Morgan Health: 5 Predictions for Employer-Sponsored Insurance in 2026
Summary: Rising healthcare costs will remain a top concern for employers in 2026, driven by inflation, specialty drug spend, and growing complexity in care delivery, according to Morgan Health CEO Dan Mendelson. Employers are projected to face a median 9% increase in healthcare costs, increasing pressure to find more effective, value-driven approaches to employer-sponsored health insurance. In response, Morgan Health — a JPMorgan Chase business unit—invests in solutions that improve affordability and care quality, including oncology-focused companies like Thyme Care.
Key trends shaping employer-sponsored health benefits in 2026 include managing high-cost drugs, using advanced analytics and AI to improve efficiency, supporting small and mid-sized employers facing double-digit premium increases, and shifting toward more consumer-focused care models. Together, these trends reflect growing demand for technology-enabled solutions that help employers control costs while improving access, experience, and outcomes.
Preview of article: Healthcare costs have been a key challenge for employers in 2025, and this is only expected to continue in 2026, according to Morgan Health CEO Dan Mendelson.
Morgan Health is a JPMorgan Chase business unit focused on employer-sponsored insurance. Mendelson recently released his top trends to watch in 2026 for employer-sponsored health insurance, and how its portfolio companies are supporting these trends:
1. Affordability is a top concern: This applies to consumers, small businesses and large companies. According to the Business Group on Health, employers project a median 9% increase in healthcare costs next year.
“It’s a difficult time for them to absorb these increases, especially given general inflation,” Mendelson said in an interview. “Employers, I think, in particular, are looking at what they’re paying for healthcare and saying it’s got to be better than this, because the costs keep going up, and it seems like the healthcare delivery system continues to deteriorate.”
Morgan Health is an investor in several digital health companies that address these rising costs, including cancer care company Thyme Care and alternative health plan Centivo.
2. Drug costs: As new drugs emerge, managing costs carefully is essential. Employers need to update how they handle risk and provide clinical guidance to ensure patients can access innovative treatments without overspending, especially as more expensive medications become available. GLP-1 costs will also continue to be a focus for employers.
Morgan Health portfolio companies addressing high drug costs include Aradigm, which is focused on cell and gene therapies, and Thyme Care for cancer drugs.