Medical Cost Trend Projected To Grow At 8.5% For 2026

For the 2026 health insurance plan year, a recent survey of health plan actuaries projected that the medical cost growth trend will remain at 8.5% for the group plan market and at 7.5% for the individual plan market. These are the same as 2025, the report stated. Medical cost trend was defined by the report as the projected percentage increase in the cost to treat plan members from one year to the next, assuming benefits remain the same. Insurance carriers utilize cost growth predictions to establish health plan pricing.

One out of three health plan actuaries who participated . . .