Aflac Study Shows Employees Are Stressed by Health Insurance Decisions — Workers Influenced by Family History

COLUMBUS, Ga., December 6, 2019 (Newswire.com) - American workers are stressed about understanding what health insurance they need and enrolling for benefits. They also are less satisfied with their overall benefits packages but factor family history into health insurance decisions. These are key findings from the 2019 Aflac WorkForces Report, a national online survey of 1,200 benefits decision-makers and 2,000 employees across the U.S., released today by Aflac, the leader in supplemental insurance sales at U.S. worksites.

"After many signs of optimism last year, including record highs in employees’ benefits and job satisfaction, the 2019 Aflac WorkForces Report found that American workers largely are stressed about critical health insurance decisions and less satisfied with their benefits offerings,” said Matthew Owenby, senior vice president, chief human resources officer at Aflac. “Given the high importance both employees and employers place on benefits, we feel the report’s findings offer valuable insights to understanding the most pressing issues and the unmet needs that can be addressed.”

Employee Stress High, Especially for Millennials and Gen Z

According to the Aflac study, nearly 6 out of 10 (58%) employees say understanding what insurance or benefits they need is somewhat or very stressful, with levels even higher for Gen Z (68%) and millennials (64%). In addition, more than 6 in 10 (62%) say negotiating medical billing is somewhat or very stressful. These figures increase with generations, with 66% of millennials and 63% for Gen Z finding that medical billing is stressful, compared to 59% for those 39 and older. Finally, 43% of all employees say enrolling in health insurance is somewhat or very stressful; percentages that increase to 51% for millennials and 55% for Gen Z.

Benefits Satisfaction Declines

A strong connection exists between benefits and happy workers, with more than 8 in 10 (83%) employers that offer benefits agreeing that their company’s benefits offerings increase employee satisfaction. However, a year after reaching a high (61%) since the initial Aflac WorkForces Report released in 2011, benefits satisfaction has declined to 52% among workers. The same percentage of employees surveyed would be at least somewhat likely to accept a job with lower compensation but a more robust benefits package. More than 6 in 10 (61%) American workers are extremely or very satisfied in their jobs, down from 65% in 2018. Additionally, one quarter of employees report having left a job or turning down a job offer due to the benefits offered, similar to 25% in 2018.

Family History Matters

The new finding from the Aflac survey reveals the importance family history plays in workers’ health insurance decisions. Almost three-quarters (73%) of employees, including 80% of millennials and 75% of Gen Z, said their family history is somewhat to extremely influential in guiding their health insurance decisions. In addition, 84% would be likely to purchase insurance to help cover costs associated with a serious illness in their family history (e.g., cancer, heart attack or stroke). This is especially true for Gen Z (95%) and millennials (89%).

Debate Helping Younger Workers

Another new finding from the Aflac survey conveys the impact that the national debate on health care has had in affecting workers’ approaches to health care benefits decisions. While moderately more employees (38%) said the ongoing national debate about health care has helped them to better understand their health care options—compared with 24% who said it has made them more confused about choices—these figures increase significantly for younger generations. In fact, 78% of Gen Z and almost half (49%) of millennials said the debate has helped them better understand options.

Knowledge and Confidence Wane

Demonstrating slight setbacks compared to 2018, less than half of workers (46%) have a solid understanding of their total annual cost for health care coverage and care, compared to 50% in 2018. Also, more than one-third (35%) surveyed have a full understanding of their health insurance policy, according to the Aflac study, down from 39% in 2018. More than 1 in 5 (22%) did not feel confident they understood everything they signed up for after their most recent benefits enrollment, up from 19% in 2018.

Similar to past years, an evaluation of employees’ benefits enrollment patterns provides likely explanations behind shortcomings in understanding health care insurance. For example, the vast majority (93%) of employees still choose the same benefits each year. And more than half (56%) of employees surveyed spent less than 30 minutes researching their benefits options during the last open enrollment, including 14% who didn’t do any research at all. Finally, more than half of workers (54%) would rather be subjected to some form of discomfort such as bungee jumping off a bridge or singing the national anthem at a sporting event than research their open enrollment benefits. These feelings are highest among younger workers, including 84% of Gen Z and 66% of millennials who would choose some discomfort rather than research open enrollment benefits.

"Adequate information remains the leading unmet need employees cite to being confident about their benefits selections, followed by more money and more help,” said Owenby. "Understanding the continued trends of workers choosing the same benefits year after year and spending less than 30 minutes researching benefits options, employers need to continue simplifying information across channels and offering resources for one-on-one assistance.”  

Financial Preparation Better, Still Daunting

Given the importance of benefits decisions, an uninformed choice now could affect a worker's financial well-being in the year ahead, leading possibly to more serious implications like draining a savings account or 401(k) to pay deductibles and other uncovered costs. Despite progress compared to 2018, still more than half (52%) of workers would not be able to cover unexpected out-of-pocket medical costs of $1,000 or more, and almost one-third (29%) would not be able to cover an unexpected out-of-pocket medical bill greater than $500.

Rising Medical Costs Drive Need for Supplemental Insurance

The Aflac study shows more high-deductible plans being offered to employees, requiring those employees to increasingly take on more of the cost-sharing ratio for health insurance. However, almost three-quarters (74%) of employers believe their employees have enough options available to help them meet their health care financial obligations, up from 68% last year. With many aware of their financial challenges, a strong majority of employees (85%) also see a growing need for supplemental insurance benefits, a sentiment that has grown significantly and is up from 63% in 2014.  

In addition to helping workers cover the costs that health insurance may not cover, supplemental coverage can help reduce financial risk. The Aflac study found that nearly one-third (32%) of employers who offer benefits report offering supplemental insurance benefits to employees, up from 24% last year.

To learn more about the 2019 Aflac WorkForces Report, visit AflacWorkForcesReport.com.

About the 2019 Aflac WorkForces Report

The 2019 Aflac WorkForces Report is the ninth annual study examining benefits trends and attitudes. The surveys, conducted by Kantar, captured responses from 1,200 employers and 2,000 employees across the United States in various industries.

Kantar conducted the employer survey online in the United States between Sept. 25 and Oct. 12, 2019, among employers at companies with at least three employees. Results were weighted to enable year-over-year trending. No estimates of theoretical sampling error can be calculated; a full methodology is available.

Kantar conducted the employee survey online in the United States between Sept. 27 and Oct. 17, 2019, among adults age 18 and older who are employed full or part time at a company with three or more employees. A small sample of employees at very small companies (with one or two employees) were surveyed in 2019 to better understand this demographic. Results were weighted to match U.S. demographics. No estimates of theoretical sampling error can be calculated; a full methodology is available.

Aflac and Kantar are members of the Insights Association governed by The Insights Association Code of Standards and Ethics for Marketing Research and Data Analytics.

Results were weighted to match U.S. demographics. No estimates of theoretical sampling error can be calculated; a full methodology is available. For complete survey methodology, please contact Darcy Brito at [email protected] or 706.320.2358.

About Aflac

Aflac Incorporated (NYSE: AFL) is a Fortune 500 company helping provide protection to more than 50 million people through its subsidiaries in Japan and the U.S., where it is a leading supplemental insurer, by paying cash fast when policyholders get sick or injured. For more than six decades, insurance policies of Aflac Incorporated's subsidiaries have given policyholders the opportunity to focus on recovery, not financial stress. Aflac Life Insurance Japan is the leading provider of medical and cancer insurance in Japan, where it insures 1 in 4 households. Through its trailblazing One Day Pay^SM initiative in the United States, for eligible claims, Aflac can process, approve and electronically send funds to claimants for quick access to cash in just one business day. For 13 consecutive years, Aflac has been recognized by Ethisphere as one of the World's Most Ethical Companies. In 2018, Fortune magazine recognized Aflac as one of the 100 Best Companies to Work for in America for the 20^th consecutive year, and in 2019, Fortune included Aflac on its list of World's Most Admired Companies for the 18^th time. To find out more about One Day Pay^SM and learn how to get help with expenses health insurance doesn't cover, get to know us at Aflac.com.

Aflac herein means American Family Life Assurance Company of Columbus and American Family Life Assurance Company of New York. WWHQ | 1932 Wynnton Road | Columbus, GA  31999.

Media contact – Darcy Brito, 706.320.2358 or [email protected]

Analyst and investor contact – David A. Young, 706.596.3264, 800.235.2667 or [email protected]

Source: AFLAC