Employer Health Insurance Costs Keep Rising for U.S. Workers, New Survey Finds
Photo: APPeople who get health insurance through their employers paid more for coverage this year, according to a new survey by the nonprofit health care research group KFF, reported from Washington. Employees at small businesses and their employers were especially squeezed by the surging costs, the 2026 employer health survey found. New surveys also show that higher premiums and deductibles are leading people to skip treatments or doctor's visits. Household budgets are further strained by higher food and gas prices, and employers are shifting rising health care costs onto millions of workers.
The alternative source, AP, leads with the KFF survey and its finding that costs rose, naming small businesses and their employees as the hardest hit. Right-leaning Newsmax carries nearly identical wording, with a shorter headline and the same small-business emphasis. The left-leaning New York Times frames the story around the effect on workers: costs shifted from employers, people forgoing care, and pressure from food and gas prices. The excerpts do not disagree on facts. They differ in focus, with AP and Newsmax emphasizing the survey and cost increases and the Times emphasizing consequences for patients' choices.
How the sides differ Left sources stress workers cutting back on care as employers shift costs; alternative and right sources stress higher costs overall, especially for small businesses and their employees.
Headline, comparison and summary written by AI from the articles below. AI can make mistakes, so check the original articles before relying on a detail.
The New York Times leads with employers shifting rising costs onto millions of workers, and with people skipping treatments or doctor's visits as premiums, deductibles, food and gas prices all climb.
AP leads with the KFF survey finding that employer-plan costs rose this year, singling out small-business employees and their employers as especially squeezed.
Newsmax carries the same KFF-based report, with the same wording as AP, stressing rising costs for workers and the particular strain on small businesses and their employees.