Little Rock Pine Bluff, AR, October 22, 2026 —

A nonpartisan survey by KFF indicates that the cost of employer-sponsored health insurance plans has risen again nationally, with increases affecting premiums and deductibles for both individuals and families.

The survey summary does not provide the size of the increases, the period measured or the number of people covered. It also does not specify how the changes differed among employers, insurance plans or regions. The findings therefore establish a national direction of change but do not show how much costs rose or how widely particular increases were experienced.

Premiums are the amounts paid for insurance coverage, while deductibles are costs enrollees generally pay for covered care before insurance begins paying under a plan’s terms. Increases in both can affect what workers and families pay for coverage and care. The summary does not state how those costs are divided between employers and enrolled individuals.

KFF is identified in the summary as the source of the nonpartisan survey. No survey release date, methodology, specific figures or comments from researchers were provided. Without those details, the findings cannot be used to compare this increase with a particular prior year or to identify its causes.

The available information points to another national rise in employer-sponsored insurance costs, but leaves the scale and distribution of the change unspecified. Further details about the survey would be needed to quantify the increases and examine differences across plans or groups of enrollees.


Story summarized from the original created by Jennifer Shutt on arkansasadvocate.com, see more information here.

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