Employers are likely to reduce the benefits to fight medical expenses.

More employers say that when they try to control the fast -growing health benefits in 2026, they are likely to reduce the benefits in 2026, and more than half (more than 51%of employees with more than 500 employees) are likely to shift their expenses to the 2026 plan.

It is according to the machine 2026 Survey on health and benefits strategiesEmployers are likely to take the same measures such as deductions or burdened premiums. 51%of the survey last year increased 45%of employers to announce their willingness to participate in these measures.

Some employers will pursue other strategies to slow down cost growth. According to a survey, 35%of large -scale employers will provide non -traditional medical planning options in 2026 to provide employees with high -quality cost -effective treatment. Employers provide these alternative plans to select a variety of medical and financial demands.

Variable COPAY plans are one example, and in general, they do not provide or offer deductions for services based on the commission of individual providers. This COPAYS is fixed and delivered forward to provide the opportunity for members to choose low -cost providers.

According to the survey, 6%of the current large -scale employers who currently provide a variable COPAY plan will be registered in 2025.

What is the influence?

The rapid growth of glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) drugs for the treatment of diabetes and obesity has a significant impact on prescription benefits, according to a survey. Employers have long dealt with GLP-1 drugs for diabetes, but less than half (44%) of large-scale employers deal with drugs specially approved to treat obesity.

The high cost of these drugs (about $ 1,000 per patient, without calculating the manufacturer’s rebate) and many planned members who can potentially benefit from this cost is the top priority of pharmacy benefits among survey respondents and 77%are very important.

More extensively, some employers are evaluating a new approach to providing and managing the benefits of pharmacy. More than half of large employers (61%) are actively exploring some types of alternatives to the standard pharmacy benefit contract, which can be provided more clearly for the drug or specific service costs provided by the pharmacy benefit manager.

Employers also announced their promises to mental health. More than 75% of large -scale employers will provide digital stress management or restore resources such as apps based on mindfulness and meditation apps or cognitive behavioral therapy in 2026. Half (51%) provides direct or live online resources for stress management and elasticity, such as individual or group education sessions or coaching.

Employees also provide education to managers on how to recognize, provide support, and instruct employees who are having difficulty in mental health. Nearly 40%of all large -scale employers who participated in the survey and 60%of those with more than 20,000 employees provide mental health education for managers.

These efforts can be a response to increasing demands. According to the Mercer researchAlmost half (45%) of US employees feel stressed on most days at work.

Greater trend

According to Mercer’s 2024 survey, the cost of health benefits per employee is expected to increase by 5.8% this year even after accounting for planned cost savings.

Employers estimated that if they did not take any action to lower costs, the cost would increase by about 7%. Small employers (employees with 50-499 employees) generally had the most difficult health plan to fully cover insurance. They reported that if they did not take action, the cost would increase by an average of about 9%.