Survey: Surging Healthcare Costs Spur Price Transparency
High medical costs fuel employer support for transparency reforms
MADISON – An overwhelming number of Wisconsin employers reported increased health care costs, highlighting widespread concern about affordability across the state, according to the latest Wisconsin Employer Survey. Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce (WMC) – the combined manufacturers’ association and state chamber of commerce – conducts the survey twice a year to gauge top issues facing the state’s business climate and economy.
Nearly all respondents (96 percent) reported offering healthcare benefits to employees. Among those with employer-sponsored plans, 93 percent experienced an increase in health care costs in 2026, while just one percent reported a decrease. When asked to list the factors that contributed to their company’s healthcare cost increases, 88 percent of respondents said, “higher costs from providers” and 51 percent said, “increased drug costs.”
WMC’s survey data reflects and reinforces recent health care reports and metrics. Identified by the Health Care Cost Institute and in WMC Foundation’s recent Wisconsin Competitiveness Report, Wisconsin is the second costliest state in the nation for healthcare. Additionally, Wisconsin has the nation’s highest medical payments under workers’ compensation and the fourth-highest hospital costs.
“Rising healthcare costs are one of the key drivers of Wisconsin’s affordability crisis and pose a real threat to Wisconsin families, businesses, and the state’s overall economic competitiveness,” said WMC Associate Vice President of Government Relations Rachel Ver Velde. “Higher employer healthcare costs don’t disappear; they show up in payroll decisions, wages, and job growth.”
Reinforcing this data on rising prices for employers, survey respondents support policy to help bring down healthcare costs. When asked how state government could help businesses, a plurality of respondents (39 percent) answered, “make healthcare more affordable.” Additionally, 96 percent of employers supported policies to strengthen hospital price transparency, so employers and patients can better understand and compare costs. Of respondents, 85 percent said they “strongly support” price transparency legislation, and no respondents indicated opposition.
“Health care remains the only industry where consumers and patients don’t know the cost of care prior to receiving the service,” Ver Velde continued. “Two patients can receive the same procedure yet face dramatically different bills, creating confusion for families and employers alike. By advancing meaningful price transparency legislation, Wisconsin can create a more affordable system that puts patients first.”
Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce represents businesses of all sizes and from every sector of the economy. The Wisconsin Employer Survey provides a snapshot of where Wisconsin’s employers stand on important issues and outlines their economic outlook for both Wisconsin and the United States. For the Summer 2026 edition, WMC surveyed 196 employers that make up a representative sample of its membership and the state’s business community as a whole.
Read the Summer 2026 Healthcare Report here.
NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.
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