Health Insurance Bills Are Soaring — And Will Only Get Worse
Health insurance is more expensive than ever. The average cost of a family plan through an employer has climbed to nearly $27,000 in 2025 — a 6% jump from last year and the third straight year of steep increases, according to a new report from independent health policy research organization KFF.
That’s double the rate of inflation, and a similar increase is expected in 2026 — meaning the cost of healthcare in the U.S. is outpacing price increases.
It comes as hospital, drug, and labor costs remain high. Mo News producer Lauren Janes spoke with KFF’s Matthew Rae about what’s behind the surge — and what Americans can realistically do about it.
“Over the 20-year period, health insurance premiums have gone much faster than inflation or workers’ wages, and many people worry about how much of our GDP we spend on healthcare,” Rae said. “Many people keep looking for a breaking point — but it’s not clear what that would be.”
EMPLOYER-BASED COVERAGE
About half of Americans (154 million people under age 65) get health care coverage through their jobs, and prices are expected to keep rising.
“Employers and employees both have to chip in to pay that premium,” he explains, which is up to $27,000 total for family coverage. “So workers spend, on average, $6,850 every year to enroll in [family] health insurance.”
What’s driving the spike? Rae points to a several trends — including the popularity of GLP-1 weight-loss drugs. Nearly half of large employers cover GLP-1s for weight loss in 2025; some are already planning to tighten eligibility or drop coverage in 2026 due to costs associated.
But there’s more to the story. Rae also attributes price increases to consolidation in the healthcare market, doctors charging more, more prevalent chronic conditions, and people needing increasingly more care. Rising drug and hospital costs are also a major factor and don’t show signs of slowing.
EVERYONE IMPACTED
Almost everyone will see their health insurance premiums rise next year — whether you get coverage through work or the Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplace.
Premiums for those enrolled in the federal ACA marketplace could rise as much as 30%, according to the Washington Post. Americans enrolled in state marketplaces are also set to see a double-digit percentage increase. The enhanced government tax credits that help offset those costs for millions of Americans are set to expire at the end of the year— and are at the center of Senate negotiations to end the ongoing federal government shutdown.
Without those subsidies, many of the roughly 24 million Americans who buy insurance through the ACA marketplace could see their premiums double next year: from an average of $888 in 2025 to $1,904.
Bottom line: Higher costs mean more people go without insurance, which could raise premiums further for everyone.
Already, the U.S. spends more on healthcare than any country in the world — nearly $4.9 trillion in 2023, or $14,570 per person. That’s about double what other wealthy nations spend, according to the DC-based think tank Peter G. Peterson Foundation. Healthcare now makes up around 18% of the U.S. economy, up from just 5% in the 1960s.
