a month, medication included.
Embla's fee is quoted per client.
“In our pricing model, we assume that we can use less GLP-1 from day one and we price like that. So we take the risk if we cannot.”
Results from one client. Not representative of all clients.
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"I originally thought having to speak with a coach would be inconvenient and not very helpful. But I've been pleasantly surprised."
"The program has given me practical tools and encouragement to focus on healthier habits in a way that feels realistic and sustainable."
"I am so incredibly thankful that my employer provides us with the option to join Embla."
Shared by members of an Embla client. Individual experiences vary.
Diabetes, blood pressure and joint pain often get a vendor each. Embla works on what sits upstream of all three.
Your clients already run enough point solutions. Embla is fully managed and live in weeks, with minimal lift for you or the HR team.
Forward it as is, or use it to build your own recommendation.
Costs, medication use, engagement and satisfaction from a self-funded client.
Get the case study →2,694 members, 64 weeks, published in Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism.
Read the study →Straight answers, so nothing catches you off guard in the meeting.
Ask us anything else →No. Embla is a carve-out for weight care. The medical plan and PBM stay as they are, and GLP-1s for weight loss run through Embla.
Weight loss carve-outs are straightforward for self-funded plans. Some PBM contracts restrict carve-outs for diabetes medication, so we review the contract with you before launch.
No. EmblaThrive is coaching only. Medication is prescribed only when an independent licensed clinician finds it appropriate.
Tapering is structured, begins at month 16 and is supported by coaching. Embla Embrace helps members keep their results afterwards.
No, and we say so up front. TRIM is Embla's own study, peer-reviewed and published in Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism in 2025.
One fixed fee per engaged member, medication included. Clients can also tie GLP-1 coverage to program participation, so spend follows real engagement.
Tell us which clients are asking about GLP-1 coverage. We'll show you how Embla fits their plan, what it costs and what launch looks like.
