Health Care Costs Pulse Survey: 2026 Cost Trend

Trends indicate that a majority of medical plan costs will increase for the 2026 plan year. Health Care Costs Pulse Survey: 2026 Cost Trend was designed to help plan sponsors navigate the changing landscape for U.S. corporate and single employers regarding health care costs for the coming year.

Highlights from the infographic:

• Employers in the U.S. expect medical plan costs to increase a median of 10% for 2026.
• The primary reasons for the expected cost increase include catastrophic claims, specialty and costly prescription drugs, and utilization due to chronic health conditions.
• Of respondents stating specialty and costly prescription drugs was a primary cost driver, GLP-1 drugs (59%), cancer drugs (50%) and cell and gene therapy (21%) were the drivers.
• The top initiatives with the most anticipated impact on costs were implementing cost-sharing, plan design changes, and purchasing or provider initiatives.

View the Report

Members of the media can request a copy of the report from [email protected].