I have some not-necessarily-surprising bad news for those of you with health insurance provided by your employer. Employers expect the cost of providing health benefits to rise an average of 8.2% in 2027.
That doesn’t mean your share of your workplace health insurance will rise 8.2%. But it is likely that many employers will pass along at least some of their higher costs by requiring employees to pay more of the premium or by increasing what employees pay when they need care.
One common way to shift more costs to employees is through higher deductibles. And deductibles have already gotten plenty expensive. In 2025, the average annual deductible for single coverage among workers who had a general deductible was $1,886, which is a 17% increase over 5 years.
In the coming weeks, you will receive an update on your 2027 benefits during your Open Enrollment window. I want you to review the coverage for all your benefits, of course. But health insurance is the one I really insist you review.
- What will the premium deducted from my paycheck be in 2027?
- What is the deductible for my—or my family’s—coverage in 2027?
- What is the maximum out-of-pocket cost I could face in 2027? For family coverage, make sure you understand both the individual and family limits.
Don’t guess. And don’t just shrug that there’s nothing you can do. Even if your employer offers only one type of coverage, you can take more control by knowing what your out-of-pocket costs could be and then hatching a plan so you can handle those potential costs.
Look, chances are you will simply adjust to a higher premium coming out of your paycheck. But the two other costs are easy to overlook, and they can create financial havoc.
You deal with a deductible when you actually need care. If you’ve been healthy, you may not have needed many appointments or tests. That’s great! But I want you to make sure that if you suddenly needed care, you could cover your deductible without putting it on a credit card you can’t pay off immediately.
As I noted earlier, workers with single coverage who must cover a deductible had an average charge of $1,886 in 2025. At smaller employers, it averaged more than $2,600. So my question is: Can you handle that?
And then there’s the maximum out-of-pocket cost you could face.
Remember, a deductible is the amount you generally must pay before your insurance starts picking up its share of many covered services. But even after you have met the deductible, you may still be responsible for copays and coinsurance. A copay is typically a flat dollar amount you pay for a service, such as a doctor visit. Coinsurance is typically a percentage of the cost of a covered service.
The good news is that virtually all workers with employer coverage are in plans that put an annual limit on what they must pay for covered in-network care. But don’t assume that limit is small. Most workers face an annual maximum of around $3,000 or so; if you work for a smaller business, it can be more than $5,000.
How would you cover that potential cost?
If you have plenty set aside in an emergency savings fund that can easily cover these costs, that’s great news. But I also think it can be helpful to set up a separate savings account specifically for medical costs you know you could face.
And if you are eligible for a health savings account, or your employer offers a health care flexible spending account, I want you to carefully consider whether using that tax-advantaged account makes sense for you.
When you know you have money set aside to cover a deductible, copays, or coinsurance, it not only relieves financial stress, but it may also make it easier psychologically to seek care when something feels off rather than worrying about whether you can afford the bill.
Far too many people delay or avoid medical care because of money worries. Having money specifically set aside for health care can help you be more proactive about protecting your most valuable asset: you and your family.
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