Hourly workers without employer-sponsored health coverage are facing a much harder benefits landscape in 2026. With enhanced ACA marketplace subsidies expired and premiums rising, many employees are being forced to make difficult decisions about whether they can afford coverage at all.

For employers in high-turnover industries, this is more than a healthcare issue. It is a recruiting and retention issue.

• Employer-sponsored benefits now create a stronger competitive advantage. Workers without access to employer coverage are feeling the pressure of higher marketplace costs, while employees with quality employer-sponsored benefits have more stability and support.
• Hourly workers need benefits they can actually use. Complicated plan menus and confusing enrollment processes can create decision fatigue. Simple, affordable, useable benefits like telehealth, urgent care, prescription coverage, dental, vision, life, and disability can make a real difference.
• Benefits can directly impact retention. When workers are already stretched by rising costs, employers who offer clear, affordable coverage are better positioned to recruit talent, reduce turnover, and build trust with their workforce.
  

The 2026 ACA landscape has changed, and employers who treat benefits only as a compliance requirement may miss one of the biggest workforce opportunities in front of them. RightPath helps employers with high-turnover, hourly-wage workforces build benefits strategies that support compliance, improve the employee experience, and help recruit and retain good people.

If you’re looking for a benefits strategy designed around the realities of your workforce, reach out to RightPath to start the conversation.

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