What are the 2026 and 2027 PA 152 hard cap amounts?

For 2026, the PA 152 hard caps — the maximum a Michigan public employer may pay toward employee medical benefit plan costs, sometimes called the limit on what we can pay under the Michigan hard cap law — are $7,942.09 for single coverage, $16,609.38 for individual-and-spouse coverage, and $21,660.30 for family coverage, an increase of 2.9% over 2025. These amounts come from the Michigan Department of Treasury's annual notice, signed March 28, 2025, and apply to medical benefit plan coverage years beginning on or after January 1, 2026. Renewing January 1, 2027, or building your 2027 budget? Treasury has already published the 2027 caps — they're in the second table below.

Caps apply per enrolled employee or elected public official by coverage tier, for medical benefit plan coverage years beginning on or after January 1, 2026.

The 2027 caps apply to medical benefit plan coverage years beginning on or after January 1, 2027 — including January 1, 2027 renewals. The 3.0% is the change in the medical care component of the U.S. consumer price index from March 2024–February 2025 to March 2025–February 2026, per the Treasury notice. If your budget planning runs on the calendar year, these are the numbers to project against now.

Did the law change in 2026? No — HB 6058 was vetoed

If you have heard that Lansing rewrote the hard cap, here is the status as of July 2026. House Bill 6058 of 2024 would have amended PA 152 substantially: higher cap amounts, a mandatory employer contribution of at least 80% of total costs, and a new annual adjustment tied to Michigan health insurance rates or 3%, whichever is greater. It passed both chambers in December 2024, was withheld from the governor's desk during a lengthy court fight over transmittal, and reached her only after the courts ordered the stalled bills delivered. Governor Whitmer vetoed HB 6058 on July 10, 2026, citing effective dates that had gone stale during the delay.

The practical result: PA 152 stands as written. The caps in the tables above are the law, the hard cap remains the default, the 80/20 alternative still requires an annual majority vote, and the Section 8 opt-out is untouched. Any future change starts over as a new bill in a new session — and if one moves, this page will say so the same week.

What is the hard cap?

The hard cap is the dollar limit PA 152 — Michigan's Publicly Funded Health Insurance Contribution Act — places on what a public employer may contribute toward employee medical benefit plan costs. Anything above the cap must be paid by employees, unless your governing body has adopted the 80/20 alternative or voted to opt out. If people in your office call it "the insurance cap" or "the limit on what the township can pay," this is the number they mean.

How the caps are set each year

The statutory basis, as stated in every annual Treasury notice:

Under MCL 15.563, the dollar amounts are adjusted annually — by April 1 of each year (for years after 2018) — by the change in the medical care component of the U.S. consumer price index for the most recent 12-month period for which data are available. In practice, Treasury signs the notice in late March for the following calendar year: the 2026 caps were signed March 28, 2025, and the 2027 caps on March 27, 2026 — reissued March 30, 2026 to correct a typo in the single-person amount. EBS reviews each notice when it is released and updates this page the same week.

What counts toward the cap

More than the premium. The cap applies to total annual costs: the illustrated premium plus employer reimbursements for copays and deductibles plus employer HSA funding. A premium that sits under the cap can still put you out of compliance once HSA contributions are added — the most common trap we see. Full treatment, with examples: What counts toward "total annual costs" under PA 152?

What if your renewal puts you over the cap?

Four options, each with tradeoffs:

• Shift the excess to employees. Permitted under the hard cap, but payroll deductions rise and morale takes the hit.
• Adopt the 80/20 alternative by annual board vote. Caps the employer share at 80% of total costs instead of a dollar amount. Whether it beats the hard cap depends on your numbers: Hard cap vs. 80/20 — which should our municipality choose?
• Opt out entirely by a 2/3 vote of your governing body. A supermajority vote exempts the employer from the caps — but it must be renewed annually, and skipping the vote defaults you back under the hard cap: Does the PA 152 opt-out require a board resolution every year?
• Restructure the plan. Often the real answer — a plan design that fits under the cap without gutting benefits. Start here: Group health insurance for Michigan employers