TOTAL REWARDS

Revolution Medicines

Employers are bracing for another year of higher health costs, according to recent industry reports.

The average health benefit cost per employee is set to rise by 8.2% in 2027, even when taking into account measures businesses may take to contain costs, according to a survey released by consulting firm Marsh on Aug. 31. This represents the steepest hike since 2003. Similar reports released by Aon and Business Group on Health estimate that employers will see costs rise by upwards of 9% next year.

A new cancer drug recently approved by the Food and Drug Administration could further add to companies’ steep health costs.

The drug, called Rasonque, is designed to treat the most common form of pancreatic cancer. In clinical trials, patients who took Rasonque saw their median life expectancy double, from 6.7 months to 13.2 months. But the promising treatment also comes with a hefty list price, at nearly $480,000 for a year’s supply (at $663 per tablet). This price falls in line with other cancer drugs, and represents a growing challenge for HR leaders, experts told us.

For more on this development in the fight to cure cancer, and the financial challenges ahead for employers, keep reading here.—CV

      

Sponsored By Sana

Your team doesn’t learn on a schedule. They learn by doing: mid-task, mid-call, and mid-process. Sana Learn meets ’em there.

Sana Learn is more than an LMS. It’s an AI-native platform that helps turn your content into interactive courses. It answers your teams’ questions in plain language as soon as they come up and helps coach them through relevant scenarios.

With Sana Learn, you don’t have to choose between being user-friendly and enterprise-ready—it’s an LMS, authoring tool, and AI coach, all in one.

Check it out.

TOTAL REWARDS

Morning Brew Inc., Photos: Adobe Stock

Rising healthcare costs might have some benefits pros saying, “Ain’t nobody got time (or money) for that.”

This is where an individual coverage health reimbursement arrangement (ICHRA) may be able to help.

An ICHRA is an employer-funded health plan, through which employees are given pre-taxed money to help pay for medical costs and independent health insurance plans, via a private insurer or the government, HR Brew previously reported. Since their creation in 2020, ICHRAs have been most commonly offered by small businesses in need of more affordable health insurance for their workers.

But, now larger companies are jumping on the bandwagon.

For more on the state of ICHRA adoption, and why larger employers are increasingly considering the benefit, keep reading here.—MC

      

Sponsored By Software Advice

Dem daunting demos. Choosing HR software shouldn’t mean sitting through countless demos hoping one sticks. Software Advice’s 2026 buyer’s guide breaks down the seven questions smart HR teams should ask every vendor about compliance, integrations, pricing, and support. That way, you can walk into vendor calls prepared and compare platforms with real confidence. Get your free guide.

TOTAL REWARDS

Francis Scialabba

Total rewards are the bundle of offerings that employers grant their employees. Total rewards packages may include compensation, benefits (such as health insurance or retirement plans), career development opportunities, and lifestyle perks (like flexibility).

Why offer total rewards? There’s no question that the number one reason most employees show up to work is so they can collect a paycheck. Many workers, especially those in the US, rely on their company for health insurance as well, where the prevailing form of coverage for non-elderly residents is employer-sponsored. Retirement is another core benefit typically offered to US workers. But in recent decades, HR departments have started to consider some of the intangible elements that can motivate workers, beyond just compensation and benefits. This holistic approach is known as total rewards, and encompasses everything from paid time off to flexibility to learning and development.

When did employers start offering total rewards? The term “total rewards” represents an evolution in thinking about the employer-employee relationship. A century ago, acolytes of scientific management scholars like Frederick Winslow Taylor assumed pay was the main factor that would motivate employees to do their jobs. But in the 1970s, a group of academics started considering other factors beyond pay that could drive employee satisfaction with a body of research known as the “quality of work life” movement.

For more on total rewards, how they’ve evolved and what they look like today, keep reading here.—CV

Sponsored By LHH

Your compensation strategy needs an upgrade. We teamed up with LHH to help. Our new article breaks down the main workforce tensions to consider when building a compensation strategy and why total rewards is so important to evaluate. Read the full article to learn how you can build a better compensation strategy.

work perks

Francis Scialabba

Today’s top HR reads.

Stat: US government agencies spent $9.5 billion in 2025 on administrative leave and resignation programs for workers. (US Government Accountability Office)

Quote: “I think any delays that our projects have had because of labor shortages, they existed prior to data centers. The data centers, I think, brought more attention to those shortages.”—JD Hale, VP of government relations for the Texas Association of Builders, on the rise in demand for more construction workers due to data center construction (CBS Austin)

Read: “AI freakout” is everywhere, from the workplace to the dinner table. (the Wall Street Journal)

^{*A message from our sponsor.}