A new study adds to the growing body of evidence that employers are likely to see healthcare costs increase significantly next year.
Mercer released initial data from its 2025 National Survey of Employer-Sponsored Health Plans, which polled more than 1,700 employers and found that total health benefit costs per employee are expected to rise by an average of 6.5% in 2026, the highest rate since 2010.
This figure accounts for planned cost-management measures, Mercer said, and, if employers do not deploy such strategies, the average increase would instead be 9%. The study suggests 2026 will make for the fourth-straight year of increased spending growth following about a decade of more moderate cost hikes.
“Health benefit cost trend has two primary components—healthcare price and utilization," Sunit Patel, Mercer’s U.S. chief actuary for health and benefits, said in a press release. "Right now, both are rising.”
The survey identified multiple cost pressures that are playing a role in driving up costs. For one, as medical treatments and therapies become more sophisticated, they also become more costly. However, as these new innovations improve outcomes, employers are taking on the costs.
In addition, the provider market is increasingly consolidated, which gives them greater leverage in negotiating with health plans and securing higher reimbursements.
Inflation broadly across the economy is also playing a role in employers' healthcare costs, according to the report.
The survey found that 56% of employers intend to take cost-cutting measures for 2026, up from the 48% that did so in 2025. This includes bumping up deductibles or other steps to share costs, which likely increases the out-of-pocket costs employees will face when they seek care.
This indicates a reversal of a broader trend, where employers over the past several years have done everything possible to avoid shifting additional costs to employees.
The two most commonly cited cost-management steps were putting greater focus on managing the priciest claims and reviewing health programs to ensure they are providing value. Plus, about two-thirds of large firms said they plan to enhance access to behavioral health as a strategy to manage overall costs.
The survey also found that utilization increases are likely linked to care delays dating back to the COVID-19 pandemic as well as an increasing comfort with virtual care options.
"The rise of virtual healthcare—and growing consumer acceptance of it, particularly in behavioral health—is also affecting utilization patterns because it removes geographic barriers to care and can be a more convenient option for patients,” said Patel.