Getting health insurance from your job will be extra pricey for 2027

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Workers might start feeling faint when they sign up for work-based health coverage for 2027.

Premiums are expected to skyrocket for the fourth year in a row, and employees will likely pay more when they receive care, too. The increased costs will put an additional squeeze on Americans’ already-tight budgets, adding to the nation’s affordability crisis that has become a centerpiece of the upcoming midterm elections .

Employers’ healthcare costs are forecast to jump 9.5% next year, though companies are likely to make changes to their benefits to mitigate the increase somewhat, according to Aon, an insurance brokerage firm. The projection is in line with those from other consulting firms and industry groups.

After years of relatively tepid healthcare inflation, employers are now facing a prolonged stretch of elevated costs spurred by Americans’ increased use of health services, pricey treatments for cancer and other conditions and the ongoing demand for expensive obesity medications, among other factors.

Workers will also feel the pain since employers have exhausted many of the options they have to control costs, and some must turn to more drastic measures, said Todor Penev, head of US health analytics at Aon.

“The affordability crisis is real,” he said. “It’s going to be much more noticeable with annual enrollment.”

This year, workers saw their share of health insurance premiums rise 9%, on average, to nearly $7,500 for family coverage, according to KFF’s Employer Health Benefits Survey, published on Thursday. At the same time, workers’ raises only amounted to 3.7%, on average, according to KFF.

At OSI Packaging in Shreveport, Louisiana, workers saw their premiums jump to $300 a month in 2026, up $100 from the prior year, said controller Julie Eason. But the company, which has six employees in the health plan, was able to keep out-of-pocket costs the same.

The company, which distributes and services packaging material and equipment, only started offering health coverage in May 2025 to help it fill job openings. While OSI is committed to providing good coverage at low cost, it may have to make some hard choices if expenses jump again next year, Eason said.

But if that happens, the workers will have a say about whether to raise premiums or their copays.

Courtesy Julie Eason

“It’s their healthcare,” she said. “It’s only right to let them decide.”

At the University Club of Michigan State University, Debbie Barosko has a difficult decision to make soon. The human resources director of the member social club has to determine whether employees will face a nearly 13% hike in premiums for 2027 but keep the same $1,000 deductible; or whether to increase the deductible to $1,500, which mitigates the premium increase to about 7%.

The 30 workers on the plan already had to deal with a 9% premium hike and a doubling of their deductible for this year after the club’s longtime health insurer stopped operating.

Barosko is weighing whether to keep the deductible low, which is more favorable for recruiting, or raise it, which would blunt the plan’s cost, both for workers and the club.

“It’s hard to stomach for the employees and the employer when you’re increasing the premiums but diluting the benefits,” she said.

For the coming year, employees will have to pay more attention when looking at their options and using their benefits. For instance, they may have lower co-pays if they see doctors in newly designated preferred networks. And they should double check that the out-of-pocket costs for their medications haven’t increased.

“The likelihood that people will see changes makes it critically important for them to invest the time to understand what the changes mean for them,” said Jim Winkler, chief strategy officer at the Business Group on Health, an employer advocacy organization.

One major change is that fewer employers are covering GLP-1 drugs for weight loss since it is a major driver of cost increases, according to the organization, whose members skew to larger employers. Coverage fell to 60% this year, down from 72% in 2025. Plus, the group hasn’t heard that any companies are starting to cover the medications for weight loss.

Americans, however, now have more ways to buy the blockbuster weight loss drugs – including Eli Lilly’s Zepbound and Foundayo and Novo’s Wegovy. The manufacturers offer their products at a discount for those willing to pay cash and forgo insurance. Prices range from $149 to $699 depending on the medication and dosage.

“What’s increasing is the number of options that employers see either for themselves or for their members to access these drugs outside of the traditional covered channels,” said Magda Rusinowski, vice president at the Business Group on Health.

Some employers are considering whether to help their staffers buy GLP-1 drugs for weight loss directly from the manufacturers or other partners, such as Costco’s pharmacy, said Matthew Rae, associate director at KFF. Companies could help subsidize the purchases through Health Reimbursement Arrangements, or HRAs.

“Ultimately, employers offer health benefits that they hope employees will value, and many employees see GLP-1 coverage as an important part of that,” he said. “If they can find ways to provide that coverage at a lower cost, they’re likely to do it.”

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员工在注册参加 2027 年的工作单位医疗保险时，可能会开始感到头晕。

预计保费将连续第四年飙升，员工在接受医疗服务时也可能要支付更多费用。不断上涨的成本将进一步挤压美国人本已捉襟见肘的预算，加剧美国日益严重的医疗负担能力危机，而这场危机已成为即将到来的中期选举的核心议题。

据保险经纪公司怡安（Aon）预测，明年雇主的医疗保健成本预计将上涨9.5%，不过企业可能会调整福利以在一定程度上缓解这一增长。这一预测与其他咨询公司和行业组织的预测相符。

经过多年相对温和的医疗保健通胀之后，雇主们现在正面临着持续高企的成本，这主要是由于美国人越来越多地使用医疗服务、癌症和其他疾病的昂贵治疗以及对昂贵的肥胖药物的持续需求等因素造成的。

怡安集团美国健康分析主管托多尔·佩内夫表示，由于雇主已经用尽了许多控制成本的手段，一些雇主不得不采取更激烈的措施，因此员工也将感受到痛苦。

“学费负担能力危机是真实存在的，”他说。“随着每年入学人数的增加，这个问题会更加明显。”

根据凯撒家庭基金会（KFF）周四发布的《雇主健康福利调查》，今年员工承担的医疗保险费平均上涨了9%，家庭保险费接近7500美元。与此同时，员工的平均工资涨幅仅为3.7%。

位于路易斯安那州什里夫波特的OSI包装公司财务主管朱莉·伊森表示，该公司员工的医疗保险费将于2026年上涨至每月300美元，比上一年增加100美元。但该公司共有六名员工参加了该医疗保险计划，因此员工的自付费用保持不变。

这家从事包装材料和设备分销及服务的公司，为了填补职位空缺，直到2025年5月才开始提供医疗保险。伊森表示，虽然OSI致力于以低成本提供优质保险，但如果明年的支出再次飙升，公司可能不得不做出一些艰难的抉择。

但如果这种情况发生，工人们将有权决定是否提高保费或自付额。

承蒙朱莉·伊森惠允

“这是他们的医疗保健，”她说。“让他们自己决定才是理所应当的。”

密歇根州立大学大学俱乐部的人力资源总监黛比·巴罗斯科即将面临一个艰难的抉择。她必须决定，员工在2027年是否要承担近13%的保费上涨，但保留1000美元的自付额；还是将自付额提高到1500美元，从而将保费涨幅控制在7%左右。

由于俱乐部的长期健康保险公司停止运营，该计划中的 30 名员工今年已经不得不面对 9% 的保费上涨和两倍的自付额。

巴罗斯科正在权衡是保持较低的免赔额（这更有利于招募球员），还是提高免赔额（这将降低该计划的成本，无论对员工还是俱乐部而言）。

“提高保费却削减福利，这对员工和雇主来说都难以接受，”她说。

来年，员工在选择福利项目和使用福利时需要更加谨慎。例如，如果他们选择在新指定的优选医疗网络内就诊，自付费用可能会降低。此外，他们还应该仔细核查药品自付费用是否增加。

“人们很可能会看到变化，因此，花时间了解这些变化对他们意味着什么至关重要，”雇主倡导组织“健康商业集团”的首席战略官吉姆·温克勒说。

一项重大变化是，由于GLP-1类减肥药物是成本上涨的主要驱动因素，因此越来越多的雇主开始为员工报销此类药物。该组织的成员大多是大型企业。今年，此类药物的报销率已降至60%，低于2025年的72%。此外，该组织尚未听说有任何公司开始为员工报销此类减肥药物。

然而，美国人现在有更多途径购买这些畅销减肥药，包括礼来公司的Zepbound和Foundayo，以及诺和诺德公司的Wegovy。生产商为愿意现金支付且放弃保险的消费者提供折扣。价格根据药物和剂量不同，从149美元到699美元不等。

“雇主们发现自己或他们的员工可以通过传统医保渠道以外的方式获得这些药物，这种情况正在增加，”商业健康集团副总裁玛格达·鲁西诺夫斯基 (Magda Rusinowski) 表示。

据凯撒家庭基金会（KFF）副主任马修·雷（Matthew Rae）称，一些雇主正在考虑是否帮助员工直接从生产商或其他合作伙伴（例如好市多药房）购买用于减肥的GLP-1药物。公司可以通过健康报销安排（HRA）来补贴这些购买费用。

“归根结底，雇主提供医疗福利是希望员工重视的，而许多员工认为GLP-1抗体检测是其中重要的一部分，”他说。“如果雇主能找到降低成本的方法提供这项服务，他们很可能会这样做。”