Looking Into 2026: Interest Rates, GLP-1 Impact, and the Future of Employer Health Plans

In this forward-looking episode of Risk & Resolve, Ben Conner and Todd Hufford share predictions for 2026 across interest rates, employment trends, healthcare innovation, and the rising costs of insurance. They discuss the economic forces driving employer benefits strategy, how drugs like Zepbound and Mounjaro are reshaping budgets, and why some employers may start treating healthcare like a utility. From remote work realignment to the rise of PBM bypass tools, this is a must-listen for CFOs, benefits advisors, and business leaders planning ahead.Main Talking PointsInterest rate history, outlook, and its downstream impact on business investmentReturn-to-office movement: trends, motives, and generational career impactThe GLP-1 effect: Zepbound, Mounjaro, and why Eli Lilly is reshaping Indiana’s economyWhy 2026 might be the most expensive year yet for employer health plansLarge claimants and unit cost inflation as primary insurance driversThe potential return of Medicare-for-All momentum and political implicationsDirect-to-consumer pharma: LillyDirect, Trump Rx, and bypassing the PBMHow GoodRx, Mark Cuban’s Cost Plus, and Scriptco are disrupting traditional pharmacyEmployers rethinking benefits: the need for felt value and compensation ROILong-term goal: managing health plans to CPI, not medical inflation myths