Health coverage tied to your job is on track to get pricier, and fast. A new survey by benefits firm Marsh finds that employer health-plan costs are expected to jump about 11% per worker in 2027 if plans stay the same, or roughly 8% even after companies trim benefits—the sharpest rise since 2003, reports the New York Times. Those stats more or less track with insurance broker Aon’s findings, which predict a 9.5% rise in costs next year, per Reuters. About 160 million people under the age of 65 depend on employer insurance, and many will see higher premiums, deductibles, and co-pays as companies try to contain expenses driven by hospital prices, prescription drugs (including GLP-1s), and cancer treatments, notes the Times.
Some employers are dropping coverage for spouses who have other options, or nixing coverage for obesity drugs entirely. Others, from school districts to small businesses, are rethinking the insurer middleman—directly contracting with hospitals, narrowing provider networks, or switching to smaller pharmacy benefit managers in search of transparency on how much they’re forking over for drugs. HealthInsurance.org offers a chart of projected premium increases in 2027 by state.