Healthcare: What to Expect in 2026

The new year will offer healthcare organizations opportunities to tackle ongoing challenges and push their businesses forward into the future. In 2026, that means addressing slowing revenues and ongoing labor shortages, as well as challenges beyond their control, such as cyberattacks. But a strategic, enterprise-wide approach that strengthens risk management principles will help organizations to succeed.

Identifying the Challenges

The challenges are widespread. Yet naming them can help healthcare leaders to better understand what they’re up against and plan for the future more effectively. Consider:

Financial Instability

Everyone’s talking about the economy today, and healthcare leaders are no exception. Whether it’s a financial shortfall from Medicare and Medicaid or the delay in payment from commercial insurers, healthcare providers are struggling with the bottom line.

At the same time, rising costs abound: Inflation means workers are demanding – and earning – higher wages. And U.S. tariffs are likely to increase costs for medical supplies. Cuts to medical research could destabilize finances even further, leaving healthcare leaders scrambling for solutions.

Medical Professional Liability & Social Inflation

Providers face mounting challenges related to allegations of negligence, litigation funding and its impact on social inflation’s impact on jury awards. These pressures account for ~10% of the overall MPL costs.

In 2024 nearly 50% of the MPL underwriters raised their rates, according to the AMA. While there have been some recent effort at measured tort reform, these measures have been inconsistent across the U.S. With carrier consolidation expected to continue into the near future, proactive risk mitigation efforts are warranted.

Employee Engagement

Healthcare workers are still recovering from the pandemic. And while turnover has fallen slightly, it’s still difficult to find enough workers to fill all the open positions. Those who do stick around may be disengaged or struggling with their mental health – both of which leave them at risk for leaving the workplace.

While labor costs account for more than 50% of hospital expenses, the money may not be enough to save the best employees from walking out the door. Healthcare organizations will have to consider technology solutions such as artificial intelligence (AI) to support in-person staff, as well as adopting personalized benefits to increase engagement.

Cyber Risk

The cost of a data breach in healthcare — averaging $7.4 million per incident — remains the highest of any industry. What’s more, a breach takes more than nine months to identify and contain, and almost 25% of all data breaches in 2024 came from the healthcare industry.

Yet the story isn’t all bleak. Healthcare organizations have strong tools today to reduce risk, especially those that include cybersecurity as a component of a holistic risk management framework. Many in the industry have even adopted AI technologies to automate and predict issues to keep business leaders ahead of the threats. And cyber insurance remains an important piece of the puzzle, despite rising premiums.

Developing Resiliency

There’s no single solution to absorb the shocks of these challenges. But healthcare organizations that strengthen – or implement – their enterprise risk management (ERM) program, along with the right insurance solutions, will guide their organizations toward stability.

A solid ERM program actually creates the path the organization will walk during this time of challenge. Effective ERM integrates all areas of the business toward one goal: helping leaders to anticipate emerging threats and align strategic decision-making with resilience goals.

Tips to Move Into 2026

To be successful in 2026, healthcare businesses will need to pay attention and make decisions strategically. Partnering with a broker with deep industry expertise can help guide them in the right direction, turning stability today into financial viability tomorrow.

Follow these tips to strengthen resiliency:

1. Choose your risk. With growing risks comes larger insurance premiums. To manage your costs, it may be a good idea to take a higher deductible on some coverages. In some cases, alternative risk transfer vehicles can also come with a lower price tag. Ask your broker for options.
2. Personalize benefits. Today, employees expect their employers to support all aspects of their wellbeing. To understand what they need, focus on understanding different types of employees and what they need and want. This drives engagement, as well as recruitment and retention.
3. Analyze the loss trends. To protect the business in the future, it’s important to understand large losses from the past. Develop a strategy to explain any learning and proactive risk mitigation that came out of these losses.
4. Work with the broker. The broker can be the business’ biggest supporter and best asset – if they are allowed to be. Share information with the broker in real time to keep them updated on the business and avoid surprises at renewal time. Keep in mind that renewal should begin at least 90 days ahead of the renewal date to ensure there is enough time to find appropriate options. 

Healthcare organizations that are guided by these best practices will find themselves better able to build the financial and operational resilience they need to thrive in 2026 and beyond.