Phil Galewitz, KFF Health News
With the federal shutdown getting into its fourth week, spurred by a stalemate over the price of medical health insurance for 22 million Americans on Affordable Care Act plans, a new report shows that over 154 million folks with protection by means of an employer additionally face steep worth hikes — and that the scenario is more likely to worsen.
Premiums for job-based medical health insurance rose 6% in 2025 to a mean of $26,993 a yr for household protection, in line with an annual survey of employers launched Oct. 22 by KFF, a well being info nonprofit that features KFF Health News.
It’s the primary time in 20 years that the price of protecting a household of 4 has risen by 6% or extra for 3 consecutive years, information from KFF exhibits.
Over the final 5 years, the common premium for household protection has elevated by 26%, in contrast with a 29% enhance in staff’ wages and almost 24% development in inflation. The common value for household protection is now about the identical as a new Toyota Corolla hybrid.
The common annual premium for a person well being plan offered by employers elevated by 5% to $9,325 — almost $3,000 increased than in 2016, in line with the survey.
“It’s a concern as health costs just keep going up,” stated Eric Trump, controller at Steve Reiff Inc., a small firm in South Whitley, Indiana, that focuses on sandblasting and portray heavy gear.
Trump, who just isn’t associated to President Donald Trump, stated his firm’s medical health insurance prices rose 8% for the 2026 fiscal yr — roughly the identical as they’ve in the previous couple of years.
Workers at Reiff pay about half the price of their well being protection. About half of its 20 present staff decline the insurance coverage as a result of they get protection by means of a member of the family or select to go uninsured, he stated. “There’s not a lot we can do as we don’t have enough employees to spread out the costs.”
Most folks with job-based insurance coverage contribute to the price of their premiums, with the common employee this yr contributing $1,440 for particular person protection or $6,850 for household protection.
Over time, extra staff have paid more and more increased deductibles, the quantity they have to spend out-of-pocket on medical companies earlier than their insurer pitches in. More than one‑third of lined staff are enrolled in a plan with a deductible of $2,000 or extra for a person. The share of staff with such a plan has elevated 32% over the past 5 years and 77% over the past 10 years, the report stated.
Rising drug and hospital prices are often cited as main culprits for rising medical health insurance prices, and neither exhibits indicators of ebbing.
“Early reports suggest that cost trends will be higher for 2026, potentially leading to higher premium increases unless employers and plans find ways to offset higher costs through changes to benefits, cost sharing, or plan design,” the KFF survey stated.
One massive concern amongst employers is the excessive worth of GLP-1 medication for weight reduction, which a rising variety of firms cowl. Their excessive costs, mixed with robust demand, have led some workplaces to tighten or eradicate protection for weight reduction.
“Large employers know these new high-priced weight-loss drugs are an important benefit for their workers, but their costs often exceed their expectations,” examine writer Gary Claxton, a KFF senior vice chairman, stated in a press launch. “It’s not a surprise that some are rethinking access to the drugs for weight loss.”
Employers usually reply to increased well being prices by shifting prices to their staff, nevertheless it’s unclear how rather more monetary ache staff can take. The survey discovered almost half of enormous employers stated their staff have “moderate” or “high” issues about their stage of value sharing.
While the rising value of employer-sponsored insurance coverage has outpaced basic inflation, the problem obtained scant consideration in latest months on Capitol Hill. To assist pay for extending tax cuts, Trump’s tax and spending legislation reduces by billions of {dollars} the quantity the federal government spends on Medicaid, the state-federal medical health insurance program for 70 million low-income and disabled folks. Congressional finances scorekeepers predict the cuts to Medicaid will result in hundreds of thousands extra folks changing into uninsured over the subsequent decade.
The federal authorities has been shut down since Oct. 1 as Democrats refuse to vote for a brand new spending measure except Republicans agree to increase tax credit that assist about 22 million folks purchase well being protection by means of the ACA marketplaces. Without congressional motion, the tax credit will expire, and premiums will double for a lot of shoppers, beginning in January.
The KFF report is predicated on a survey this yr of 1,862 randomly chosen nonfederal private and non-private employers with 10 or extra staff.
KFF Health News is a nationwide newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about well being points and is among the core working packages at KFF—an impartial supply of well being coverage analysis, polling, and journalism. Learn extra about KFF.
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