Suze Orman Says Get Ready for Higher Health Insurance Costs Next Year

Suze Orman has a short instruction for anyone with health insurance through work: “Don’t guess. And don’t just shrug that there’s nothing you can do.” The personal finance author published the warning on her blog. Benzinga’s Adrian Volenik reported it on October 6, 2026.

Her concern starts with employers. A Mercer survey Orman cited found that employers expect the cost of providing health benefits to rise 8% on average. Mercer says that increase takes effect in 2027. If you roll your current plan over without reading the new terms, you may first see the change when a bill comes.

Orman is right. Her most useful point is one most coverage skips: the monthly premium is only one part of what health coverage actually costs.

Where Your Employer’s Higher Bill Can Land

A rising employer cost can reach you through several ways. They can absorb part of the increase. They can raise premiums. They can also raise deductibles or other out-of-pocket costs.

That last ways is the quiet one. Your paycheck deduction can stay flat while your plan pays less when you actually use it. Headlines that turn an employer cost survey into a premium forecast miss this completely.

Three Plan Numbers That Set Your Real Cost

Three terms decide what a medical bill costs you:

1. Deductible: the amount you pay each year before the plan starts sharing costs.
2. Coinsurance and copays: after the deductible, coinsurance is your percentage share of a bill. A copay is a flat fee, such as a set charge per office visit.
3. Out-of-pocket maximum: the most you pay in a year for covered, in-network care. Once you hit it, the plan pays 100%. Premiums do not count toward it.

Suze Orman said the average deductible for workers with single coverage was $1,886 in 2025. Orman noted that figure rose 17% over the prior five years. At smaller employers, Orman said the average deductible is more than $2,600.

Take an sample $8,000 outpatient procedure with 20% coinsurance. On a plan with the average deductible, your share would come to about $3,109, according to Suze Orman Media. A cap around $3,000 stops you there, according to Suze Orman Media.

Run the same bill through a plan with a $2,600 deductible and a $5,000 cap. You pay $3,680. That’s $680 more for identical care, before a single premium dollar.

Your Out-of-Pocket Maximum Is the Number to Plan Around

What matters most is how much care you expect to use. If you see a doctor once a year, the deductible barely matters. Your premium is close to your full cost.

If you manage a chronic condition, take expensive prescriptions or have a joint replacement on the calendar, you will likely hit the cap. Then the out-of-pocket maximum becomes your real annual exposure. Suze Orman said that cap is around $3,000 for many workers. At smaller businesses, Orman said it runs more than $5,000. For a worker in their 60s, that gap can be the difference between a manageable year and a raid on retirement savings.

Moves to Make Before Open Enrollment Closes

1. Get out your plan’s Summary of Benefits and Coverage. Write down the premium, deductible, coinsurance and out-of-pocket maximum. Compare all four against the 2027 options when enrollment materials comes, according to Mercer. Employers are already announcing their enrollment windows, including some that open October 26.
2. Calculate your worst-case year. Add a full year of premiums to the out-of-pocket maximum. That total is the most you would spend on covered, in-network care. Run it for each plan you’re offered.
3. Set that cash aside now. Orman’s advice is to fund medical costs ahead of time through an emergency fund or a dedicated savings account. Aim for at least your out-of-pocket maximum.
4. Use tax-advantaged accounts where eligible. HSAs require a high-deductible plan. Under IRS rules, your HSA contributions are deductible and withdrawals for qualified medical expenses are tax free. The IRS states this applies whether or not you itemize. Once you enroll in Medicare, you can no longer contribute to an HSA, so near-retirees should time contributions carefully. Health FSAs had a $3,300 salary-reduction limit for 2025, with up to $660 carryover if your plan allows it, according to Suze Orman Media. Self-employed people aren’t eligible for FSAs.
5. Apply the same check to Medicare. Recent reporting shows private Medicare plans raising costs and millions of Americans facing fewer options this enrollment season. Compare out-of-pocket limits there too.

Orman’s final logic is practical. Money set aside in advance makes it easier to get care quickly rather than delaying it over cost worries. Delayed care often costs more later.

Know your out-of-pocket maximum, fund it before you need it, and your plan’s worst year stops being a surprise.

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