2018 wex health clear insights report€¦ · employer-provided health insurance to take a closer...

© Copyright 2018 WEX Health 1

2018 WEX Health Clear Insights ReportEasing Workers’ Concerns aboutthe Rising Cost of Healthcare

2018 WEX Health Clear Insights Report 2

OverviewAs a leading provider of healthcare financial management technology and services, WEX Health feels a sense of responsibility to continuously deliver more ways to help consumers be better prepared for healthcare costs now and in the future. Together with our WEX Health Partners, we collectively serve more than 300,000 employer groups and 25 million consumers across the United States and Canada. To ensure we direct this significant force on the things that will have the greatest impact in driving change, we commissioned Zogby Analytics to conduct an online survey of more than 1,000 U.S. workers with employer-provided health insurance to take a closer look at their views on benefit plans, how they choose and use their benefits, and how they leverage them—or not—as tools to help manage their household finances. Using this end-to-end view of attitudes, concerns, and behaviors, we identified key takeaways and top priorities for employer and consumer education.

Key FindingsMany are unaware of HSAs’ tax advantagesand investment options

Nearly half of the respondents perceive 401(k) accounts as offering the most pre-tax saving advantages; close to a quarter aren’t sure. Just 13 percent identified an HSA as the account that provides the most pre-tax savings. More than half (54 percent) were not aware that they could invest their HSA funds in stocks, mutual funds, and other investment vehicles. And, three-quarters of respondents see their HSA as a way to pay for healthcare expenses this year, which indicates they may not be aware that funds can be carried over into the next year. All these answers add up to a significant opportunity for further education on the triple-tax advantages of HSA accounts.

Were you aware you could invest your HSA?

No 54% Yes 40% Unsure 7%


High deductible health plan participantsfeel they make smarter health decisions.More than three-quarters (82 percent) of those who participate in high deductible health plans (HDHPs) either somewhat or strongly agree that managing their healthcare spending account helps them make smarter health decisions.

Almost three-quarters (74 percent) of respondents on these plans consider reduced monthly premiums when evaluating their health plan options. Then, the primary reason these respondents enrolled in health savings accounts (HSAs) in addition to their HDHP was to save for future healthcare needs (36 percent) and to have an ability to save for out-of-pocket and/or unexpected medical costs (29 percent).

“Quite honestly in regards to the health savings account, I’m actually using it more toward a retirement savings. I don’t really visit the doctor often or purchase prescriptions, so I’m basically using it as another tax incentive–type savings account.”

– Male respondent, age 51

“The responsibility to make healthcare decisions is definitely on me. They don’t really offer much assistance. I just want to make sure that I’m choosing the best plan for the future. I mean, I’m young. I’m OK right now. You never know what’s going to come up, though. You want to make sure that you’ve got great coverage and you’re prepared.”

– Female respondent, age 29


Unexpected healthcare costs are a significant concern.It should come as no surprise that nearly two-thirds of those surveyed are somewhat or very worried about unexpected out-of-pocket costs of current healthcare needs or illnesses, and of those people, nearly half are also worried about the cost of healthcare in retirement. A quarter of respondents forgo healthcare services all the time or often due to associated out-of-pocket expenses.

HSAs provide relief forsome while others struggleto cover expenses.If faced with an unexpected health cost of more than $1,000, a third of the respondents with high deductible health plans would use their HSA account, while nearly 25 percent aren’t sure how they would cover it, and 20 percent would put it on a credit card.

“My HSA has definitely been a learning curve, because at first, I had no idea how it worked. Like once I went to the dermatologist and they were like, ‘You can try to run it through, and if they reject it, they reject it. We’ll let you

know.”


Men and WomenThink Differently About Healthcare Spending

Of the respondents on high deductible health plans, women are more likely (43 percent vs. 20 percent) to use their HSA account to pay unexpected healthcare bills greater than $1,000.

Men are more likely to use personal savings (18 percent vs. 11 percent) and credit cards (28 percent vs. 15 percent) to pay unexpected healthcare bills greater than $1,000.

Women tend to be more worried about finances. Of men, 14 percent are “not at all worried” about unexpected out-of-pocket costs, compared to just four percent of women. And women are more worried about expenses across the board—current costs of healthcare (63 percent vs. 55 percent), home repair (38 percent vs. 30 percent), car trouble (41 percent vs. 33 percent) and paying for day-to-day living costs in retirement (44 percent vs. 34 percent).

Men are more likely to use online investment tools (26 percent vs. 16 percent) and mobile investment apps (16 percent vs. 10 percent) when managing their household finances.


Personalized online and mobile tools are best for education and engagement. Consumers are inundated daily with information from several sources and devices. Capturing their attention is challenging enough, let alone getting them to act. Knowing which tools and resources work best for different groups of employees can make a big difference in the effectiveness of education and engagement programs.

During open enrollment, three-quarters of surveyed respondents

spend less than an hour evaluating their employer’s different healthcare options.

• It is imperative to make every minute count by tailoring educational tools to consumers’ specific needs.

• When asked to select all the tools and resources they would find most helpful, respondents ranked highest the tools that compare plans, estimate costs, and calculate savings, which is not surprising since they yield personalized results.

• Fact sheets were selected as the most useful of educational resources.

• In-person presentations during which employees can get immediate answers from human resources and benefits administration representatives ranked high, with more passive videos and webinars ranked lower.


Workers Select the Tools and ResourcesThey Would Find Most Helpful

“I feel like understanding and control go hand in hand, and because I don’t get it all I don’t feel like I have complete control, because I’m not sure what’s going on exactly. So just having more guidance, explanation and something that lays out in clear terms—whether through a document, an email, a PowerPoint or an app—that

would really explain things more and give me that control that I’m hoping to get.”


Chart KeyMulti-select question; respondents asked to select all that applied.

61%

51%

33%

35%

19%

27%

30%

14%

38%

15%

Personalized, Online Tools

Customizable,On-Demand Tools

In-Person Presentation or Consult


Ways to Motivate Employees to Access Resourcesand Make Better Health Choices

Many of the things respondents said would help motivate them to use available tools and resources tomake better health choices—emails, text messages, online goal trackers, and other online tools andresources—can be personalized

64%

43%

21%

11%

8%

33%

23%

38%


Financial Incentives

Online, Mobile, Personalized, Automated

Online Innovation Ideas

People need help figuring out how much moneyto set aside.The most challenging part respondents cited in using their high deductible health plan was making sureto have enough funds set aside to cover deductibles and figuring out how much money to put in theaccount overall Managing bills received from doctors rated as another challenging area forrespondents


What do you find most challenging aboutusing your high deductible health plan?

Managing the bills that I receive from my doctor

Making sure that I have enough fundsset aside to cover deductible expenses

Figuring out how to use my HSA

Figuring out how much money to set aside in my account

Finding the best deals on care

Obtaining investment guidance

Not sure

14%

29%

9%

21%

10%

5%

13%


Financial Guidance Questions

Benefit Account Functionality

“I guess it comes down to not knowing what I need to pay, like if there’s anything out-of-pocket. I don’t know how much I need to ultimately save up as far as finances, because I don’t know everything of what’s covered, what I’ll need in the future. So, I’m just always confused about how much money I have to set aside and that my health insurance isn’t going to cover, so I need those finances to make

sure I get the proper care I need.”



MethodologyThe more than 1,000 adults who were randomly invited to participate in this survey were selected to best represent the demographics of the population being surveyed using information based on census data, voter registration figures, CIA fact books, and exit polls. Weighted variables may have included age, race, gender, region, party, education and religion. Each invitation was secure and password-coded so that respondents could only access the survey once. Based on a confidence interval of 95 percent, the margin of error for the respondent set is +/- 3.0 percentage points.

ConclusionDespite improvements in consumer confidence regarding their healthcare choices and the greaterresponsibilities they have in managing their health plans and expenses, there is a critical need for tools that can both educate and prepare workers to better prepare financially for out-of-pocket healthcare expenses Employers can play an even greater part in helping to enable their employees to feel more confident in their ability to manage their expenses—both now and for their future retirement plans.

Employment Status

Number of People In Household Number of People In Organization

Health Plan Enrollment Breakdown

Marital Status

93% Full-time

Part-time

Married

Single

Single w/Dependents

Divorced, Separated, Widowed

Civil Union, Domestic Partnership

HDHP 1-49 100-249 250-499 500-999 1,000-4,999

Unsure5,000-9,999

50-99Unsure

7%

54.5%

26.8%

16% 7% 45% 29% 4%

2.9%

12%

3.8%

20%

13% 12%

10%

7%

10%

8%

20%

12%

16%32% 6% 4%21%

HMOPPOPOS


Step 2

Engage Employees to Grab and Hold Their Attention

During follow-up interviews with survey respondents, we heard phrases like, “maybe I overlooked it,” “they don’t really offer much assistance,” and “I’m just always confused.” Employers must capture workers’ attention to be sure that important information is not only delivered, but truly understood.

Personalized communications that are delivered in the methods most convenient for consumers—such as emails and text messages—are both preferred, and most effective.

Be sure to help employers develop comprehensive engagement plans, and to choose a technologyplatform that offers a full range of customization, personalization, and automated messaging options with 24 x 7 accessible functionality via website and mobile app.

Clear Insights Calls To ActionRespondents’ findings were used to shape the checklist below, which is designed to provide a frameworkfor benefits administrators and advisors to use as they work with employer groups toward shared goals ofhelping employees get value from their benefit plans.

Step 1

Empower Employers to Provide Useful Plans and Resources

Employers are driven to offer cost-effective, competitive benefits that also help workers solve physical andfinancial health challenges so that they can be fully present and free from worries while they are on the job.

Be sure to consider an administration platform’s ability to analyze usage patterns by plan and expense type and see how they compare against similar organizations and industry benchmarks so that employers can continue to optimize plan design.


Step 3

Educate Employees to Influence Desired ActionInitial education about the different plans being offered to employees is important during open enrollment.Equally important is ongoing education to be sure employees make the most of their benefit plans forthemselves and their families.

Keep in mind employees’ need for help understanding the short- and long-term financial benefits of HSA accounts. A mix of in-person presentations, fact sheets, and tools that estimate costs will be most helpful.

In addition to contributions to their accounts, employees are open to gift cards, online resources, and goal trackers to help motivate them to use available tools to make better healthcare and financial decisions.

Simplifying the Businessof HealthcareBenefits administrators and advisors who choose WEX Health Cloud as their technology solution have a full range of options available for helping employers develop flexible plans, compelling engagement and education programs, automated communications, and personalized online and mobile experiences. Using advanced business intelligence, employers can see exactly how their workers are using and engaging with their benefits so they can continue to refine offerings and education programs.

See how WEX Health Cloud can help simplify healthcare account management for your business.Learn more about WEX Health Cloud at www.wexhealthinc.com. Contact [email protected] or call 952.908.9056 to get started.


About WEX HealthWe simplify the business of healthcare through WEX Health Cloud, a cloud-based healthcare financial management platform that drives efficiency for benefit administration technology, consumer engagement, and advanced billing and payments. Our partner organizations enable us to deliver our industry-leading and award-winning solution to 300,000 employers and more than 25 million consumers. Together we take the complexity out of defined contribution, HSAs, HRAs, FSAs, VEBAs, PRAs, premium billing, public and private health insurance exchanges, COBRA, wellness plans, and transit plans. Learn more at www.wexhealthinc.com, and follow WEX Health at @WEXHealthInc.

© Copyright 2018 WEX Health

This WEX Health Clear Insights Report represents the views of the author, not America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP). The publication, distribution or posting of this WEX Health Clear Insights Report by AHIP does not constitute a guaranty of any product or service by AHIP.

Simplifying the Business of Healthcare

2018 wex health clear insights report€¦ · employer-provided health insurance to take a closer...

Documents