High healthcare costs are pushing employees to put procedures on hold

Employees are so confused by their healthcare plans that they’re avoiding seeking care all together.

Sixty-nine percent of employees avoided going to the doctor or taking medications as prescribed due to the cost and a lack of understanding over what was covered by their health plan, according to a report by HealthJoy, an employee benefits platform. Additionally, almost half of employees were not sure if their employer offered an EAP or telemedicine benefits.

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COVID has made employee benefits crucial for many, yet confusion over what is available has been rampant. HealthJoy found that 71% of employees understand their benefits “somewhat well,” and almost a quarter described their understanding as “not so well.” Just 16% said they understood their benefits “extremely well.”

“Employees are weighed down by lingering uncertainty about the pandemic, fears about their health and ever-present discomfort with our healthcare system,” Justin Holland, HealthJoy founder and CEO, said in a release. “Worryingly, they reported uncertainty about critical employee benefits such as telemedicine and EAP.”

Employees are very anxious about how they can afford appointments and prescription drugs: 92% of employees over 60 are concerned about healthcare costs, compared to 84% of those aged 45-60. More than a third of employees said that when they do seek care, medical bills are always or usually a surprise to them. Yet 28% pay the bills because they don’t want to deal with the hassle of disputing the charges.

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Despite these findings, employers have ramped up their benefit offerings throughout the pandemic, and telemedicine programs and EAP platforms can be a vital — and cost-effective — tool. However, while 79% of employers offer an EAP program, utilization rates average around 5%, according to the Business Group on Health.

“If your EAP is not being promoted enough to be highly visible, employees with complicated COVID-related issues could remain underserved,” says Kathleen Greer, founder of HR firm KGA. “When promoted effectively by employers, EAPs can offer a helping hand to effectively guide people from the workplace to counseling or other needed resources.”

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Employers must properly educate employees on their benefit offerings: the average employee spends less than 20 minutes enrolling in their healthcare plan, according to PlanSource, a benefits administrator firm.

HealthJoy found that employees want to engage with their healthcare plans through digital communication, like apps and email, as opposed to more traditional methods like a benefits packet. HR teams should view healthcare education as a year-round effort and expand the ways they interact with employees around questions and concerns about their plans.

“Rather than limiting benefits education efforts to open enrollment, HR teams can consider implementing a year-round communication strategy to get ahead of employee questions and encourage consumerism,” Holland said in the report. “To determine the medium, HR can weave in employees’ preferred communication methods, apps and email in conjunction with tried-and-true materials like the benefits booklet.”