How to Keep Your Health Plan Costs Manageable - Without Shortchanging Your Team

"If you run a business, there's a familiar email you probably opened this fall: the one from your benefits broker with your 2026 health insurance renewal. You scroll. You see a double-digit increase, and your stomach drops. You want to do right by your team. You also have a P&L to protect. And the three standard options you're handed - pay the increase, raise deductibles or push more cost onto employees - all feel bad in different ways."

"Over the last five years of building and scaling my company, I've lived that renewal meeting many times. Our headcount grew from a few dozen people to more than a hundred. At times, our brokers brought us quotes that were shockingly high. We pushed back, redesigned plans and tried to balance three realities: Costs are going through the roof. We want our people to feel genuinely supported. We cannot absorb every increase without consequences elsewhere in the business."

Rising health insurance renewals force employers to balance paying higher premiums, shifting costs to employees, or redesigning plans. Founders face pressure to support employees while protecting company P&L as headcount grows. Employers control three primary levers: employer contribution levels, plan design (deductibles, out-of-pocket maximums, copays, network structure), and clear communication about real-world impacts. Tactics include pushing back on broker quotes, redesigning plans, and making trade-offs to avoid absorbing every increase. Honest assessment of controllable levers and proactive renewal planning helps prepare for upcoming coverage years.

Read at Entrepreneur