Family-plan contributions rose 9%; uninsured adults ages 19-64 reached 11.2%.
Why it matters: The data show rising costs for workers with employer coverage alongside worsening coverage outcomes for some working-age adults. Smaller-firm employees faced the highest average family-plan contributions.
- Workers with employer-sponsored family coverage paid an average of $7,471 in 2026, up $621, or 9%, from 2025.
- The average total family premium reached $28,303, up 5% from 2025.
- The uninsured rate among adults ages 19 to 64 rose to 11.2% in 2026 from 8.9% in 2024.
- Fifty percent of adults ages 19 to 64 skipped needed care because of cost; the figure was 43% among those with employer coverage.
Two 2026 coverage measures show pressure on both employer-sponsored insurance costs and access to care.
The KFF 2026 Employer Health Benefits Survey found that workers contributed an average of $7,471 toward annual family premiums, up $621, or 9%, from 2025. The average total family premium reached $28,303, up 5%.
Worker contributions are the amount employees pay; total premiums include the employer's share.
"Workers are paying a bigger chunk this year, which also brings up the issue of affordability," Matthew Rae, an associate director at KFF's Program on the Health Care Marketplace, said in the KFF report.
The burden was higher at smaller firms. Workers at companies with 10 to 199 employees contributed an average of $9,687 toward family coverage, compared with $6,840 at firms with at least 200 workers. Thirty-two percent of workers at smaller firms were required to pay more than half the family premium, versus 6% at larger firms.
Separately, the Commonwealth Fund's 2026 Biennial Health Insurance Survey found that 11.2% of adults ages 19 to 64 were uninsured, up from 8.9% in 2024. Overall, 46% were inadequately insured, including people who were uninsured, experienced a coverage gap or were underinsured.
Half of adults ages 19 to 64 said they skipped needed care because of cost. The measure included skipping prescriptions, tests, recommended treatment, doctor visits or specialist care. Among adults in that age group with employer coverage, the figure was 43%.
The Commonwealth Fund report linked the coverage decline to the expiration of enhanced Affordable Care Act marketplace tax credits and pandemic-era Medicaid enrollment protections.
By the numbers
- $7,471 - Average worker contribution toward family coverage in 2026
- 11.2% - Share of adults ages 19 to 64 who were uninsured in 2026
- 50% - Share of adults ages 19 to 64 who skipped needed care because of cost