Summer Benefits Strategies for Employers

BenefitsPro reported this month that roughly half of large employers, those with 500 or more employees, say they are likely or very likely to shift more health care costs onto employees next year through higher deductibles or out of pocket maximums. The average health benefit cost per employee is projected to top 18,500 dollars this year, and total costs are rising 6.5% on average, the steepest increase since 2010. What I keep coming back to with numbers like these is that cost shifting is the easy lever and almost always the first one pulled, while the harder work of identifying what is actually driving spend inside your own population gets pushed to next year's renewal cycle instead. Half of employers reaching for the same lever at the same time tells you this is becoming the default response rather than a considered strategy, and that gap is exactly where a benefits team can differentiate itself this renewal season.

Employers often expect their benefits to handle more than they were designed to achieve. They invest heavily, hoping their benefits program will improve the employee experience. But too often, the program is underutilized and doesn’t achieve the ROI employers expect. The problem? The size of a benefits package doesn’t determine its impact. Instead, benefits become more valuable when they adapt to employees' changing needs. With a Lifestyle Spending Account (LSA): 👉 An employee in their first role might use their benefits to build financial stability. 👉 A working parent can offset the cost of childcare. 👉 Someone navigating a health challenge needs to cover their therapy or specialist support. An LSA keeps benefits relevant across every stage of an employee's life, so they’re far more likely to use what their employer is providing. That's what we're building at Benepass. In our complete guide to Lifestyle Spending Accounts, you’ll learn how to make your benefits flexible and valuable. Check out the link in the comments. 👇

If you work in benefits, HR, or financial wellness, this one's for you!! Caregiving is becoming one of the biggest hidden costs employers aren't tracking, and it's showing up in retention, productivity, and healthcare spend whether you're measuring it or not. I'm sitting down with Greg Hearn, founder of Petunia, to talk through what it actually costs and why it matters so much for financial wellness. We'll get into: • What assisted living, memory care, home care, and healthcare actually cost • Why caregiving stays invisible at most companies, and what that silence costs everyone  • How caring for a parent quietly eats into your own retirement, career, and earning potential • The hidden toll: missed work, lost income, out of pocket costs, emotional strain  • How to plan for what's coming without losing sight of your own future Send your questions ahead of time if you've got them.  Link in comment! Savvly Dario Fusato Justin Blume

If you're planning benefits for next year, you already know what's coming. The renewal numbers are not kind. 2026 is shaping up to be the biggest health benefit cost jump in fifteen years. Mercer puts it at 6.5% per employee even after companies do their usual cost-cutting — and closer to 9% for anyone who does nothing. It's the fourth year running of increases like this, after a decade where 3% was normal. And most of it flows downhill. Nearly 6 in 10 employers are changing their plans to manage the cost, usually by raising deductibles. Which means employees feel it too — paycheck deductions up around 6 to 7%, and more out of pocket when they actually need care. But the number I keep coming back to isn't the cost trend. It's this: for the first time, mental health is one of the top things driving employer health costs. And here's the part worth sitting with. That's partly good news. The reason utilization is up is that years of chipping away at stigma and expanding access actually worked — more people are using the support that was always technically there. The thing everyone spent a decade trying to achieve is finally happening. It just happens to show up as cost. So the question quietly changes. For years it's been "how do we get people to use mental health support?" Now it's becoming "is the support people are using actually the right kind?" Access was the hard part. Whether it's working is the next one. And honestly, that's the whole thing in miniature. When budgets were loose, offering a program was enough. Now that every line is under pressure, "we offer it" isn't the bar anymore. "It works, and here's how we know" is. So if you're deep in planning right now, one honest question: do you actually know which of your wellbeing programs are working — or just that you have them?

💥 Fewer than half of U.S. adults can consistently afford the health care and prescription medications they need, when they need them. Over the past year alone, 2.8 million Americans have fallen out of the “Cost Secure” category because they simply cannot keep up with rising health care costs. 🤔 About 1 in 3 adults in households earning $120,000–$179,999 were not considered “Cost Secure” in 2025. 🤔 Even among households earning $180,000 or more, about 1 in 5 adults still were not “Cost Secure.” 🤔 Adults ages 18–29 saw the sharpest decline in health care affordability. Employers cannot afford to treat benefits like a once-a-year renewal transaction. 🩵 Healthcare affordability is no longer just a benefits conversation. 🩵 It is a workforce conversation. 🩵 It is a family conversation. And it is absolutely ... a leadership conversation. 🖥️ https://lnkd.in/gNNs4_Hq #HealthcareAffordability #EmployeeBenefits #HRLeadership #BenefitsStrategy #HealthcareCosts #HumanResources #CFO #EmployeeExperience #TexasEmployers #BenefitsAdvisor Sarah Bahlman, APEB | INSURICA #HealthcarePractice

A new Harris Poll survey commissioned by the American Heart Association reveals that while 95% of U.S. employees are actively trying to improve their health, financial barriers are undermining their efforts. Half of respondents say healthcare costs make it difficult to afford daily essentials like food and rent. Nearly half (47%) have reduced or stopped retirement contributions to cover healthcare expenses. Beyond cost, employees cite work-life balance (36%), lack of time (30%), and caregiving duties (23%) as additional obstacles. American Heart Association CEO Nancy Brown stated, 'No one should have to skip buying groceries or halt their retirement savings to cover medical expenses.' The American Heart Association has issued a Presidential Advisory warning that healthcare affordability has reached crisis levels, urging policymakers and employers to take action on systemic reform. #HealthcareAffordability #WorkplaceWellness #HeartHealth

For many working adults, company medical benefits can feel reassuring. As life progresses: you get married, welcome a child, or begin supporting parents who need more regular care. Suddenly, the question is no longer only, “Am I covered?” It becomes, “Are we covered?” Not every company plan includes dependants automatically, and even when family members are covered, their benefits may come with different limits, eligibility requirements, or care pathways. A child, spouse, and ageing parent may also need very different types of healthcare support. Understanding these details early can help families make clearer decisions before care is needed, especially when company coverage may change with a new role or career move. At iXchange, we believe workplace benefits should be easier to understand and navigate, so employees can feel more confident about the support available to them and the people who depend on them. Read the full article here: https://lnkd.in/gRYnmxQb #iXchange #EmployeeBenefits #CorporateInsurance #FamilyHealthcare #HealthcareAccess #BenefitsNavigation #WorkplaceWellbeing

🏕️ Friday Fast Facts for Wisconsin & Midwest Employers As Congress continues debating healthcare policy, employers don't need to make changes today, but it's a good reminder that benefits strategy should always be evolving, not reacting. This week's highlights: 🔹 Healthcare proposals in Washington could eventually expand HSA eligibility, require first-dollar coverage for certain primary care and behavioral health services, and reshape employer-sponsored health plans if portions are included in future legislation. 🔹 Dependent Care FSA Reminder: With summer in full swing, many day camps, including sports, STEM, and arts camps, may qualify for reimbursement. Overnight camps and summer school generally do not. 🔹 HSA Tip: Employees can typically adjust their HSA payroll contributions at least monthly, even without a qualifying life event, something many people don't realize. For HR and business leaders, staying ahead of these developments can make a real difference in employee communication and long-term benefits planning. At Alliant, we're committed to helping employers understand what's changing, what's coming next, and what requires action, without creating unnecessary disruption. Wishing everyone across Wisconsin and the Midwest a fantastic weekend! Whether you're on the lake, at the cabin, cheering on a local ball team, or firing up the grill, I hope you get a chance to enjoy everything that makes summer here special. #EmployeeBenefits #HR #WisconsinBusiness #MidwestEmployers #BenefitsConsulting #Compliance #Healthcare #HSA #FSA #AlliantInsurance

HDHPs have become more common every year, and the amount employees pay when they need care has increased, too. Over the past four years, HDHPs have become a standard part of benefit packages at investor-backed companies. They're a win for many employees, especially those who don't use healthcare often, because they offer lower monthly premiums. Employers benefit from those lower premiums as well. As of 2026, 9 out of 10 companies offer both an HDHP and a PPO. What's worth paying attention to is that as HDHP adoption has grown, so has the OOP cost employees face when they actually need care. It's not just higher IRS deductible minimums. Employees are paying more out of pocket before reaching their plan's out-of-pocket maximum, while employer HSA contributions have remained relatively flat. 𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀 If HDHPs become less affordable and costs feel less predictable, more employees may decide a traditional PPO is worth the higher premium. 𝗜𝘁 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝗹𝘀𝗼 𝗰𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗲𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗼𝘆𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗱𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗼𝗮𝗱 𝗮𝘀 𝗮 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘂𝗹𝘁 𝗼𝗳: → Increase absenteeism and presenteeism when employees avoid or delay care. → Lead employees to postpone treatment, which often results in higher costs later. → Make it harder for employees to save for retirement or other long-term financial goals because they need more cash available for medical expenses. HDHPs are still a great option, especially for companies with younger, healthier workforces or meaningful employer HSA funding. But as plan designs evolve, it's important to consider not just the monthly premium, but what employees can realistically afford when they need to use their benefits. 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗿𝘁  • Orange: Employee OOP cost hitting deductible and before hitting maximum.  • Teal: Median deductible employee must hit before plan starts paying 𝗢𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗣𝗼𝘀𝘁𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝗛𝗗𝗛𝗣 𝗔𝗳𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗱𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆  • Employer HSA Seed Funding X Deductible Amount: https://lnkd.in/gwme96Sf • HDHP Individual Deductible YOY: https://lnkd.in/gb7Dznpg #Healthcare #Benefits #Founders #insights

It's official! Anthem is partnering with 1si to lower the cost of health coverage for small businesses! See the full article on our website: https://ow.ly/eMAu50Zm9IO Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield has joined forces with One Southern Indiana (1si) to help small businesses provide their employees with lower-cost, high-quality health benefits through the new Advantage 1 Health program, a Multiple Employer Welfare Arrangement (MEWA). Designed exclusively for members of 1si and participating local chambers of commerce, the program enables small employers to provide big company benefits at lower, more predictable costs. Advantage 1 Health can help businesses with 2–50 employees save up to 40% on health benefit costs and offers flexible plan options designed to meet the needs of both employers and employees. See our website under "Member Benefits > Member Savings" to learn more.