Your health insurance is about to increase by the largest percentage in 15 years
In the United States, health insurance prices have been in a spiral for four consecutive years, and employers are now preparing for the highest rush to date in 2025 – the largest increase of 15 years, according to a large -scale study among more than 1,700 employers. The national survey of health plans sponsored by employers by Mercer, a subsidiary of Marsh McLennan, is one of the services of the consulting company to help employers manage health insurance costs while seeking to improve the health and well-being of employees.
Sunit Patel, an American chief news to Mercer for health and benefits, said two factors were combining to send higher costs. “The cost of benefits of benefits has two main components – the price and use of health care. Right now, both are increasing. ”
The survey provides that the total costs of health benefits per employee will increase by 6.5% in 2026, even with expected cost reduction measures, the highest jump since 2010. If employers left current plans unchanged, the increase approaches an alarming of 9%, stressing the incessant pressure on employers’ health care budgets. This future wave marks the fourth consecutive year of high growth in health benefits, according to Mercer, contravening a decade of annual increase more modest by around 3%.
Several drivers fed the overvoltage of costs
Certain increases are due to the progress of the medical sciences. Advanced diagnoses and advanced therapies, such as new cancer treatments and weight loss drugs, transform people’s lives and bodies, but are at high costs compared to previous therapies. The consolidation of providers in major health systems has strengthened negotiation power to set higher reimbursement rates with insurers.
Patel has said that more people have used various health services in the past two years, probably due to the persistent effect of delayed or missed care due to the pandemic and a relaxation of health care work constraints. “The development of virtual health care – and the growing acceptance of computer consumers, in particular in behavioral health – also affects models of use,” said Patel, “because it removes geographic obstacles to care and can be a more practical option for patients.”
Inflation has also played an important role, with an increase in wages in the health care sector feeding new cost increases. The pandemic accelerated the adoption of virtual health care, which facilitates the demand for care; Paradoxically, this easy access contributed to higher overall use, which increases aggregated complaints.
A spokesman for Mercer said in a statement in Fortune that it was the first 15-year summit since the start of the survey in 1987. Previous comparisons included a 13-year summit in 2002 (14.7%, the highest since 18.6%in 1988) and a seven-year-old summit in 2010 (6.9%, the highest since 2002). “Cost growth was very volatile from 1987 to 2002, the first years of managed care, with high-pointed ups and stockings,” said the spokesperson, adding that cost growth stabilized at around 6% to 7% per year from 2004, before slowing around 3% to 4% per year.
Employer responses: More cost changes
Faced with these increasing pressures, employers take aggressive measures. The survey revealed that 59% of companies plan to make changes to cost reduction in health plans in 2026, going strongly from 48% in 2025 and 44% in 2024. The predominant strategy consists Cost sharing franchises and provisions, resulting in higher costs for employees when they access care. However, many employers also seek means to limit costs without simply transmitting the burden to workers. For example, the emphasis is placed on the management of high -cost complaints and the performance of the program performance to guarantee value.
At the same time, improving mental health services remains a post-pandemic priority, with around two thirds of large employers who plan to make health care more accessible in the coming years. Ed Lehman, the head of the benefits of Mercer’s Us, “employers recognize that it is essential for the well-being of employees and the overall performance of the company”.
Your registration open this season
For workers, the main thing is expenditure: deductions from pay check for health coverage should increase from 6% to 7% on average in 2026. This stems from the fact that employee bonus actions generally increase in proportion to the overall costs of the plan. In addition to higher bonuses, crops and increased copays can further increase direct expenses, forcing certain employees to provide even greater financial pressure.
Mercer said that employees should “carefully weigh bonuses and cost sharing provisions” when registering open, balancing bonus costs with cost sharing features to select the most appropriate plan for their needs. Mercer notes that more than a third of large employers will offer non -traditional and high performance network plans in 2026 – These options can help alleviate unconditional costs by directing patients to preselected suppliers known for quality and drop in expenses.
(This report has been updated with a declaration from a spokesperson to Mercer.)
For this story, Fortune Used a generative AI to help an initial project. An editor checked the accuracy of the information before the publication.
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