Employers heading into 2027 face another year of steep health care cost increases. Matching national trend still means absorbing a large increase. The more useful target is staying below trend — and doing it repeatedly.
The difference can add up quickly. From 2021 through 2025, MedBen’s client block had a 3.7% average medical trend versus a 7.5% national trend. The chart below shows how a few points below trend compound into a widening cost gap.
Consistently beating trend, however, takes more than a one-size-fits-all cost strategy. Provider prices, utilization, high-cost care, and expensive medications drive trend in different mixes from plan to plan.
MedBen focuses on tools aimed at those specific cost drivers, from forensic claims review and alternative reimbursement strategies to MedBen Rx pricing and formulary solutions. The goal isn’t merely to keep pace with a benchmark, but to beat it.
Download the MedBen 2026 Client Report to learn more about the strategies helping employers control costs and outperform trend.