Congress should expand a tool that lets Americans keep more of their money and spend less on healthcare.
By Bobby Jindal & Charlie Katebi
America’s employers are bracing for their largest increase in healthcare costs in more than two decades. A new survey from the consulting firm Marsh projects that the average worker’s health spending will rise 8.2% next year. That should alarm the roughly 180 million Americans covered by employer-sponsored insurance who will face higher premiums, bigger deductibles and slower wage growth.
Healthcare costs have imposed a financial burden on workers and businesses for decades. Between 2001 and 2025, the average cost of medical care for a family of four with employer-based coverage rose 317% from $8,414 to $35,119. A 2024 study estimates that rising premiums cost the average family $125,340 in lost earnings between 1988 and 2019. Meanwhile, the share of workers at small businesses with access to employer-sponsored insurance has fallen from 61.6% to 50.5% since 2008.