When the Trump administration announced that it struck a deal with two major GLP-1 manufacturers last month, it was unclear how soon discounts on the weight loss drugs would extend to workers on employer-sponsored insurance.

The White House is working with Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk to offer cheaper GLP-1s to patients enrolled in Medicare and Medicaid, as well as those who want to purchase the medications without insurance. But employers are keen to understand how soon such discounts may extend to their own medical plans, especially if they aren’t already covering the popular drugs.

“Once you have publicity around a Medicare price, I think the demand for a price that is close to that level is going to be really high,” Caroline Pearson, executive director of the Peterson Health Technology Institute, said. The White House said patients will be able to purchase GLP-1s on the direct-to-consumer market for around $350, while Medicare beneficiaries will be able to access them with a $50 co-pay. Historically, these medications have cost upwards of $1,000 a month.

As demand for the drugs remains high, Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk recently embraced new models that seek to bypass pharmacy benefit managers and make GLP-1 coverage more financially feasible for employers.

For more on how GLP-1 manufacturers are bypassing PMBs to boost employer coverage, keep reading here.—CV

Global employment platform Oyster announced Tuesday founder and CEO Tony Jamous would transition into an executive chairman position. The company also announced Hadi Moussa as its incoming chief executive, effective Jan. 13.

“I started this business in late 2019 to reduce inequality [and] reverse brain drain,” Jamous told HR Brew exclusively Monday, on his last day as CEO ahead of the transition. “My story—having to leave my home country in Lebanon when I was in my teenage years to the West to find a better economical opportunity—was at the center of why I started Oyster, so people like me don’t have to leave their home countries.”

In 2022, Oyster achieved unicorn status after its $150 million Series C earned the company a billion-dollar valuation. It has raised a total of $288.2 million, from investors including ServiceNow Ventures and Georgian, among others.

The change in command comes as the platform looks to grow at scale amid rapid shifts in AI workflows and distributed work models all across the globe, and as companies look to diversify their global workforce in an increasingly connected world.

For more on the transition, and what it means for HR, keep reading here.—AD

Like your favorite bosses, even phishers are setting up meetings that could’ve been an email.

Cybersecurity teams are facing an increase in calendar-invite phishing messages, IT leads recently shared with IT Brew. That’s a particularly dangerous tactic, given how invites exist beyond the inbox.

“Even if you’ve done an effective job of teaching your employees not to click on email links, there’s just an informality to invites that I think makes the social awareness more challenging,” Marty Barrack, chief legal and compliance officer at healthcare IT company XiFin, said.

For more on the threat posed by meeting-invite phishing, keep reading on IT Brew.—BH

More companies are breaking up to boost shareholder value—but for HR, that means managing chaos. Learn how people leaders plan spin-offs, align leadership, and keep employees informed while balancing strategy, structure, and sensitivity.