![\"2026](\"https:\/\/gtm.com\/business\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/pexels-towfiqu-barbhuiya-3440682-8569643-1.jpg\")
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A new report<\/a> from Mercer projects that the total health benefit cost per employee is expected to rise 6.5% on average in 2026, marking the highest increase since 2010. To put it in perspective, Mercer reported that the past decade normally increased 3% annually. If employers hadn\u2019t made any plan changes for 2026, the increase would have been nearly 9%.<\/p>\n Faced with sustained high health care costs, more employers are planning cost-reduction measures. Mercer revealed that 59% of employers intend to make cost-cutting changes to their health insurance plans in 2026, up from 44% in 2024. Many employers tried to avoid such actions during the COVID-19 pandemic and the following years that had record-high inflation, but fewer are able to continue absorbing the higher costs and shielding workers from them. As such, Mercer expects workers to pay an additional 6% to 7% on average in premiums. Some organizations may try to limit the increase, but will increase deductibles and copayments.<\/p>\n Other industry reports are projecting similar price hikes for 2026. While the Business Group on Health anticipates a 7.6% increase in costs for 2026, PwC expects medical costs to rise by 8.5% for the third consecutive year. Regardless of the exact figure, employees and employers alike can expect health care costs to continue to skyrocket next year.<\/p>\n While an increase in utilization obviously increases costs, there are other drivers at play. Surveyed employers across reports credit the 2026 increase to several factors, including:<\/p>\n \u201cThe cost of coverage is going up. That\u2019s a combination of higher prices for health care services and higher utilization,\u201d said Beth Umland, director of research for health and benefits at Mercer.<\/p>\n Mercer noted that it expects more employers to offer more health plan choices to help provide lower-cost options to employees. For example, an emerging trend is to offer plans with a broad network of doctors, but with varying out-of-pocket costs based on the specific provider.<\/p>\n Employers should continue to monitor cost trends as open enrollment approaches. We\u2019ll keep you updated with any notable changes.<\/p>\n \u00a9 2025 Zywave, Inc. All rights reserved.<\/em><\/p>\n The GTM Insurance Agency understands that these potential changes can be concerning. As these rate requests are reviewed and finalized, it\u2019s more important than ever to understand your options and ensure you have the coverage you need. We\u2019re here to help you navigate these complexities and explore solutions tailored to your situation. Call us today at 518-373-4111<\/a>\u00a0or\u00a0request a complimentary consultation.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A new report projects that health benefit costs per employee are expected to be the highest increase since 2010. Learn why and what it means.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[232],"tags":[20,30,430],"post_folder":[],"class_list":["post-17565","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-gtm-biz-blog-isolved","tag-employee-benefits","tag-health-insurance","tag-insurance-costs"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gtm.com\/business\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17565","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gtm.com\/business\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gtm.com\/business\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gtm.com\/business\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gtm.com\/business\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17565"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/gtm.com\/business\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17565\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17571,"href":"https:\/\/gtm.com\/business\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17565\/revisions\/17571"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gtm.com\/business\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17565"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gtm.com\/business\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17565"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gtm.com\/business\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17565"},{"taxonomy":"post_folder","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gtm.com\/business\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/post_folder?post=17565"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Why Are Health Insurance Costs Rising?<\/h2>\n
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What It Means<\/h2>\n
How GTM Can Help with Health Insurance<\/h2>\n