2026 Employee Benefits Market Outlook 10 These costly medications have exploded in popularity. A recent RAND report revealed that 12% of Americans have used GLP-1 medications for weight loss, and 14% are interested in using the drugs. Moreover, the number of prescriptions for these drugs has more than tripled since 2020. KFFs 2025 Employer Health Benefits Survey revealed that 1 in 5 (19%) firms with 200 or more workers and 43% of firms with 5,000 or more workers covered GLP-1 drugs for weight loss in 2025. With demand at an all-time high, employers will have to make difficult decisions about coverage and cost containment in the coming year. Specialty Medications The specialty drug market continues to expand rap-idly, driven by a surge in approvals by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and a robust pipeline of innovative therapies. These high-cost, high-impact treatments are reshaping the pharmaceutical industry, with specialty drugs now accounting for the majority of new drug approvals. Around 80% of all FDA approvals in 2025 fell into the specialty category, reflecting a shift toward more targeted, complex therapies for chronic and rare conditions. This rapid growth is fueled in part by plan participants using the following: Biologics and biosimilarsBiologics are med- ications that come from living organisms, such as sugars, proteins and DNA. Biologics treat a range of conditions, including cancer, psoriasis, rheumatoid arthritis, and inflammatory bowel diseases. Biologics dominate the specialty market, offering targeted treatment for autoimmune diseases, cancers and more. Biosimilars are similar to a ref- erence drug, which is an existing biologic that the FDA previously approved. For a biosimilar to be approved, there must be no meaningful differences in safety and effectiveness from the original bio- logic. Compared to original biologics, biosimilars are lower-cost drugs that allow for greater access to more patients. Biosimilars are gaining traction as the FDA approves more of these cost-effective alter- natives, especially as major biologics lose exclusivity. This trend is expected to continue, with predictions indicating that at least 10 new biosimilars will be approved annually over the next five years.