The US has retained top spot as the most expensive international private medical insurance (IPMI) market, with costs up by a third year-on-year.
This is according to SIP Medical Family Offices’ Health Cost Index for 2026 which found private healthcare costs are rising rapidly across almost all markets.
Across countries included in both the 2025 and 2026 editions, costs for the same standardised profiles increased by around 18%.
At the upper end, the US and Saudi Arabia recorded increases of approximately 33%, followed by the UK at 28%, Monaco at 26%, and China and the UAE at 25%.
In contrast, costs in Japan increased by only 3% and Greece by 6%, while Spain and France remained below 12%.
In the ranking of the most expensive private healthcare markets, the US remained the world’s most expensive private healthcare market, with an average annual IPMI-based cost of US$23,987, followed by Hong Kong (SAR) at US$19,353, Singapore at US$17,613, China at US$15,235 and the UK at US$14,987.
Despite these significant increases recorded across global markets, the five most expensive markets remain unchanged from 2025.
Kevin Bürchler, CEO at SIP Medical Family Office, said: “Private healthcare costs are rising rapidly across almost all markets, averaging approximately 18%.
“This does not mean individual treatments have become 18% more expensive but reflects the rising overall cost of healthcare consumption. Medical inflation is only part of the equation: ageing populations, longer lives, greater utilisation, advances in treatment, and growing demand for preventive and longevity medicine are collectively driving healthcare expenditure higher.”
The index measures the cost of private healthcare by analysing IPMI premiums across strategically selected countries. It covers 60 countries, selected for their relevance to expats, multi-residents and affluent individuals, and takes as a basis three demographically diversified personas, seven high-quality IPMI insurers and a specific selection of benefits across comparable health insurance plans.
Using country-specific actuarial pricing, the SIP HCI averages premiums across insurers and personas to reflect each country’s effective private healthcare cost level.
