If you are among about 165 million Americans which receive medical insurance for work, and not from the government, you can ask the question: will my plan be next, now that the medical insurance contributions in accordance with the law on available medical care are included in the plans of the law on affordable medical care? It is planned to increase next year?
Experts say that there is no one, widespread increase, but an increase is likely for many people who use plans sponsored by the employer. And even if your monthly contribution remains the same, you can still pay more due to higher franchises or surcharges.
“Last year, medical insurance contributions have grown. They grew up this year. And next year they will grow,” said Dr. Kevin Shulman, a professor of medicine of the medical school of Stanford University, who research of medical insurance provided by the employer.
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So, how much can your plan grow?
Unlike ACA plans, in which insurers publicly report the proposed increase in bets on state and federal regulatory authorities, employers often discuss plans with insurers in private, says Gary Klajeston, director of the KFF market, research group in the field of health policy. This means that an increase in insurance premiums can be unobvious before the opening of registration.
Despite this, recent employers pour some lights on how many companies plan to pay next year, although they may not transfer the entire increase in the shoulders of employees.
A September report As the Mercer consulting company found out on benefits, employers say that medical care costs can increase by an average of almost 9% in 2026 if they do not take cost control measures. The survey was attended by more than 1,700 US employers. Another report From the consulting company AOO According to the data of more than 1000 American companies, next year, the expenses of employers for healthcare will increase by 9.5%. According to the SEGAL HR consulting company, approximately An increase by 9 % for medical insurance plans and 11% for drugs released by prescription.
Claxton said that some employers will decide to shift part of the additional expenses for employees at the expense of premiums. The Mercer report, for example, says that the average cost of insurance coating per employee is expected to be from 6% to 7% – this is the largest increase in more than a decade – a jump that will probably affect the insurance premiums of employees.
“If we see a significant increase of 6.5%, it is likely that employees' contributions, the share of employees in the prize, will grow by the same amount,” said Beth Minland, director of health and benefits in Mercer.
Other companies, however, can save premium payments at the same level, but increase franchises or surcharges, Klaxton said.
Others, in the competitive labor market, can themselves absorb the entire increase in costs.
“Sometimes it’s better to put up with these costs than upset your employees, especially if it means that some of them will leave,” Klaxton said. “Often hiring new workers is more expensive.”
It also depends on how large the company is and whether its employees are healthy so that it can take on financial risk.
“If you really have young labor, your bonuses will be lower,” Klaxton said. “If you have elderly employees, their number will be higher. If you are an employer with a staff of only a few hundred employees, if you have a couple of really sick people, you can see a long growth from year to year, especially if this disease will persist.”
Schulman said that some companies may try to control expenses instead, limiting the circle of doctors and hospitals, which is also called a “narrow network”.
Nevertheless, according to him, the growth of insurance premiums is a growing trend: the costs of medical insurance as a percentage of the average income of the family increased from 13% to 25% from 2000 to 2021.
“This is a huge increase in medical insurance contributions,” Schulman said.
Why is the insurance rise in price?
In the reports of Mercer and Aon, employers refer to many of the same price problems that lead to an increase in the ACA insurance premiums, including the growth of hospital expenses and expensive prescription drugs, such as GLP-1, as well as the growing number of people who seek help-partly due to convenient options, such as forming for people to receive assistance.
Joanne Wolf, professor-researchist and co-director of the Center for Medical Insurance Reforms of Georgetown University, said that growth is largely due to the growth of healthcare costs.
School of State Policy McCorte Georgetown Last month I sent a memo to Democrats Senators who requested information about the proposed increase in bets in accordance with ACA plans. The wolf said that many factors, which, according to him, interfere with ACA plans, including higher prices, wider use of services and inflation, also damage employers' plans.
Moreover, people spend more. According to forecasts, health care costs jumped by about 8.2% in 2024 and, according to forecasts, will increase by another 7.1% this year, ahead of the costs in the economy as a whole. June study published in Health Relations magazine. Health costs may slow down a little in 2026, since it is expected that fewer people will have medical insurance, but the costs will probably continue to grow faster than the economy as a whole.
Some employers can increase insurance premiums next year, while others may have already recorded bets and will not adjust them, the wolf said.
Next year, they can also take into account new employees who previously had an insurance coverage through the ACA trading platform or another individual plan.
“Some employers begin the financial year, which may be in the summer of the next year, and they are more likely to say:“ Now we have some idea of who is returning to the employer’s plan, then prices can be adjusted to reflect this, ”she said.
