Your next benefits renewal is a decision about what your business can afford and what your employees can absorb. Before you increase payroll deductions or deductibles, consider whether a supplemental program could create savings elsewhere in your budget to help cover part of the increase.
HealthCues offers a supplemental preventive care program that works alongside major medical coverage. For eligible employers, a qualifying Section 125 arrangement may generate payroll tax savings. If those savings exceed program costs, the net amount could help fund your existing health benefits while employees gain access to supplemental preventive care benefits.
How cost increases compare across industries
Aon projects a 9.5% increase in U.S. employer health care costs for 2027 before mitigation. Its industry breakdown below covers projected changes from 2025 to 2026, not industry forecasts for 2027.
| Industry | Employer cost increase | Employee payroll contribution increase |
| Finance and insurance | 9.8% | 4.7% |
| Technology and communications | 9.1% | 6.4% |
| Public sector | 8.8% | 7.7% |
| Professional services | 8.7% | 3.5% |
| Retail and wholesale trade | 7.7% | 6.6% |
| Manufacturing | 7.5% | 5.3% |
| Health care | 6.5% | 5.3% |
Source: Aon, August 20, 2026. Employee payroll contributions exclude deductibles, copays and coinsurance.
Retail and wholesale employers face increases on both sides of the benefits budget: 7.7% for employers and 6.6% for employee contributions. Manufacturing’s corresponding figures are 7.5% and 5.3%. Finance and insurance has the highest employer increase shown, at 9.8%.
For your business, these benchmarks provide context for the renewal conversation. Your own plan costs, covered population, and renewal terms determine the dollars you need to fund. Employees’ out-of-pocket exposure also matters when deciding how much more to ask them to contribute.
Use potential HealthCues savings to support affordability
Net employer savings could give you room to absorb more of a premium increase, limit an increase in employee payroll deductions, or help fund a richer plan design with lower employee cost sharing. Those are choices you could make with the savings; HealthCues does not itself lower your medical renewal rate or automatically pay employees’ deductibles.
What a partial cost offset could look like
Consider an employer with $1 million in annual employer-paid health plan costs. A hypothetical 9.5% increase would add $95,000 to the next year’s budget, assuming the covered population and other factors stay constant.
Now suppose a review of a HealthCues proposal identifies $500 in annual net employer savings per participant after all program fees and applicable costs. With 100 employees participating for the full year, that would create $50,000 to apply toward the increase.
| Illustrative annual budget | Amount |
| Added health plan cost | $95,000 |
| Assumed net HealthCues savings 100 participants × $500 |
$50,000 |
| Added cost remaining after offset | $45,000 |
| Share of increase offset | Approximately 53% |
Hypothetical example only. The $500 savings assumption is not a HealthCues quote, expected result or guarantee. The 9.5% assumption uses Aon’s national forecast, not a company-specific renewal.
The hypothetical $50,000 could help absorb costs that might otherwise be passed to employees, leaving $45,000 to address. Participation matters: with 50 participants and the same assumed net savings, the offset would be $25,000, or about 26% of the increase.
Start with net savings and the employee experience
Qualified pre-tax contributions under a qualifying Section 125 plan can reduce wages subject to certain payroll taxes. The employer’s actual net result depends on wage levels, eligibility, participation, plan selection, and all program costs. Compare the resulting annual savings with your actual added employer cost over the same period.
Employees also need a clear explanation of the preventive care benefits and the full impact on their paychecks, including contributions, taxes, fees and any benefit payments. Pre-tax treatment alone does not guarantee higher take-home pay. Reducing Social Security-covered wages can also affect future retirement, disability and survivor benefits.
See how much of your increase HealthCues could help cover
Bring your renewal figures and employee census to HealthCues, along with your broker and payroll lead. Compare net employer savings at realistic participation levels with the increase you want to absorb, and review employee outcomes across wage bands.
Your CPA and benefits counsel should review the actual plan documents and tax treatment, including any benefit payments. For a unionized workforce, include applicable collective bargaining requirements in that review.
Contact HealthCues to explore whether a supplemental preventive care program could help fund part of your rising benefits costs and give you more flexibility in supporting your employees in 2027.
Industry data and 2027 forecast: Aon release, August 20, 2026