Eight Point Two Percent, Biggest Jump Since Two Thousand Three

Mercer took an early look at its national employer survey this August and almost did not want to look again. Total health benefit cost per employee is projected to rise 8.2 percent in 2027. That is the biggest jump since 2003. It is also the fifth straight year of elevated growth after a quieter decade. Without plan cuts, the same employers said the bill would climb eleven percent.

I am not shocked. Hospitals keep consolidating. Drugs keep getting more expensive. GLP-1s alone, Mercer says, account for a full percentage point of the trend. Artificial intelligence that helps clinics submit claims is producing more claims, and higher ones. The No Surprises Act was supposed to protect patients from surprise bills. The independent dispute process is now awarding providers more than anyone budgeted for, and that cost lands on the premium.

Fifty-nine percent of employers plan cost-cutting changes next year. Higher deductibles. Bigger paycheck deductions. Two-thirds of large employers already expect to push more of the premium onto workers. That is not a benefits strategy. That is a tax on showing up.

I am not anti-insurance. Keep a policy for the wreck. I am anti a product that grows faster than the raise for twenty-three years and still calls itself a benefit. We take care of patients for a flat monthly fee. No claim. No network. The number on the door is the number you pay.

Eight point two percent is a forecast. Two thousand three is a receipt. Direct care is the door that does not need either.

Source: www.mercer.com/en-us/insights/us-health-news/survey-health-benefit-costs-expected-to-jump-in-2027/