Your Health Benefits at Work Could Cost You More in 2027

Workers preparing for 2027 open enrollment may want to pay particularly close attention to what their employers are changing. Employer health benefit costs are projected to rise 8.2% per employee on average in 2027, even after companies make changes intended to reduce spending, according to preliminary survey results from more than 1,800 U.S. employers. Without those cost-control measures, employers estimate their existing plans would become roughly 11% more expensive.

Those increases could show up in workers’ budgets in several ways. About 59% of employers plan to make cost-cutting changes to their health benefits for 2027, while roughly two-thirds of large employers expect to increase the portion of premiums employees pay. Other companies are considering higher deductibles, different plan options, tighter prescription-drug coverage, and other changes that could increase out-of-pocket expenses.

Some recognizable employers are already making changes. Yahoo Finance reports that Disney, Starbucks, Bloomberg, Deloitte, and the City of Dallas are among employers considering or implementing benefit changes, although the details differ considerably by organization and workforce. The broader trend doesn’t mean every employee’s coverage will become more expensive, but it makes reviewing next year’s enrollment materials especially important.

Some Workers Could Pay More From Every Paycheck

One of the most direct changes could appear in paycheck deductions. About two-thirds of employers with at least 500 workers expect to increase employees’ share of health insurance premiums in 2027. Nearly half of large employers also told Mercer they expect to make medical-plan changes, such as increasing deductibles or copays, that result in greater out-of-pocket expenses.

Some individual companies are taking more noticeable steps. Disney reportedly plans to stop covering working spouses in 2027 when those spouses have access to health insurance through their own employers. Bloomberg employees are expected to begin making monthly premium contributions for the first time, while Starbucks has increased insurance costs for some workers and is ending coverage for GLP-1 medications used for weight loss.

That makes it important to look beyond the monthly premium during open enrollment. Employees may also want to compare deductibles, copays, coinsurance, prescription coverage, provider networks, out-of-pocket maximums, and dependent or spousal eligibility. A plan with a relatively small premium increase could still become significantly more expensive if other cost-sharing requirements change.

Prescription Drugs Are Putting More Pressure on Employer Plans

Prescription drugs are one reason employers are reconsidering benefits. Business Group on Health says pharmacy spending now represents about 25% of employers’ total healthcare spending, while employer drug costs were projected to rise 12% in 2026. Employers cited growing GLP-1 use, cell and gene therapies, specialty medications, and chronic conditions among the factors contributing to higher pharmacy expenses.

GLP-1 medications have attracted particular attention because of their growing use for weight management. Mercer estimates that increasing GLP-1 utilization alone contributes about one percentage point to projected health benefit cost growth for 2027. Some employers have responded by dropping weight-loss coverage or imposing tighter requirements on who qualifies for these medications.

Healthcare inflation extends beyond prescription drugs, however. Employers also point to expensive cancer and rare-disease treatments, hospital costs, provider consolidation, and other changes in healthcare billing and reimbursement. Business Group on Health’s separate survey projects a median 9.2% healthcare cost trend for 2027 before plan-design changes, underscoring why companies are looking for multiple ways to contain spending.

Check Your 2027 Benefits Before Automatically Re-Enrolling

Employees who normally allow their existing benefits to roll over automatically may want to reconsider that approach this year. Changes to premiums, deductibles, prescription formularies, dependent eligibility, provider networks, and out-of-pocket limits can alter what a plan actually costs, even when its name remains unchanged.

There may also be new alternatives worth comparing. Nearly one-third of large employers already offer or plan to offer a nontraditional medical plan in 2027, such as high-performance networks or variable-copay plans that can reduce cost-sharing when employees choose selected providers. Employers are increasingly looking at these approaches as another way to control spending without simply passing every increase to workers.

The changes won’t be identical at every workplace, and the projected 8.2% increase represents average employer health benefit costs rather than a guaranteed 8.2% increase in every worker’s premium. Still, with healthcare expenses rising at their fastest projected rate in decades, checking the details during 2027 open enrollment could prevent an unpleasant surprise when the first paycheck or medical bill arrives next year.