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Mercer Marsh Benefits

2025 top health trends

Top healthcare research trends shaping the future of employer-sponsored benefits may sound familiar, but a lot is changing. Find out the top 3 trends and actions employers should take.

Mercer Marsh Benefits (MMB) surveyed 225 insurers across 55 markets to explore the top healthcare trends shaping the future of employer-sponsored benefits. 

The top-line findings from our Health trends 2025  research may sound familiar: 

  • Costly cancer claims
  • Widespread cardiovascular and metabolic health concerns
  • Unmet mental health needs
  • Medical trend rates pushing up costs 

But behind these enduring issues, a lot is changing — and the response of employers and insurers to these well-acknowledged themes cannot remain static. 

Read on to find out the three key findings from our healthcare trends report.

1. Health risks are intensifying

82% of insurers report an increase in the incidence of cancer treatment claims over the last five years for individuals under the age of 50.

The medical conditions that drive costs have remained largely consistent over the last decade — COVID-19 aside. However, the impact of these health conditions is increasing as medical costs increase and major health issues begin to affect a greater part of the workforce.

While medical trend rates are projected to stabilize in 2024 and 2025, they remain high, and nearly all regions will see trend rates above 10% in both years. At the same time, non-communicable diseases — including cardiovascular, respiratory and cancer conditions – continue to be major causes of claim costs and claim frequency.

Indeed, instances of cancer in younger working age populations are increasing, and catastrophic claims are pushing more employees to the limit of their lifetime claims thresholds. Groundbreaking treatments for conditions like obesity could have a significant impact on cardiovascular and metabolic health but are currently very costly — and they are often not included in standard healthcare plans. 

Employers and insurers need to consider how they will manage these evolving health risks, while keeping plans affordable and ensuring employees have access to care.  While public health systems may have been a primary source of care in some locations in the past, increasing demands on resources may mean that employees are relying more on their employers for support.  

With these changes in mind, employers should review their plan’s coverage limits, including the impact high-cost claims could have on the financial sustainability of plans, explore emerging cancer risks within the workforce and build a strategy for reducing cardiovascular and metabolic health risks.

Figure 1 | Source: Mercer Marsh Benefits Health Trends 2025

Keeping health plans affordable - top three insurer concerns

Indicates a ‘tie’ for the ranking.

2. Innovative cost control practices are emerging 

61% of insurers typically include pre-authorization focused on assessing the reasonableness of procedures and/or supply cost within their plans, while 58% include negotiated packaged or bundled pricing for specific procedures.

While rising health insurance costs might be inevitable, they are also manageable. The first step is for organizations to develop a comprehensive overview of their benefit plans, at a local, national and international level as relevant. Once a company fully understands their offerings, they can begin to identify areas of concern and explore innovative cost containment   techniques — such as pre-authorization, packaged or bundled pricing, as well as alternative approaches to financing, such as self-insurance.

New digital health technology, such as virtual care support, also has the potential to enhance healthcare processes and administration as well as the diagnosis and treatment of members. Employers should seek to understand how their insurers are using these services — as well as AI — to help capture healthcare opportunities and manage health plan and employee health risks.

3. Medical coverage remains narrowly defined

39% of workers indicate that virtual advice — via AI-powered chat — for anxiety, sadness or relationship issues would be helpful. Yet only 15% of insurers today provide this by default.

There continues to be entrenched gaps between the sponsored healthcare services typically covered by insurers and the needs of a diverse workforce. What’s more, this inadequacy of cover is often exacerbated by inflation, that may erode benefit maximums.

Addressing these gaps is crucial if employers are to move the dial on employee health. For example, there is a growing appetite for more inclusive healthcare plans, such as support for members experiencing symptoms of menopause, neurodivergent individuals and those looking to build a family.

As employers look to shift benefits spend towards these highly valued offerings, understanding unmet workforce needs and health risks will become even more vital. For example, employers should look to understand how plans allocate costs for mental health support such as counselling — is this achieved on a per-session basis, or with a capped limit?

Figure 2 | Source: Mercer Marsh Benefits Health Trends 2025

Making plan improvements vs reducing coverage (Global results)

Employers need to develop a meaningful risk mitigation and cost containment strategy 

Overall, our research  shows that now, more than ever, employers should develop a regularly reviewed, meaningful risk mitigation and cost containment  strategy. They should develop a robust governance model that gives them full visibility of their benefits plan, using technology to keep it up-to-date and ensure the model is sustainable. They should engage in dialogue with stakeholders — including internal risk and finance positions, as well as advisors and insurers — to understand risk tolerance, the available options within their plans and how to tailor support to their workforce. And they should engage in active plan management that balances coverage adequacy and cost sustainability. The benefits strategy can then be meaningfully executed at a local, regional and global level.

Any benefits strategy should also include metrics and feedback loops to ensure success is achieved via a multi-year program which seeks to capture and report on the more tangible elements of improved employee health, productivity, absenteeism, and/or costs via claims analysis. Connecting benefits strategy to return on investment metrics will allow for further investment in the future.

Speak with a Mercer Marsh Benefits consultant

Health Trends 2025 report

Learn how to balance health risks and cost containment while keeping healthcare affordable for your business and workforce.

About the authors

MMB Multinational Commercial Leader, Europe
Mercer Marsh Benefits

Paul Consterdine

MMB Multinational Commercial Leader Europe

  • United Kingdom

Global Research and Solutions
Mercer Marsh Benefits

Stephanie Brunermer

Global Research and Solutions, MMB

  • United States