Health-Care Costs Surge as Employers Brace for Biggest Coverage Hike in 15 Years (Photo: Pixabay)U.S. health-care costs are poised for their sharpest increase in more than a decade, with medical inflation driving up prices for patients, employers and insurers ahead of 2026. Medical care costs rose 4.2% in August, outpacing the overall inflation rate of 2.9%, according to the Labor Department's Consumer Price Index. Employers surveyed by BGH project a 12% increase in pharmacy costs next year, following an 11% increase this year. "Cancers have been for the fourth year in a row, the top condition driving healthcare costs - cancers at younger ages, later stage diagnoses," said Ellen Kelsay, BGH president and CEO. Nearly two-thirds of large employers offer access to GLP-1s, compared with less than half of small employers, according to Mercer.