Workers are expected to take on some of the higher costs through bigger premiums, deductibles, and other out-of-pocket costs.
By Catholics for Catholics
Healthcare costs are expected to rise and will see the largest increase in two decades by next year, according to a survey of employers.
Some of the factors of the rise in cost will be driven by pricey weight-loss drugs and artificial intelligence tools that aid medical providers in making more billable claims, according to a story by the Epoch Times.
In fact, according to the Times’ story, the prices for employer-sponsored health benefits are expected to increase by around 8.2 percent in 2027, the biggest surge since 2003, according to an Aug. 31 report from consulting firm Marsh.
Meanwhile, government healthcare funding has not kept pace with inflation. That has put more pressure on private health plans as providers seek to offset lower public reimbursements and the rising cost of uncompensated care.
“Some newer cost drivers have combined to drive cost growth to a level not seen in decades,” the report’s authors wrote.
The Marsh report ascribed a full percentage point of the projected rise to the growing use of GLP-1 weight-loss drugs, which can enforce big costs on employers that cover them. Some employers have chosen to drop this coverage for next year, with some others pushing for the introduction of lower-cost GLP-1 biosimilars.
One more factor in percentage point comes from medical providers’ more use of AI-enabled software to document care and submit claims. The tools have resulted in more claims—and more claims billed at higher levels—being submitted for payment.
Marsh found that 59 percent of employers intend to make cost-cutting changes to their health benefits in 2027, including higher deductibles that shift more expenses to workers.
Other projections point to even steeper increases. Aon expects U.S. employer healthcare costs to rise by 9.5 percent in 2027, pushing the average above $19,000 per employee and marking the fourth consecutive year of near-double-digit increases.
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