By Kevin George, Head of Human Resources at FinFit
Over my 10+ years in HR, I’ve seen benefit costs rise steadily, but what we’re experiencing today feels fundamentally different. For perspective, while looking for health insurance renewals for 2026 this year, our broker informed me that the average increase for their clients was between 18% and 22%. Additionally, when speaking with another broker, they reported increases of 43% for their clients. From my experience, this is unheard of.
Every budgeting cycle, every open enrollment season, the conversation becomes a little more strained, a little more urgent. Increasingly, even employees who have insurance and participate in employer-sponsored health plans are feeling financially unprotected. That should concern every HR and benefits leader.
Health Insurance Is Becoming a Source of Financial Stress
Employee’s financial stress is not a small problem. National surveys confirm that a majority of Americans are deeply concerned about rising healthcare costs, even when they have coverage. Because insurance is unaffordable, many say they’ve skipped or delayed medical care due to cost. Others have chosen plans with higher deductibles to keep their insurance budget as is, or slightly higher. Even those in historically well-paying jobs are making trade-offs between 401(k) contributions and healthcare payments, resulting in a situation of prioritizing their own care in the present or the future.
For many HR departments, the “solution” becomes inevitable: introduce a high-deductible plan or raise deductibles across existing plans. These decisions are not taken lightly; it becomes a matter of “what can we offer our employees that may still allow them to budget for health insurance?”. Employees who choose the lower-premium, higher-deductible plans often do so because they feel they have no choice, which can play out in painful ways.
Financial Stress Is Becoming a Core Workforce Issue
More than ever before, HR leaders are being forced to think beyond traditional benefits. When healthcare becomes more expensive, everything else in an employee’s financial life (this includes HR professionals) gets tighter:
- Less room for savings
- Less margin for emergencies
- More reliance on credit
- More financial vulnerability
All of that translates directly into workplace outcomes: stress, absenteeism, disengagement, and turnover. We’re not just dealing with a benefits challenge; we’re dealing with a workforce stability challenge.
Why I Believe Financial Wellness Must Be Part of the Benefits Conversation
If employees can’t cover a deductible, can’t absorb a surprise medical bill, or can’t manage rising premiums without sacrificing something else important, their entire financial well-being is at risk.
This is why more employers are turning to financial wellness programs as a complement to traditional benefits. At FinFit, we see the impact every day:
- Employees using short-term liquidity tools instead of high-interest credit cards
- Workers building emergency savings to cover deductibles or surprise bills
- Families accessing financial coaching to budget for rising premiums
- Employees getting support before stress becomes a crisis
These solutions don’t replace health insurance, but they help restore the financial security that health insurance alone no longer guarantees.
A Message to HR & Benefits Leaders: Now Is the Time to Adapt
If you’re feeling the pressure of rising health plan costs, you’re not alone. If you are hearing more fear and frustration from employees, it’s real. If you are wondering if higher health care costs may lead to disengagement and turnover, that is valid. And if you’re worried that shifting more costs to employees may undermine your overall benefits strategy, you’re right to ask that question.
Here’s what I would encourage you to consider going into your next planning cycle:
- Acknowledge stress openly. Employees respond positively when leadership recognizes and empathizes with the reality they’re facing.
- Don’t view financial wellness as “optional.” It’s becoming a critical component of a sustainable benefits strategy.
- Pair cost-sharing changes with real support. If you must implement higher deductibles, make sure employees have tools to manage them.
- Rethink what “benefits” means. Health insurance alone no longer defines employee security; financial resilience does.
Supporting Employees Is Still Possible, We Need a Broader Toolkit
Healthcare costs may continue to rise, but employers are not powerless. Even as deductibles increase and premiums climb, we can create meaningful support systems that help employees feel better prepared.
If you’d like help exploring how financial wellness can support your workforce in this environment, my team and I would be happy to share what we’re seeing across the industry and what’s working now.