Disney will cut spouse health coverage for those with access to their own employer's plan starting 2027. An advisor called it an extreme cost-control move.
Disney will stop providing health insurance to spouses who can get coverage through their own employer, starting in 2027. The change, reported by Puck and confirmed by a Disney spokesperson to Business Insider, does not affect dental or vision coverage and does not apply to employees' other dependents.
"We're making measured adjustments to our employee benefits in response to rising healthcare costs nationwide," the company said in a statement.
Joshua Lavine, CEO of insurance advisory firm Capitol Benefits, said Disney's decision is unusual. "We've seen employers reducing their contribution toward the spouse's coverage, but not eliminating the coverage option for those people," he said.
Spouses who are unemployed or whose employers do not offer medical insurance will still be covered. But Lavine warned the move could create difficulties for spouses undergoing long-term medical treatment. He described it as an extreme measure, given other options employers have to control costs. "A better solution is to reduce, or if you have to, eliminate the employer contribution for spouses," he added.
The change comes as U.S. employers face a sharp rise in healthcare costs. Aon estimates employer healthcare expenses will increase 9.5% next year, the fourth straight year of near-double-digit growth. The insurance brokerage said it is one of the longest periods of elevated healthcare inflation employers have seen in decades.
A Mercer survey this spring found that nearly half of employers with at least 500 workers are considering changes to their medical plans next year, including higher deductibles and copayments.
Disney is also expected to roll out an employee stock-purchase plan in 2027, subject to approvals, Business Insider reported earlier. The company employed about 172,000 people in the U.S. as of September 2025.
Other companies are also scaling back benefits. Starbucks said in October it would stop covering GLP-1 medications for weight loss. Zoom reduced paid parental leave this year. Deloitte will cut paid time off, its pension plan, and IVF coverage for some U.S. employees starting in January.
Disney's SBUX stock page carries an Alpha Score of 48 out of 100, classified as Mixed.
More U.S. companies could adopt similar cost-cutting measures as healthcare expenses continue to climb.
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