Employers face 11.1% healthcare cost spike but balk at the fix | Insurance Business
Employers face 11.1% healthcare cost spike but balk at the fix
WTW data shows most employers won’t take the disruptive steps needed to close the 2027 cost gap
Benefits
Aug 24, 2026
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Employers face an 11.1% increase in healthcare costs for 2027 without corrective action, according to a WTW survey preview Plan redesigns could pull that figure back to 9.7% – but the gap between those two numbers is exactly where a benefits adviser’s value either shows or disappears
Nearly half of respondents, 49%, expect significant changes to their healthcare programs in the next three years, up from 34% in the prior year’s survey. A little over half, 56%, said they are unwilling to take “disruptive” actions to realize the necessary savings. That reluctance is a specific client conversation: the employers most exposed to 2027 cost pressure are often the ones least prepared to make the structural changes that would actually move the number
GLP-1 costs sharpen the pressure
GLP-1 coverage has become one of the most contested line items in large employer health plans. Starbucks confirmed it will stop covering GLP-1 medications for weight loss from October, while retaining coverage for other indications including diabetes. The decision reflects a wider pullback: among corporate employers that cover GLP-1s for weight loss, the drugs represented 11.4% of total annual claims in 2025, up from 6.9% in 2023, according to the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans.
The coverage cuts have drawn pushback. “An employee should not lose access to a treatment simply because the diagnosis is <a href="https://healthylife7.com/foundayos-private-launch-lays-bare-the-nhs-obesity-lottery/” title=”Foundayo’s Private Launch Lays Bare the NHS Obesity Lottery”>obesity,” said Joe Nadglowski, president and CEO of the Obesity Action Coalition, which called on Starbucks to reverse the decision
Fourth straight year near double digits
Aon’s August cost analysis put employer healthcare cost growth at 8.8% in 2026, more than double the 3.7% rate recorded in 2022. Aon projects a 9.5% increase for 2027, pushing average per-employee costs above $19,000. The analysis draws on data from more than 1,100 US employers representing $135 billion in 2026 health spend
The projection marks the fourth consecutive year of elevated trends near double digits. Employees paid an average of $5,297 for healthcare in 2026, covering both premium contributions and out-of-pocket costs Out-of-pocket expenses rose 10.2% year over year
For benefits advisers, the WTW and Aon data frame the same problem in the 2027 renewal cycle. Employer clients who absorbed double-digit increases in recent years by tightening plan design are reaching the limits of that approach. The 1.4-percentage-point gap between WTW’s 11.1% baseline and its 9.7% post-design figure shows how much structural cost pressure a redesign alone cannot remove
The WTW survey covered 471 employers at companies ranging from 100 to more than 25,000 workers. It was conducted between June 22 and August 7, 2026. Full results are due in September, alongside 14% median small group premium requests already filed for 2027 that signal the rate environment advisers will be working in
