Covered employees on average contributed $7,471 toward their family coverage in 2026, 9% more than they did in 2025.
KFF published its annual benchmark health benefits survey of employers on Oct. 22. Davis Research carried out fieldwork between January and July. The survey canvassed 1,937 randomly selected non-federal government and private employers with at least 10 workers.
Here are nine things to know:
- Worker contributions are growing faster than overall family premiums. While employees saw a 9% increase in their contributions toward family coverage, average family premiums hit $28,303, up 5% from 2025. On average, employers contributed $20,833. Meanwhile, workers’ wages grew 3.7%.
- Firms offering health benefits took a few steps to address projected cost increases for their plan with the largest enrollment. Forty-four percent of large firms increased the premium share that employees pay, and 21% increased deductibles or other cost-sharing for most services.
- Forecasts point to 2027 premium increases approaching double digits. Eighteen percent of employers increased their workers’ share of premium contributions in 2026 as they anticipated steeper premiums.
- Thirty-eight percent of covered workers are in a plan with a general annual deductible of at least $2,000 for single coverage, compared with 34% in 2025. This share of workers has grown 31% over the last five years and 63% over the last decade.
- The average contribution rate for covered workers with family coverage is 37% at smaller firms versus 25% at larger firms. The average contribution rates for employees at smaller and larger firms are more comparable for single coverage.
- Self-funded health plans are dominating. Seventy-one percent of covered workers, including 85% at larger firms, are in self-funded plans.
- Among employers offering health benefits, 89% described the network in their largest plan as very or somewhat broad.
- Only 17% of firms with health benefits said they are “very satisfied,” 51% said they are “satisfied,” and 29% said they are “dissatisfied” or “very dissatisfied” with the overall cost of care for their staff.
- At the same time, 95% of employers with health benefits said they are satisfied or very satisfied with their networks’ provider quality, while only 2% expressed any level of dissatisfaction. Only 5% expressed some level of dissatisfaction with timely access to services.
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