Prioritizing People: Building Human-Centered Benefits in a Complex Healthcare Landscape

BY Matthew Koehler | June 18, 2025

Most people don’t think of their health as a roller coaster. But Cody Fair, chief commercial officer at Noom Health, says that’s exactly what weight loss feels like for millions of Americans. “I came today to talk about roller coasters. Not the kind you ride at an amusement park, but the one that millions of Americans are on every day: the roller coaster around weight loss.”

Fair’s story is personal and all too familiar. After a life-altering diagnosis in college led to 20 years of struggling with his weight, he tried everything from diets to personal trainers to meal prep to even Noom itself. “I’ve lost the same 20 pounds 20 different times,” he said. Then GLP-1 medications entered the scene, and everything changed—almost.

Fair spoke about the complex and frustrating reality of weight loss and accessing GLP-1s, the new class of drugs for obesity treatment during a thought leadership spotlight at From Day One’s NYC half-day benefits conference. He recounted his personal journey as both a healthcare executive and as a patient navigating a broken system.

When Fair first started taking Wegovy, the results were immediate and dramatic. “Weight was basically falling off of me,” but then came the shortage. “I would spend time every day calling pharmacies within 50 miles,” he said, trying to track down a refill. 

His primary care provider (PCP) bumped him to the highest dosage, warning him of side effects. “I told her, no side effect would matter to getting back to the body that I wanted. Turns out that was a lie.” Fair got so nauseated he often had to leave in the middle of board meetings. “I couldn’t go out to eat with my friends. I couldn’t go play golf.”

When another drug, Zepbound, became available in Fair’s formulary, he thought the nightmare was over. But after a few months the supply would vanish, then he’d have to navigate the obstacle of prior authorization. “By the time I’m done with that, I can’t get it. It’s gone at that pharmacy.” Even when Zepbound came off shortage, a change in his company’s insurance plan reset the whole process, or he couldn’t get approved. 

Cody Fair of Noom Health led the thought leadership spotlight (company photo)

“The PBM (Pharmacy Benefits Manager) blames the PCP. The PCP blames the pharmacy. If you’ve ever seen the Spider-Man meme where they’re all pointing at each other, that is my vision of what prior authorization in healthcare in America looks like,” he said. But Fair finally found relief, not through the system, but through a colleague at Noom. He received a 90-day supply, “weight is starting to come off, energy is coming back,” he said. Still, Fair says he’s worried for when this 90-day supply runs out.

Unfortunately, Fair’s experience is not a unique one. “Hundreds, if not thousands, of your employees are probably going through that same journey.” More are going through this journey across the country. “We are in a system that is broken,” he said.

“This isn’t just a personal issue. This is a workforce issue.” Fair points to lower productivity and higher absenteeism. “When you struggle with your health, you're going to struggle at work. If you struggle accessing the care that you need, it's going to affect the organization overall.” Employees, Fair emphasized, “are your most valuable asset.”

Noom is helping to offer a way off the ride, says Fair. The company has developed a commercial program aimed at supporting employers and their employees who feel stuck in the cycle. Noom Med with Smart RX starts by carving GLP-1s out from PBMs to bring down cost, by about $200 per script on average, he says. Employers can choose how much of that cost to cover, whether 50% or 25%.

But the real value, Fair says, is in the wraparound care. “You meet with clinicians who are experts in obesity care.” Participants use Noom’s digital tools, including a purpose-built GLP-1 companion and even a body scan app that tracks fat mass and waist-to-hip ratio. “Ultimately, we believe all of these things together are how you will truly pull an ROI out of these medications,” Fair said. “And I don’t just mean your bottom line. When I take a GLP-1, I want the ROI out of it myself. Your employees want the ROI out of what they’re doing.”

“What we’re advocating for is change. Investing in your employees’ health, their well-being, and their overall future,” he said. “We have the power to reshape this narrative. To create a system where no one is judged, ashamed or left behind, and where everyone has access to the care that they need.”

Editor’s note: From Day One thanks our partner, Noom, for sponsoring this thought leadership spotlight. 

Matthew Koehler is a freelance journalist and licensed real-estate agent based in Washington, DC. His work has appeared in the Washington Post, Greater Greater Washington, The Southwester, and Walking Cinema, among others.

(Photos by mediaphotos/iStock)

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