The total annual premium for a family plan averaged $28,303, up 5% from the previous year. Employers covered an average of $20,833. Individual coverage also rose 5%, to $9,804; workers paid an average of $1,672, and employers paid $8,132.

The average employee contribution for individual coverage increased by $232, or 16%, compared with 2025. The family-plan contribution rose by $621, or 9%.

The survey examined health benefits at more than 1,900 U.S. employers with at least 10 workers. Its figures are national averages, not a Wisconsin-specific estimate, but reflect costs facing workers who get insurance through their jobs.

“Now add a 9% increase in what workers with employer coverage paid toward family premiums in 2026 to the reasons voters are so concerned about their health care costs,” KFF President and CEO Drew Altman said in a statement, referring to concerns over possible Affordable Care Act and Medicaid cuts.

Premiums have climbed steadily over the past 15 years, KFF data show. In 2011, an individual plan cost just under $5,500 on average, while a family plan averaged $15,220.

Workers also continued to face substantial costs before insurance covered most care. The average deductible for individual coverage reached $1,995 in 2026, more than twice the $955 average in 2011. Eighty-eight percent of workers with individual coverage had a deductible, according to the survey.

Coverage for some treatments differed by employer size. Among firms with more than 200 employees, 27% covered in vitro fertilization. Coverage ranged from 24% at companies with 200 to 999 workers to 47% at those with more than 5,000.

Eighteen percent of large employers covered GLP-1 drugs in 2026, down slightly from 19% in 2025. Among companies covering the drugs for weight loss, 40% required patients to take part in a lifestyle program or meet with a dietitian, case manager or therapist to qualify for coverage.