The average cost of a family health insurance plan provided by employers in the US rose to nearly $27,000 in 2025, marking a 6% increase from the previous year. That continues a three-year trend of premium hikes that outpace inflation; general inflation clocked in at 2.7% over the past year. The latest survey from KFF—which polled nearly 1,900 employers—underscores the degree to which employer-sponsored health coverage, which nearly half of Americans get, is becoming an ever-larger financial burden for businesses and workers alike.
Rising health care spending—including growing claims for cancer treatments, expensive new therapies, and popular weight-loss drugs like Wegovy—are key factors driving up premiums. Many employers, especially small businesses, report double-digit increases in premiums, with 51% seeing health insurance costs jump by at least 10% this year. STAT reports that while the KFF report doesn't touch on 2026 numbers, other big surveys have found premium jumps of 9% for next year.
Business owners say the rising costs are squeezing their ability to raise wages or invest elsewhere, and companies are increasingly shifting costs to workers. Indeed, KFF found workers contribute an average $6,850 annually to the cost of family coverage. "A growing trickle" of smaller employers are declining to offer traditional health coverage altogether, reports the Wall Street Journal. By way of example, it flags one South Carolina employer of 11 people that has shifted to giving its staff health-reimbursement accounts they can use to help cover their own premiums.
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