US health insurance costs are shifting more of the bill to workers: employees with employer family coverage contributed an average $7,471 in 2026, up 9% from 2025, according to KFF’s annual survey. Total family premiums rose more slowly, increasing 5% to $28,303.
The gap matters for household budgets and employers competing to retain staff. KFF’s survey found that the worker share increased faster than the total premium, even as employers continued to pay most of the average family-plan cost.
The survey covers employer-sponsored plans, not every source of U.S. health coverage. It does not measure what each household pays after tax credits, deductibles, or care use.
US Health Insurance Costs Outpace Pay
The 2026 Employer Health Benefits Survey put the average annual worker contribution for family coverage at $7,471, or roughly $623 a month. That was $621 more than the $6,850 average in 2025. The full premium averaged $28,303, including the employer’s contribution.
Those figures describe different changes. The 5% rise applies to the total premium charged for coverage. The 9% increase applies to the average amount workers contributed. It does not mean every worker saw a 9% increase, and a firm can change its contribution in different ways.
Across five years, KFF calculated that family premiums increased 28%, compared with 26.9% growth in wages and 24.4% inflation. The comparison points to a steady cost pressure rather than a one-year jump alone, though it does not show how any individual family’s take-home pay changed.
Smaller Firms Put More on Workers
Employees at small firms carried a larger share of the family premium. KFF found workers at firms with 10 to 199 employees paid 37% of the premium on average, compared with 25% at firms with 200 or more workers. A small company may have less leverage to negotiate prices or absorb cost changes, but the survey does not establish a single cause for the difference.
The results also show why two employees can face different costs despite having insurance through work. Employer size, plan design, family enrollment, and the split between employer and worker contributions all shape the payroll deduction. The headline average is a benchmark, not a bill for every plan member.
For employers, benefits are both a cost and a recruitment tool. Raising the worker contribution can help a company manage its budget, but it also leaves employees with less monthly pay and may make a job offer less competitive. KFF’s survey records employer practices and plan costs; it does not predict which firms will change their plans next year.
Survey Scope And Limits
KFF said the 2026 findings came from interviews with 1,937 randomly selected public and private employers with at least 10 workers. Fieldwork ran from January through July. As with any employer survey, estimates summarize participating firms and should not be read as a quote for a specific company or worker.
The Associated Press reported the findings as a squeeze for workers and small businesses. That account is consistent with the primary survey’s distinction between the full premium and the employee contribution. A separate STAT report on the KFF data also noted that workers’ contributions rose faster than in recent years.
The trend sits alongside other U.S. household pressures. BullBuzz has tracked persistent inflation pressure and the rising cost of federal interest payments. Those are separate issues, not causes identified by KFF, but they help explain why recurring household and business costs are drawing attention.
What Employers And Workers Should Watch
The next useful comparison will be how employers respond when they renew plans for 2027: whether they absorb more of the premium increase, shift a larger share to workers, or change deductibles and benefits. KFF’s figures establish the 2026 baseline, not next year’s outcome.
Workers comparing job offers can check the annual premium contribution alongside deductibles, out-of-pocket limits, and provider networks. Employers will be weighing those same plan details against retention and operating costs. The next round of renewal data will show whether this year’s faster rise in worker contributions was temporary or part of a longer shift.