Healthcare continues to be one of the most significant challenges facing employers today.
Across industries and business sizes, employers are navigating rising premiums, increasing employee healthcare needs, workforce recruitment and retention pressures, and growing uncertainty about future costs. For many businesses, healthcare benefits represent one of their largest and fastest-growing expenses.
At the Grand Junction Area Chamber of Commerce, we regularly hear from employers who are working hard to provide quality benefits while balancing the realities of running a business. What we need now is a clearer understanding of the challenges businesses are facing across Mesa County.
That is why we are launching our 2026 Employer Healthcare & Benefits Survey.
The goal is simple: listen.
We want to better understand the healthcare landscape from the perspective of employers. What types of benefits are being offered? What pressures are businesses experiencing? How are healthcare costs impacting hiring, retention, wages, and growth? What opportunities exist to better support employers and employees moving forward?
Most importantly, we need to hear from employers of all sizes, industries, and communities.
Whether you employ two people or two hundred, whether you currently offer health insurance or not, your perspective matters. The challenges facing a small retailer may be very different from those facing a manufacturer, healthcare provider, nonprofit organization, or professional services firm. To ensure we have a complete picture, we need broad participation from businesses throughout Mesa County.
The survey explores topics including:
- Current healthcare and benefits offerings
- Employer healthcare costs and cost trends
- Barriers to offering or expanding coverage
- Employee healthcare access challenges
- Workforce recruitment and retention impacts
- Wellness programs and preventative health initiatives
- Interest in future healthcare strategies and solutions
Survey responses will be kept confidential, and results will be reported only in aggregate. Findings will help inform future Chamber programming, employer education efforts, advocacy priorities, and conversations around workforce health and business competitiveness.
Healthcare affects every employer differently, but understanding those experiences collectively is the first step toward identifying meaningful solutions.
We encourage every employer in Mesa County to participate.