How Relevant Is Healthcare?

Author: Jonathan Crawford, LD&B Employee Benefits Consultant

Healthcare touches nearly every part of American life. Whether it impacts quality of life, finances, the workplace, or overall well-being, healthcare is much more than just doctor visits or prescriptions. It is one of the largest financial decisions most families will make each year. Understanding its impact is more important than ever, because healthcare costs and decision-making are no longer just a medical concern. They’re a defining factor in economic stability and quality of life. Good decisions change lives and even save lives.

The average American earns about $60,000 a year, while annual family health insurance premiums now exceed $24,000. To put that in perspective, the average car payment in the U.S. is about $6,000 a year, and the average mortgage is around $17,000. That means healthcare premiums alone can cost more than a mortgage and a car payment combined, and that’s before deductibles, co-pays, or surprise bills. Over the past two decades, premiums have increased by more than 200%, while wages have grown only around 50%. Premiums as a proportion of wages have increased from 15.2% in 2000 to 39% in 2023. The math simply doesn’t add up, and the gap between earnings and healthcare costs keeps widening.

Part of the challenge is healthcare literacy. Many people don’t fully understand their benefits, let alone the intricacies of the healthcare system, and either aren’t equipped with tools to help them navigate it or don’t value the tools prescribed. Consumerism in healthcare has historically been considered a pipe dream. Understanding how costs are determined, why prices vary so dramatically from one provider to another, complicated insurance networks, surprise billing, and endless paperwork is a daunting task. Not only does confusion reign, but it is easy to acknowledge that surrendering to the healthcare juggernaut as “just the way it is” is unsustainable and un-American. The lack of clarity and accountability not only makes decision-making harder, but it also leaves many Americans feeling powerless in a system that seems designed to benefit shareholders over patients.

The bigger picture reveals a troubling cycle of rising premiums, reduced access to transparent information, and mounting pressure on both patients and clinicians. But there is also an opportunity. Employers sit in a uniquely strong position to rewrite the rules by taking control of their healthcare strategy. By wielding this power, employers have more influence in their community than they realize. By learning more about how healthcare works, from costs to trade-offs to alternatives, organizations and individuals can make smarter decisions that save money, reduce stress, and improve outcomes. Healthcare is not only relevant, but one of the most critical issues shaping our financial and personal future.