“Is my health insurance going to cost more next year?” The short answer is there’s a good chance it will.
Across the individual market, employer-sponsored coverage, and Medicare, several data points show higher healthcare costs in 2027. For insurance agents, this enrollment season is about more than quoting premiums.
It’s about helping clients understand why costs are changing, where those increases may show up, and what they actually do about them. Here’s what agents need to know.
ACA Marketplace Premiums Are Trending Higher
The individual health insurance market is showing some of the clearest signs of higher costs. KFF analyzed publicly available 2027 rate filings from 276 ACA Marketplace insurers across all 50 states and Washington, D.C.
Insurers proposed a median premium increase of 15% for 2027. That doesn’t mean every Marketplace customer will pay 15% more.
Proposed rates can change before becoming final, and increases vary considerably by insurer and state. Premium tax credits also change what an eligible enrollee actually pays.
Still, the indicated direction is clear. KFF found that insurers are pointing to rising healthcare prices, inflation, labor costs, prescription drugs, and changes in the individual-market risk pool as contributors to higher premiums.
Agents should remember not to assume a client’s 2026 plan will still be the best choice in 2027. Even long-time customers may benefit from comparing new options.
Employer Health Coverage Is Feeling the Pressure, Too
People with insurance through work are also seeing rising costs. Preliminary results from Marsh’s National Survey of Employer-Sponsored Health Plans found that employers expect total health benefit costs per employee to rise an average of 8.2% in 2027, even after planned cost-reduction measures.
Without those measures, employers estimated their existing plans would cost about 11% more. The survey included responses from more than 1,800 U.S. employers.
It also found that 59% of employers plan to make cost-cutting benefit changes for 2027, while about two-thirds of large employers in an earlier survey expected to increase employees’ share of premium costs. The takeaway for consumers is that higher healthcare bills don’t always show up as a dramatic increase in premiums.
Instead, costs might show up as bigger payroll deductions, higher deductibles, different copays, a smaller provider network, or changes to prescription coverage. Talking this through with clients is an important part of your role as a trusted advisor.
Medicare Beneficiaries Aren’t Completely Outside the Trend
Medicare has its own financing structure, so it has different cost dynamics from ACA or employer coverage. But Medicare beneficiaries may also face higher costs.
The 2026 Medicare Trustees Report suggests that the standard 2027 monthly Medicare Part B premium will be $209.50, up from $202.90 in 2026. Agents should treat this number as an estimate until the final 2027 premium release from CMS comes later this year.
For patients enrolled in Medicare Part D, CMS anticipates that standard monthly premiums will rise by 6 percent, though the amounts will vary by plan and region. It’s therefore particularly important to review the Annual Notice of Change and compare the options available in 2027.
Why Does Healthcare Keep Getting More Expensive?
There isn’t one culprit. A combination of factors, including higher prices for medical services, expensive new treatments, specialty medications, increased utilization, healthcare labor costs, and high-cost claims, is driving healthcare costs.
GLP-1 medications are one notable example. Marsh’s actuaries estimate that increased use of GLP-1 drugs for weight management alone accounts for about one percentage point of employer health-plan cost growth in 2027.
CMS’s national health expenditure projections similarly track continued growth in U.S. healthcare spending across private insurance, Medicare, Medicaid, hospital care, physician services, and prescription drugs. Health insurance premiums and costs are multifaceted issues with many layers to peel back.
This Is Where a Good Agent Becomes Even More Valuable
Higher costs make consumers nervous. Confusing them with more insurance terminology won’t help.
Agents make the biggest difference by simplifying the conversation. Instead of focusing only on the monthly premium, help clients consider the full financial picture of health insurance. Monthly premium, deductible, copays, coinsurance, prescription coverage, provider network, and expected healthcare usage are all part of this picture they need to understand.
A plan that costs $30 less each month may not really save money if a client’s prescriptions become more expensive or their favorite doctors are no longer in the network. Sometimes, paying a higher premium makes sense if it lowers other expected costs.
Make 2027 About Clarity, Not Sticker Shock
There is plenty of evidence that healthcare costs will remain under pressure in 2027. But that doesn’t mean every client will experience the same increase, or that consumers are powerless to respond.
This is where agents really help. Encourage clients to check their coverage rather than automatically renewing.
Look at the details by checking prescriptions, confirming providers, reviewing household income and subsidy eligibility if needed, and explaining the trade-offs in clear language. As healthcare costs increase, smart shopping matters even more.
For insurance agents, 2027 is an opportunity to turn a complicated market into a clearer decision – what great agents have always done best.
The Agility Difference
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