U.S. workers face rising healthcare costs as employers brace for steep 2027 increase |
| Healthcare costs are rising sharply for U.S. workers, with employees who receive workplace coverage expected to spend an average of $5,297 in 2026 on premiums and out-of-pocket expenses, according to Aon, up $388 from 2025. The pressure is expected to intensify in 2027, when employers project an 11.1% increase in healthcare costs, potentially the largest rise in more than two decades and the fifth consecutive year of accelerating increases. Employers are increasingly passing some of these higher costs to workers through larger premium contributions, deductibles, copayments, and coinsurance. The increases are being driven by factors including higher hospital prices, greater use of medical services, expensive cancer treatments, and growing adoption of GLP-1 diabetes and weight-loss drugs, with employee use of GLP-1s for weight loss rising 75% among Aon clients in 2025. As healthcare spending outpaces income growth, employers are increasingly treating benefits costs as a company-wide financial issue rather than solely an HR concern. |
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