By: Dr. Bernie Saks
President and CEO at ful.
If you’re reading this blog, there’s a good chance you’re overpaying for your health insurance. But you’re not alone. In fact, about one third of working Americans overpay an average of $1,700 annually for their health coverage1—with nothing to show for it, and without a chance to save it for the future. So, where does this $1,700 go each year? Instead of being invested in the employee, it’s added to insurance companies’ billions in profits.
A huge contributor to this issue is conventional healthcare thinking, which suggests that paying more for your health plan is wiser and “lower risk.” That said, overpaying to reduce risk in the short-term can shortchange your long-term health savings. Instead, many Americans would benefit from paying more into health savings and less into annual premiums. One of the best ways to do this? A High-Deductible Health Plan (HDHP) paired with a funded Health Savings Account (HSA).
To many, an HDHP may sound riskier and less financially responsible than just paying the higher premiums for more coverage, but Americans are already paying up to $950 billion annually for coverage they’re getting zero benefit from.2 Even worse, retired American couples are spending nearly $123,000 on just health insurance premiums over the course of their retirement.3 Paying more for premiums this year only costs you more in premiums over the next twenty, forty, or sixty years.
Doesn’t make much sense when you say it out loud, does it?
Here’s where HDHPs and HSAs come in. By teaming these two impactful healthcare tools together, employees can save with the lower premiums that come with a higher deductible plan. And, with the money that they’re not paying to insurance companies through high premiums, they can directly invest in their own health and financial future through the HSA.
The best part is that these invested savings accumulate and grow over the years. Any HSA/healthcare funds that an employee doesn’t need for one year is reinvested the next year—instead of lining an insurance companies’ pockets.
For some, you might call this an “ah ha” moment.
Ultimately, the biggest advantage offered by an HSA is autonomy. By giving employees the power to invest in, advocate for, and manage their own long-term health and financial well-being, they can make healthcare decisions that meet the unique needs of their lifestyle and family.
At ful., however, we go one step further. Not only do we provide our members with the tools to invest in their future, while they have easy access to affordable, reliable healthcare, we help them become savvy healthcare spenders. By simply completing a short, online educational exercise each month, members are rewarded with an additional distribution to their HSA, making investing in their future even easier.
Ready to see how ful. will help your clients deliver great benefits for less?
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2 Waste in the US Health Care System, Shrank, William H; Rogstad, Teresa L.; Parekhm, Natasha, JAMA Volume 322 (15) – Oct 15, 2019, Accessed April 6, 2022.
3 https://www.usatoday.com/money/blueprint/retirement/healthcare-costs-in-retirement/