The CFO perspective on health: 2026 survey results
Mercer’s National Employer-Sponsored Health Plans Survey reveals health benefit cost growth accelerating to a 15-year high in 2026. After planned changes, costs are expected to rise 6.7% (over 9% before changes), reversing a decade of 3% growth and increasing pressure on budgets and operations.
In this environment, safeguarding healthcare affordability for all employees while maintaining sustainable cost growth for the organization has become even more challenging. Not surprisingly, CFOs have been paying more attention to their organization’s healthcare expenses and cost mitigation strategies than in the past.
We designed this survey to discover the CFO perspectives on a range of issues related to healthcare budgets.
Key insights from Mercer’s CFO Perspective on Health survey:
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A third of CFOs now rank health benefit cost as a “Top 3” operating expense concern, up from 19% in 2024.
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Health cost growth impacts other benefits (38%), wage growth (36%), and product/service prices (26%).
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Most CFOs find annual cost increases above 6% unsustainable, yet this growth seems likely.
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More CFOs prefer plan design changes over contribution increases to manage costs.
Primary cost drivers:
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Wage inflation and health system consolidation.
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Public plan budget constraints shifting costs to private plans.
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New costly treatments altering service mix and utilization.
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Increased claims volatility for self- and fully insured sponsors.
Implications:
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Healthcare costs require greater C-suite focus and financial alignment.
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Employers are reassessing margin, risk tolerance, and cost management strategies, including self-funding.
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Benefit design remains the key lever to control costs while maintaining affordability.
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Collaboration between finance and benefits teams is critical for sustainable cost growth.
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