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Workers Now Pay $7,471 on Average Annually for Family Health Coverage, Up 9% or $621 from 2025

Workers are paying on average $7,471 annually toward the premiums for employer-sponsored family health benefits in 2026, which is up 9%, or $621, from 2025. Including the employers’ share, total annual premiums for family coverage now average $28,303, up 5% from 2025. This benchmark annual survey also captures trends in deductibles, offer rates, and employer practices, and employers' experiences with GLP-1 and IVF coverage and understanding costs and utilization.

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What Are the Recent Trends in Employer-Based Health Coverage?

Employer-sponsored health insurance is the largest source of health coverage for people under 65. This analysis examines who among people under 65 have employer coverage and which workers are offered and eligible for coverage at their jobs, using the Annual Economic and Social (March) Supplements of the Current Population Survey.

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  • An analysis of out-of-network claims in large employer health plans

    Issue Brief

    A new Kaiser Family Foundation brief examines out-of-network claims in large employer plans, and finds that a significant share of inpatient hospital admissions includes bills from out-of-network providers, often leaving patients exposed to "surprise medical bills" and high out-of-pocket costs. The analysis of part of the Peterson-Kaiser Health System Tracker, an online information hub dedicated to monitoring and assessing the performance of the U.S. health system.

  • Public vs. Private Health Insurance on Controlling Spending

    News Release

    In his latest column for The Wall Street Journal's Think Tank, Drew Altman analyzes whether public or private health insurance does a better job of controlling costs. All previous columns by Drew Altman are available online. 

  • How Many Employers Could be Affected by the Cadillac Plan Tax?

    Issue Brief

    As fall approaches, we can expect to hear more about how employers are adapting their health plans for 2016 open enrollments. One topic likely to garner a good deal of attention is how the Affordable Care Act’s high cost plan tax (HCPT), sometimes called the “Cadillac plan” tax or "Cadillac tax," is affecting employer decisions about their health benefits. The tax takes effect in 2018. The potential of facing an HCPT assessment as soon as…

  • Assessing Americans’ Familiarity With Health Insurance Terms and Concepts

    Poll Finding

    With the approaching launch of the second open enrollment period for the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) health insurance marketplaces and at a time when open enrollment is also happening for many job-based plans, the Kaiser Family Foundation conducted a nationally representative survey of 1,292 U.S. adults to shed light on Americans’ understanding of basic health insurance terms and concepts, and to identify gaps in awareness that could lead to difficulties for some individuals as they…

  • 2014 Employer Health Benefits Survey

    Report

    This annual Employer Health Benefits Survey (EHBS) provides a detailed look at trends in employer-sponsored health coverage, including premiums, employee contributions, cost-sharing provisions, and other relevant information. The 2014 EHBS survey finds average family health premiums rose 3 percent in 2014, relatively modest growth by historical standards.

  • Employer-Sponsored Family Health Premiums Rise 3 Percent in 2014

    News Release

    Average Annual Family Premiums Stand at $16,834, With Workers Contributing $4,823 Workers Now Face Deductibles Averaging $1,217, Up 47 Percent Since 2009 Menlo Park, Calif. – Average annual premiums for employer-sponsored family health coverage reached $16,834 this year, up 3 percent from last year, continuing a recent trend of modest increases, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation/Health Research & Educational Trust (HRET) 2014 Employer Health Benefits Survey released today. Workers on average pay $4,823 annually toward the cost…

  • How are Seniors Choosing and Changing Health Insurance Plans?

    Report

    This report summarizes first-hand accounts of seniors’ Medicare private plan decision making strategies, based on focus groups conducted in four cities. Seniors found the initial plan selection process overwhelming due to the volume of information they received and their inability to organize it. Few used the government's online comparison tool, and those that did cite several shortcomings. Many relied on advice from sources they trust, including insurance agents, plan representatives, friends, family members, doctor's offices…

  • Standardized Plans in the Health Care Marketplace: Changing Requirements

    Issue Brief

    This brief examines the evolving requirements for insurers on HealthCare.gov to offer standardized plans that follow set cost sharing rules for covered benefits in addition to other plans they might offer. It also reviews how some state-run marketplaces have used standardized plans to limit cost sharing for insulin, mental health care, and other services.

  • Half of Admissions in the Large Group Market Are Paid Above 150% of Medicare Rates, Excluding Maternity Admissions

    Issue Brief

    This analysis looks at in-network payment rates for inpatient hospital stays, other than maternity/newborn admissions, among large employer plans relative to Medicare payment rates. We find that a cap of 150% of Medicare rates would affect 52% of in-network admissions and 36% of in-network spending, while a cap of 300% of Medicare rates would affect 13% of in-network admissions and 13% of in-network spending, with variation across types of admissions.