In September 2026, Insurance Business reported findings from The Phia Group’s 2026 broker survey showing that the rapid move toward self-funded health plans is outpacing many US employers’ fiduciary processes. The survey covered 124 benefits brokers and advisers. Seventy-six percent said their book of business had shifted toward self-funding during the previous 12 months, but only 12% were very confident that clients had adequate fiduciary processes. The gap matters

In September 2026, Reuters reported that CVS Health’s Aetna in the USA would introduce a single medical prior-authorisation process for cancer treatment, replacing separate approvals for components such as chemotherapy, radiotherapy, imaging and some immunotherapies. The change began on 1 September for Medicaid members in eight US states and is scheduled to reach Aetna’s private and Medicare Advantage plans during the first half of 2027. Aetna says that providers

A SHRM article published on 11 May 2026 reports findings from the organisation’s April 2026 pulse survey. It says 27% of US workers identified high out-of-pocket costs as their primary complaint about current benefits. Separately, 52% of HR professionals identified costs such as premiums and deductibles as the primary benefits issue affecting employees. Those percentages describe different respondent groups and questions. They are not a single prevalence rate and

The IRS’s May 2025 official bulletin sets out health savings account and high-deductible health plan parameters for 2026. For benefits and payroll teams, the immediate task is to label each figure correctly. Contribution ceilings, minimum deductibles and maximum out-of-pocket expenses describe different controls in a qualifying arrangement. Read the dated development The HSA contribution limits are USD4,400 for self-only coverage and USD8,750 for family coverage. HDHP minimum deductibles are

In October 2024, Aon forecast a 10.0 percent global increase in medical-plan unit costs for 2025, compared with its 10.1 percent forecast for 2024. The release and report describe projections for employer medical plans. For benefits teams revisiting that period, the figures should remain labelled as forecasts rather than measured 2025 outcomes or individual renewal quotations. Read the regional comparisons carefully The report put the Middle East and Africa