Employers' healthcare costs are set to climb yet again in 2027, with analysts at Aon projecting an increase of 9.5%.
This would make for the fourth straight year where costs increased by or close to double digits, according to the report released Thursday. A 9.5% increase would lift the average costs to more than $19,000 per employee.
As costs rise, employers are deploying a number of strategies to mitigate the expenses. And while they're considering shifting more of that cost onto workers, for now, employers still absorb most of the cost, averaging 82%.
The total plan cost per employee on average for 2026 is set to be $17,562, up 8.3% from 2025. Of that, employers are paying $14,432, with that figure rising 8.8% from what they contributed to plans on average in 2025.
However, employees' cost sharing is rising, too, the study found. In 2026, they're expected to spend an average of $5,297 in healthcare costs, accounting for both premiums and out-of-pocket expenses. That's up 7.9% from 2025.
The highest jump for employees was in out-of-pocket spend, which increased by 10.2% to $2,167.
"Employers have now experienced several consecutive years of health care cost increases that are approaching double digits," said Mike Pasterick, North America Health Solutions Leader for Aon, in the announcement. "At this level, rising health care costs become much more than a budgeting challenge and influence organizational decisions from benefits strategy and employee affordability to broader workforce and financial planning priorities."
"Leaders are undergoing pressure to maintain affordable benefits while continuing to invest in attracting, supporting and retaining talent," Pasterick continued.
A similar survey from consultants at WTW also released this week, and the Wall Street Journal reported in an excusive look that the increase could be the highest spike in health insurance costs in nearly two decades.
The WTW survey found that employers expect to see healthcare costs increase by 11.1% next year.
“Employers are telling us that this is utterly unsustainable,” said Jeff Levin-Scherz, population health leader at WTW, in an interview with WSJ.