References
Sources & References
The studies, surveys, and industry datasets behind the statistics we cite — so you can verify them yourself.
Looking for the sources behind an article? Each Education article carries its own reference list at the bottom of the page, numbered to match the citations in its text. The list below covers the statistics cited elsewhere on the site.
- 1.
Mercer 2025 National Survey of Employer-Sponsored Health Plans (final release, Nov. 18, 2025): projected 6.7% cost increase for 2026 (highest in 15 years), pushing average per-employee cost above $18,500; an earlier preliminary estimate (Sept. 4, 2025) had put the increase at 6.5%, which would near 9% absent plan changes.
- 2.
AHRQ Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS): the top 5% of the population accounts for ~50% of total health spending and the top 10% for ~66–70% — the concentration behind the 5–10% / 50–70% figure. Marathon Health summarizes the same pattern for employers.
- 3.
UnitedHealth Group (July 2019), “The High Cost of Avoidable Hospital Emergency Department Visits”: primary-care-treatable (avoidable) ED visits cost about $2,032 on average — roughly 10–12× the cost of an urgent-care ($193) or office ($167) visit.
- 4.
National Safety Council, Injury Facts (underlying data from the National Council on Compensation Insurance): the average workers' compensation claim was $47,316 for accidents in 2022–2023.
- 5.
Milliman / Society of Actuaries, “Direct Primary Care: Evaluating a New Model of Delivery and Financing” (May 2020): DPC members showed ~40% fewer ER visits and ~12.6% lower risk-adjusted total claims costs over a two-year period.
- 6.
International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans (IFEBP), 2026 cost survey: U.S. employers project a median health-care cost increase of 10% for 2026.
- 7.
Premise Health, 2024 Book of Business Analysis (methodology validated by Milliman; ~207,000 eligible lives across 26 employers): advanced primary care saved attributed members an average of $2,434, or ~30%, on total cost of care.
- 10.
KFF 2025 Employer Health Benefits Survey: employer-sponsored insurance covers ~154 million people under age 65; average annual premiums reached $9,325 (single) and $26,993 (family) in 2025, rising 5% and 6% respectively — outpacing wage growth and inflation.
- 22.
Integrated Benefits Institute, “Poor Health Costs US Employers $575 Billion and 1.5 Billion Days of Lost Productivity” (analysis drawing on data from ~66,000 U.S. employers). Poor employee health costs U.S. employers $575 billion annually and nearly 1.5 billion days of lost productivity; for every dollar spent on healthcare benefits, another $0.61 is lost to illness- and injury-related productivity loss — roughly $3,900 per employee per year.
- 23.
National Safety Council, Injury Facts (underlying data from the National Council on Compensation Insurance): the average lost-time workers' compensation claim was $47,316 for accidents in 2022–2023. The most costly claims by part of body involve the head or central nervous system, averaging $90,043, and the most costly by nature of injury are amputations, averaging $125,058.
- 24.
Workers' Compensation Research Institute (WCRI), “Workers' Comp Provider Networks Cut Total Claim Costs by 26%” (2026; more than seven-days-lost-time claims across 34 states, experience through March 2024). In-network/coordinated medical management claims cost 26% — about $11,820 — less per claim at 36 months of maturity than out-of-network claims, and shorten temporary-disability duration (15.8 vs. 17.4 weeks).
- 30.
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses, CY2024 (USDL-26-0101): cases with days away from work, job restriction, or transfer that involve days away represent roughly 38% of total recordable cases in private industry. This is the lost-time share (0.38) the True Cost of Health model uses to convert expected recordables into lost-time workers' compensation claims before applying the average lost-time claim cost (source 23).
Figures are drawn from the most recent public data available at the time of writing and are provided for general illustration. Actual results vary by workforce, industry, and program scope. Where we show cost savings or ranges, they reflect published industry studies, not a guarantee of results for any specific employer.