As healthcare and pharmacy costs surge, employers are under pressure to protect their workforce without sacrificing financial stability. SHARx CEO Corey Durbin says companies should root out hidden healthcare waste before cutting jobs or employee benefits.

ST. LOUIS, Mo., June 1, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Employers are facing the steepest healthcare cost increases in more than a decade, and SHARx CEO Corey Durbin says it's time to reevaluate opaque healthcare spending before making more drastic workforce and benefits decisions.

Mercer and Business Group on Health surveys project employer healthcare costs will rise 9% to 10% in 2026, the sharpest spike in over ten years, driven largely by specialty drugs and high-cost prescription therapies. Mercer called this the highest projected employer health cost growth in 15 years.

According to Durbin, many organizations still treat healthcare as a fixed HR expense rather than a controllable financial risk, even as rising pharmacy costs increasingly affect budgeting, forecasting, hiring plans, and long-term operational stability.

"Healthcare has become one of the largest and least transparent expenses inside many organizations," said Durbin. "When companies face financial pressure, leadership teams should first examine where healthcare dollars are actually going before making decisions that affect jobs, employee contributions, or wages."

C-Level Fiduciary Decisions
Healthcare benefits have traditionally been managed through HR departments, but escalating specialty drug costs and growing concerns around pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) control should escalate these decisions to C-level review.

"We're seeing a time of extreme pricing unpredictability," Durbin said. "For smaller to mid-sized companies, there's too much to lose from specialty drug prices and other escalating benefit expenses."

The International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans identified specialty medications as one of the leading drivers of employer healthcare inflation for 2026, while healthcare consultants continue warning that high-cost drug therapies are creating even more volatility in employer healthcare forecasting.

"Good financial stewardship is about evaluating the least disruptive cost-management opportunities first," Durbin said. "Most organizations would never accept this level of opacity from suppliers and vendors in other areas of the business. Yet many employers still lack clear visibility into pharmacy pricing, rebates, and incentives that directly affect their healthcare spend."

Cutting Through PBM Opacity
Recent national scrutiny and legal action around PBM practices have intensified calls for greater transparency and accountability across employer healthcare purchasing. Policymakers, healthcare economists, and business leaders are increasingly framing healthcare benefits as a governance and operational efficiency issue rather than solely an HR function.

SHARx works with employers to identify more affordable medication solutions and improve visibility into pharmacy benefit spending, help organizations reduce avoidable healthcare costs, and provide value-added employee services while preserving workforce resources and financial flexibility.

Durbin says this shift reflects a broader evolution in how employers think about benefits strategy.

"This conversation is no longer just about managing healthcare plans," he said. "It's about protecting organizational stability, improving predictability, and making thoughtful financial decisions that do the least harm to employees and the business overall."

Reframing Benefits and the Bottom Line
Employers across industries are already considering difficult tradeoffs, including higher employee premium contributions, narrower drug formularies, and reductions in coverage as healthcare costs continue climbing. SHARx believes greater transparency and smarter pharmacy purchasing strategies can help organizations avoid unnecessary financial strain before resorting to more disruptive measures.

"CFOs are becoming more involved because healthcare volatility now affects Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization (EBITDA) planning, growth decisions, and overall business confidence," Durbin added. "Companies deserve the same level of accountability and transparency in healthcare spending that they expect from every other major operational investment."

About SHARx
SHARx was founded to fight back against the broken system of overpriced prescription drugs. Industry pioneers Corey Durbin and Paul Pruitt built SHARx to put people before profits. With an innovative and ethical sourcing model, SHARx cuts through the waste with radical transparency, common-sense cost containment, and a member-first approach. No hidden markups. No games. Just the meds people need, delivered affordably, reliably, and with dignity. A growing list of notable sports voices, including Sophie Cunningham, standout guard for the WNBA Indiana Fever, Brock Osweiler, former NFL quarterback and college football analyst for ESPN, and Heath Shuler, former NFL quarterback and SEC Player of the Year, are helping amplify SHARx's fight to restore financial equity to a broken healthcare system. Learn more at: SHARXplan.com. 

Sources:

• Mercer. (2025). Employers prepare for the highest health benefit cost increase in 15 years. 
• Mercer. (2025, July 17). As benefit costs surge, employers face tough decisions for 2026. 
• Business Group on Health. (2025). 2026 employer health care strategy survey.
• International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans. (2025). Employers project 10% rise in health care costs for 2026.
• Federal Trade Commission. (2024). Pharmacy benefit managers: The powerful middlemen inflating drug costs and squeezing Main Street pharmacies. 
• WTW. (2025, October 7). Staying ahead of healthcare costs: Employer strategies for 2026 and beyond. 

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SOURCE SHARx