Disney drops spousal health insurance for working spouses

Disney is pulling medical insurance from one group of dependents, the latest large employer to tighten benefits as healthcare costs keep climbing.

Starting next year, the entertainment giant will stop offering medical coverage to U.S. employees' spouses who have jobs that already provide insurance, a Disney spokesperson confirmed to Business Insider. Other dependents are not affected.

"Like a growing number of large employers, we're making measured adjustments to our employee benefits in response to rising healthcare costs nationwide," the company said in a statement.

The change, first reported by Puck, does not apply to dental or vision benefits for spouses.

Joshua Lavine, CEO of Capitol Benefits, an insurance advisory firm, called the move unusual. "We've seen employers reducing their contribution toward the spouse's coverage, but not eliminating the coverage option for those people," he said.

The policy leaves an exception for spouses who are unemployed or whose jobs lack medical insurance. Still, Lavine said it could create problems for people in the middle of long-term health treatments.

"There are so many options for employers right now to make coverage available to employees that this is really the extreme, nothing-else-can-work solution," he said. "A better solution is to reduce, or if you have to, eliminate the employer contribution for spouses."

Disney also plans to introduce an employee stock-purchase program later in 2027, pending approvals, Business Insider previously reported. The company had about 172,000 U.S. employees as of September 2025.

The move comes as U.S. employers' healthcare expenses are projected to rise 9.5% next year, the fourth straight near-double-digit annual increase, according to a report released Thursday by Aon. The brokerage called it one of the most sustained periods of healthcare inflation in decades.

Other big employers are taking their own cost-cutting steps. Starbucks said it would stop covering GLP-1 medications prescribed for weight loss for benefits-eligible employees starting in October. The coffee chain offers health benefits to full- and part-time employees who work at least 20 hours a week.

More businesses may follow. In a survey this spring, nearly half of U.S. employers with 500 or more workers said they plan to change their medical plans next year, such as raising deductibles or copays, according to Mercer. Those changes would mean higher out-of-pocket costs for employees, the benefits-consulting firm said.

Some companies are cutting other benefits. Zoom reduced its paid parental leave this year, Business Insider reported. Deloitte plans to cut or pare back annual PTO, a pension plan, and IVF funding for some U.S. employees starting in January.