Employers
in
the
U.S.
are
projecting
a
median
increase
of
10%
in
healthcare
costs
for
2026,
a
new
survey
from
the
International
Foundation
of
Employee
Benefit
Plans
found.
The
International
Foundation
of
Employee
Benefit
Plans
is
a
nonprofit
focused
on
providing
educational
information
to
those
working
in
the
employee
benefits
industry.
It
has
more
than
31,000
employer
members
representing
over
25
million
lives.
The
organization’s
survey,
released
Thursday,
was
conducted
between
July
30
and
August
7
and
included
responses
from
150
corporate
and
single
employers.
The
10%
projected
increase
in
healthcare
costs
is
up
from
a
similar
report
last
year
that
projected
an
8%
median
increase
for
2025.
When
asked
what
the
primary
factors
contributing
to
the
increase
in
medical
plan
costs
were
for
2026,
31%
said
“catastrophic
claims,”
an
increase
from
20%
who
said
this
last
year.
Following
catastrophic
claims,
23%
said
specialty/costly
prescription
drugs,
15%
said
utilization
due
to
chronic
conditions
and
11%
said
medical
provider
costs.
Among
those
who
chose
specialty/costly
prescription
drugs
as
a
primary
factor
for
cost
increases,
59%
said
that
GLP-1
drugs
were
a
major
reason
(this
is
down
from
last
year,
when
75%
said
GLP-1s
were
responsible).
After
GLP-1s,
50%
said
cancer
drugs,
21%
said
cell
and
gene
therapy
and
26%
said
other
drugs.
To
combat
these
rising
costs
in
2026,
27%
of
respondents
said
that
implementing
cost-sharing
initiatives
—
such
as
through
deductibles,
coinsurance,
copays
or
premium
contributions
—
will
be
the
most
impactful.
This
is
up
from
21%
who
said
this
last
year.
In
addition,
this
is
consistent
with
what
Mercer
found
in
its
recent
survey,
in
which
51%
of
large
employers
said
they
are
likely
or
very
likely
to
shift
costs
to
employees
in
2026.
About
17%
of
respondents
in
the
International
Foundation’s
survey
said
that
implementing
plan
design
initiatives
will
also
be
effective.
This
includes
dependent
eligibility
audits,
high-deductible
health
plans,
spousal
surcharges
and
formulary
changes.
Another
17%
said
they
will
use
purchasing/provider
initiatives,
like
telemedicine,
price
transparency
tools,
centers
of
excellence,
healthcare
navigators
and
quality
initiatives.
Lastly,
12%
of
respondents
reported
that
they’ll
implement
utilization
control
initiatives,
such
as
prior
authorization,
case
management,
disease
management
and
nurse
advice
lines.
This
is
a
significant
decrease
from
last
year,
however,
when
27%
said
they’ll
use
utilization
control
initiatives.
“The
10%
projected
increase
is
attributed
to
a
variety
of
factors
impacting
organizations’
medical
plan
costs,
with
catastrophic
claims
and
specialty/costly
prescription
drugs
topping
the
list,”
said
Julie
Stich,
CEBS,
vice
president
of
content
at
the
International
Foundation
of
Employee
Benefit
Plans,
in
a
statement.
“Employers
have
indicated
that
cost-sharing,
plan
design
and
purchasing/provider
initiatives
will
be
the
most
impactful
techniques
to
manage
costs.”
Photo:
Ta
Nu,
Getty
Images