Cutting-Edge Benefits Podcast · 2026-06-16 · 11 min
Healthcare costs continue to rise at an alarming pace, and both employers and employees are feeling the pressure. On the latest episode of The Cutting Edge Benefits Podcast, Tom Quigley of ClaimLinx joins Neil Haley to discuss new survey data showing that two-thirds of large employers expect to increase employee healthcare contributions through payroll deductions by 2027. The conversation explores why costs keep climbing, what it means for workers, and why so many businesses are approaching benefits planning the wrong way. Neil opens by highlighting recent industry research showing that employer-sponsored health insurance costs reached nearly $17,500 per employee in 2025 and are projected to exceed $18,500 in 2026. In response, many employers are shifting more of that burden onto employees through higher premiums, deductibles, copays, and payroll deductions. Tom explains that rising healthcare costs are not simply the result of inflation. The problem, he argues, is baked into the structure of the system itself, where insurance carriers, prescription drug spending, and benefit financing methods all contribute to escalating costs.
The Post-Subsidy Healthcare Era: How Small Businesses Can Survive Rising Premiums54 / 100How to Beat the High Cost of Healthcare: Tom Quigley’s Playbook for Smarter BenefitsThe $1.1 Million Healthcare Savings Case Study: How One Employer Cut Costs Without Cutting BenefitsWhy do so many businesses continue overpaying for healthcare benefits when better options exist? How Small Businesses Can Use Better Benefits to Win the Talent War