The Affordability Crisis in Employer-Sponsored Health Plans

Our new white paper unpacks the affordability crisis and explores what a better path forward looks like.

For decades, employer-sponsored health insurance was a promise of protection. But today, having coverage is no longer enough to make care truly affordable. The system’s failure is forcing a national affordability crisis—and it’s taking a heavy toll on employees and businesses alike.

This isn’t just a statistic; it’s a ripple effect felt across health, finances, and work. For a family earning the national median, premiums and deductibles now consume over 10% of their income—more than their annual grocery budget. It’s a major reason why 40% of insured employees skipped or postponed care last year because of the cost. The human consequence: 38% said their health got worse while they waited.

When care becomes unaffordable—even with coverage—it creates a ripple effect that impacts not just health, but workforce stability and business outcomes:

• Delayed diagnoses and worsening health conditions
• Unmanaged chronic illness, leading to lower productivity
• Increased absenteeism and missed workdays

For years, traditional plan designs have relied on blunt, cost-shifting tactics that have reached their breaking point. But a new era of alternative health plans is emerging. These smarter, more supportive plan designs are built to align cost with value, empower employees to make better decisions, and solve for affordability once and for all.

Read the full white paper to explore:

1. Why traditional plan designs are failing
2. The human and business cost of delayed care
3. Disparities in healthcare affordability
4. Four emerging plan design strategies employers are now adopting
5. The Firefly approach to affordability