According to a report by The Wall Street Journal on the 20th, soaring medical costs are seriously impacting American workers, and the situation will worsen next year. By 2027, corporate employers may face the largest increase in healthcare premiums in at least two decades.
According to the latest calculations by the benefits consulting firm Aon, Americans with workplace health insurance are spending an average of $5,297 on medical expenses this year, which is an increase of $388 compared to 2025. This expenditure includes premiums deducted from wages, as well as personal expenses such as deductibles and shared costs.
A recent survey by another large benefits consulting firm, WeAllWorks (WTW), shows that American businesses are expected to see a 11.1% increase in medical costs next year, which would be the largest increase in over twenty years. This could significantly burden workers.
According to Weilai Taoyue's data, medical costs have been accelerating for the fifth consecutive year. Jeff Levin-Schatz, head of Weilai Taoyue's population health business, said, "Businesses told us that this situation is completely unsustainable."
Egon Group's North American medical solutions director, Mike Pastrick, said that decisions related to healthcare benefits for large enterprises have moved from the human resources department to the senior management level. "Now, the finance department, and even the CEOs and board of directors, are paying close attention to this issue."
Companies are forced to see their insurance expenses rise continuously, and employees usually have to share a portion of the premiums. As a result, individual burdens also increase, meaning that the amount of money left in employees' hands after paying salaries will further decrease each month.
U.S. Population Per Capita Out-of-Pocket Medical Expenses Chart – Wall Street Journal
Paul Wismech Glass Company in Paden City, West Virginia, has a total of 35 employees. The co-owner, Jason Wilborn, said that since acquiring the company in 2021, there has been a double-digit increase in insurance premiums every year. Medical expenses now account for 5% of the company's revenue, which has already surpassed the company's profit margin.
This year, the company has increased the medical insurance deduction from $40 per week for individual employees to $50. Although the employer still bears approximately 90% of the total premiums, some employees choose not to participate in the insurance program due to increased personal expenses.
Wilson said: "This is both disheartening and helpless, the status quo must change."
Federal official data from the United States shows that individual medical expenses incurred by Americans are continuing to rise in terms of deductible amounts, co-payments, joint insurance, and items not covered by insurance.
Harvard Medical School's Professor Michael Cheyne stated: "Healthcare spending growth rate has exceeded income growth rate recently."
F welfare consulting agencies and insurance companies indicate that the rapid increase in medical insurance premiums and employees' personal expenses in the United States is driven by multiple factors. Hospitals are continuously seeking to raise prices, and they are also increasingly using artificial intelligence tools to increase bill amounts, thereby driving up the overall compensation amounts.
