Few are surprised by occasional surveys showing how little understanding there is among employees about their benefits packages. Among the most confusing of all benefits is health insurance. Employees just aren’t clear on what their policies cover, what their out-of-pocket expenses are, and where they stand in terms of deductibles. What is the solution? Education.
No doubt that U.S. employees need to better understand the details of their benefits. But education only goes so far. It is not the solution for people who need to choose between making their mortgage payments and going to see the doctor. When employees have only so much money to spend, the only thing education can do is enlighten them about their options. It doesn’t produce more money.
Employees Are Feeling the Pinch
It is clear that employees are feeling the pinch of an economy on the brink of recession. According to a recent Elevate survey involving more than 775 employees, 88% consider employee benefits an important part of their financial security. An additional 78% consider being prepared for out-of-pocket healthcare expenses important.
That’s the good news. Here is the bad:
- 65% are cutting discretionary spending
- 28% are delaying wellness checks and screenings
- 14% are delaying necessary medical procedures
- 14% are not having their prescriptions filled.
Simply put, far too many employees do not have the money to pay for routine medical care because their finances are being stressed by higher prices on gas, food, clothing, and everything else they buy.
The solution to their problems is not more education about how their benefits work. It is to bring down the costs they incur simply by living their daily lives. That means bringing down the cost of not only the staples, but also healthcare services. Otherwise, any benefit derived from educating employees about their plans will be short-lived.
How Education Can Help
To the extent education can help, employers have every reason to offer it. For example, insurance brokerage agency BenefitMall says it is a good idea to educate HAS-eligible employees about the tax-advantaged health savings vehicle.
As a general agency offering broker services around the country, BenefitMall frequently encourages brokers to offer their clients with high deductible health plans (HDHPs) the opportunity to also add health savings accounts (HSAs). An HSA is a tax-free account into which eligible employees can contribute funds they will use to pay future healthcare expenses.
HSAs do not necessarily save employees money on the healthcare services they utilize, but it does give them more money to pay for those services because taxes are not being taken out.
Employees can also stand to be better educated about what their healthcare plans cover. For example, an employee with an HDHP may not realize that many preventative services are fully covered separate from their plans’ deductibles. Without such knowledge, an employee might forgo an annual wellness check after mistakenly believing it would have to paid for out-of-pocket.
No Painless Solution
No doubt people many don’t fully understand their healthcare benefits as well as they should. No doubt more education is needed. But education alone will not help much. It won’t do anything to bring down the skyrocketing costs of health insurance and medical services.
There are solutions to the ever-escalating costs. But none of them are painless. In fact, there is no such thing as a painless solution. Fixing a broken insurance system will require plenty of short-term pain in exchange for long-term pleasure. If we aren’t willing to endure the pain, then we’ll just have to keep kicking the can down the road until the insurance system is no longer viable.
