Employers Will Likely Reduce Health Benefits in 2026, New Mercer Survey Reveals

July 2025

By Marissa Plescia - To combat rising healthcare costs, employers may be looking to reduce healthcare benefits in 2026, according to a new survey from consulting firm Mercer. The survey, released Wednesday, revealed that 51% of large employers (500 employees or more) said they are likely or very likely to make changes that would shift more costs to employees. This includes increasing deductibles or out-of-pocket maximums. In last year’s survey, 45% of employers said this. Read Full Article…

    Summary - 2026 Employer Health Benefits – Mercer Survey Highlights:

  • 51% of large employers plan to shift more healthcare costs to employees (e.g., higher deductibles, OOP max).

  • 35% will offer non-traditional plans like variable copay plans (pay varies by provider).

  • 44% currently cover GLP-1s for weight loss, but many are reconsidering due to rising costs.

  • 77% say managing GLP-1 costs is a top priority.

  • 61% are exploring transparent PBM alternatives to traditional pharmacy contracts.

  • Mental health focus:

    • ~75% offering digital tools (mindfulness, CBT apps).

    • 50% providing live training or coaching.

    • 40% training managers to identify mental health issues.

  • Employers expect 6% cost increase in 2025; 2026 may be worse.

**RxDNA can help drive costs down with our RxDNA PBM Rapid Quote Platform and our clinical solutions focused on PBM alternatives, lowest net cost, GLP1 management, and mental health therapy.

Pfizer and BMS Prepare to Launch a Cash-Pay Option for Eliquis

July 2025

Pharm-to-Table Trend Expands…

If you wanted to be a cynic about the “pharm-to-table” trend in which companies bring medicines directly to patients, you could suggest that the model works only in very narrow cases. Sure, obesity makes sense. And, yup, you can see how it would work for generics.  

But for everything else, it gets kind of dicey.  

That’s what makes today’s announcement out of BMS and Pfizer so interesting. They’re going to start pushing their blood thinner, Eliquis, in a pharm-to-table model, offering it directly to Americans for 40% off of list. The WSJ was given the exclusive.