Health insurance premiums jump 9%, and more Americans don’t have access to coverage

A health insurance premium is the amount paid for health coverage, usually every month or through regular payroll deductions. It helps keep a policy active, whether the coverage comes through an employer or another source. The premium is separate from costs such as deductibles, copayments, and coinsurance.

For workplace coverage, employers and workers commonly share the premium. The article reports that workers paid an average of $7,471 toward family coverage in 2026. Employers absorbed much of the broader increase in health care costs, but workers still faced a larger bill.

Premiums matter because they affect whether people can afford to keep insurance. Rising premiums can strain household budgets and make employers less willing to offer coverage. The article says small businesses are increasingly retreating from offering health insurance, while experts warn employers may be reaching a “breaking point.”

The striking figure is a 9% increase in what workers paid for family health insurance in 2026. Their average contribution reached $7,471, according to KFF’s 2026 Employer Health Benefits Survey. That is a substantial added expense for families already managing other rising costs.

The figure applies to workers’ share of workplace family coverage. Employers still paid much of the overall increase in health care costs, but employees did not avoid the impact. Workers at small businesses experienced even larger premium increases than the reported average.

The rise signals growing pressure throughout the employer insurance system. Premiums could increase further in 2027, the article reports. Higher costs may also push more small businesses to stop offering coverage, potentially leaving more workers to seek insurance elsewhere or go without it.

The share of working-age U.S. adults without health insurance increased by 2.3 percentage points between 2024 and 2026. It rose from 8.9% to 11.2%, according to the Commonwealth Fund Biennial Health Insurance Survey. The change means a larger portion of adults lacked financial protection when they needed medical care.

The survey connects the increase to two policy changes. Affordable Care Act marketplace premium tax credits expired, and pandemic-era protections that had helped keep people enrolled in Medicaid were rolled back. Together, these changes made coverage harder to maintain for some people.

The consequences were already visible in the survey. Half of uninsured people did not seek needed care because of cost concerns. The article warns that major Medicaid cuts and marketplace restrictions in 2027 could make access to coverage even harder.

Health insurance premiums generally rise when the medical care covered by insurance becomes more expensive. Insurers must collect enough money from premiums to help pay for covered services, so higher health care spending puts upward pressure on what coverage costs. The article identifies rising overall health care costs as the main reason premiums jumped.

Small businesses are experiencing especially sharp pressure. The article says workers at small businesses faced even larger premium increases than the average 9% rise. Employers have absorbed much of the increase so far, but smaller companies may have less financial room to keep doing that while maintaining affordable coverage.

This pressure can affect whether coverage is offered at all. The article reports that small businesses are increasingly retreating from providing insurance to workers. Experts say employers are reaching a “breaking point,” and premiums could rise further next year.

Insurance helps people pay for medical care, so losing coverage can make visits, tests, medicines, and treatment feel unaffordable. The article reports that half of all uninsured people did not seek needed care because of cost concerns. This shows that being uninsured can affect whether people receive care, not merely how they pay for it.

The Commonwealth Fund survey found that working-age adults without insurance rose from 8.9% in 2024 to 11.2% in 2026. As more people lack coverage, more may face medical bills without insurance assistance. The article does not provide details about which types of care were skipped.

The situation may worsen. The article says major Medicaid cuts and Affordable Care Act marketplace restrictions planned for 2027 will make insurance harder to access. That could leave more Americans unable to afford needed health care.

Affordable Care Act marketplace premium tax credits reduced what some people had to pay for coverage. When those credits expired, marketplace plans became more expensive for affected enrollees. Some people may therefore have dropped coverage or been unable to renew it, contributing to the rise in uninsurance described in the survey.

Pandemic-era protections had helped keep people enrolled in Medicaid. Their rollback allowed enrollment safeguards to end, making it possible for some people to lose coverage. The article identifies both developments as reasons the uninsured rate rose from 8.9% in 2024 to 11.2% in 2026.

The result was a broader coverage problem among working-age adults. Half of uninsured people said they did not seek needed care because of cost. The article warns that 2027 Medicaid cuts and marketplace restrictions could make access even more difficult.

Health insurance works by pooling financial risk. Many people pay premiums into a shared system, while only some need especially expensive care at a given time. The pooled money helps pay covered medical bills, protecting individuals from carrying the full cost alone. This is why insurance can make unpredictable expenses more manageable.

When hospitals, doctors, medicines, or other care become more expensive, the pool needs more money to cover claims. Insurers generally respond by seeking higher premiums, although employers and workers may divide those increases. The article says overall health care costs are climbing and identifies that trend as the main reason premiums rose.

In 2026, workers’ family premiums increased 9% to an average of $7,471. Employers paid much of the increase, but small businesses faced greater pressure. Some are retreating from offering coverage, and experts say employers may be reaching a “breaking point.”