June 11, 2026
— Jeff Ward, Lehigh Valley News Briefs
Northampton County’s prescription drug costs have gone up about $1 million as employees take weight-loss drugs.
“The real culprit driving up the costs for our prescription plans is the usage of GLP-1s,” County Executive Tara Zrinski told County Council on June 4, as reported earlier by the Lehigh Valley Ramblings blog.
GLP-1s such as Ozempic and Wegovy have soared in popularity. As Zrinski noted, they aren’t just for looks. Weight loss improves health and the drugs can help people with diabetes. Still, they aren’t cheap for a county with about 2,000 employees.
“While we appreciate out staff trying to slim down or treat or prevent their diabetes, it’s really driven our costs over $1 million,” she said at the Council meeting. “That’s a lot.”
Based on her comments, the cost is a burden. It would take some study to determine if there is a long-term financial benefit to the GLP-1 expense. Most large governments and organizations are self-insured, so while a vendor handles paperwork and negotiates prices, the bills are paid by the employer.
Zrinski’s comments on weight-loss drugs start at about the 7:30 mark of this meeting video.
Zrinski gives detailed updates to Council at each meeting. She tends to go on longer than predecessor Lamont G. McClure Jr. did.
Northampton County Council’s next meeting will be June 18.
Lehigh Valley News Briefs 