Average employer-sponsored family health insurance premiums in the United States rose to $38,000 per year in 2026, a new all-time high and a 9% increase from the prior year, according to the annual Kaiser Family Foundation Employer Health Benefits Survey. Workers pay on average $8,400 of that premium directly, with employers covering the remainder.
The surge is driven by elevated hospital costs, rising drug prices for specialty medications, and increased utilization of mental health services following the pandemic-era crisis. Prescription drug costs rose 14% annually, the fastest rate in over two decades, primarily due to the rapid adoption of GLP-1 weight-loss medications.
Healthcare now accounts for 18.5% of US GDP, the highest proportion of any developed nation by a wide margin. Policy analysts say the US spends more than twice the average of peer countries on healthcare while achieving worse outcomes on most public health metrics.