Total medical costs for fully insured individuals rose 9% per person in 2025, an average increase of $722, according to a July analysis from UnitedHealth Group’s Center for Health Care Research.
The estimates are based on 2024 and 2025 UnitedHealthcare claims for individuals enrolled in fully insured employer coverage, paid through February 2026 and adjusted for runout.
Four notes:
1. Prescription drugs represented about one quarter of total medical spending but accounted for more than 40% of the year-over-year increase. Drug costs grew 14% to $2,371 per member per year, a $294 jump that outpaced every other service category.
2. Utilization of specialty drugs such as Skyrizi, Tremfya, Dupixent and Rinvoq rose 13%; brand drugs including the GLP-1s Ozempic, Mounjaro, Zepbound and Wegovy saw 8% higher prices and 6% higher utilization; and use of drugs administered in hospital outpatient departments and other facilities, including the cancer therapies Keytruda, Opdivo and Darzalex Faspro, climbed 21%.
3. Total per-member costs reached $8,758 in 2025, up from $8,036. Hospital inpatient spending rose 8% to $1,575, outpatient costs grew 8% to $2,515, and physician spending increased 4% to $1,743.
4. UnitedHealth projected that if drug spending continues growing at 14% annually, average per-person prescription costs will exceed $5,000 by 2031.
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