Latest / Wages and Prices with Fexingo: Cost of Living, Pay Raises, and Workers' Purchasing Power
Why Your Raise Is Finally Beating Out-of-Pocket Medical Costs
Episode 74 of Wages and Prices with Fexingo dives into a persistent pain point for most households: out-of-pocket medical expenses. Lucas and Luna examine fresh data showing that while healthcare inflation has cooled, the real burden of deductibles and copays has grown. They zero in on the 2026 employer-sponsored insurance landscape, where average deductibles for single coverage have hit $2,575 — up 6 percent from last year, even as wages rose 4.1 percent. But a surprising shift in pharmacy benefit design is creating a narrow pocket of relief for some workers. Lucas breaks down how a new wave…
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