Americans are thinking about their finances and engaging in their physical wellbeing, but they might need help to understand the connection between wealth and health, according to a recent report from HSA Bank.
HSA Bank sponsored a study which scored 2,000 randomly selected U.S. adults based on how engaged they were in their health and wealth, finding that the average American adult is “highly engaged” in thinking about both – but not necessarily holistically.
In fact, this year the researchers found some disturbing gaps in Americans’ health and personal finance knowledge – nearly one-in-five respondents don’t know what kind of health plan they have – 15% couldn’t correctly identify their plan type, and another 3% confused their carrier for their plan type.
“This seems like a low number of people who are really engaged with both their wealth and their health in a holistic manner,” said Chad Wilkins, president of HSA bank and executive vice president for Webster Bank. “As an industry, we’re not engaging on a regular or ongoing basis throughout the year helping people understand their benefits and how they relate to their finances. We need to do a better job of educating consumers.”
HSA Bank is a division of Webster Bank administering more than $7 billion in Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) and other health-related financial accounts as of December 31, 2018.
Nearly one-in-three consumers, 30%, didn’t know their premium, deductible, or out-of-pocket costs. Nearly half of the respondents, 49%, didn’t know their coverage’s copay requirements. Yet 94% of the respondents were at least somewhat confident in their ability to manage their health needs moving forward.
Wilkins said that there is a lack of resources around engaging consumers aat the time they’re making health decisions. At most employers, open enrollment for benefits takes place in early October and often lasts for only two weeks – scant time to help their employees make educated choices.
“We want to highlight that healthcare is a major part of your financial picture,” said Wilkins. “That’s why we look at it as both health and wealth.”
Americans have a high estimation of their personal health – 89% of the respondents were at least somewhat confident in their physical health and wellness.
The survey also found that many consumers are not implementing financial best practices for healthcare readiness like saving for future healthcare expenses. Two-in-5 respondents, 40%, have never saved for future healthcare expenses and another 30% have never considered the cost of their healthcare services, according to the survey.