Show me the money, not the bennies.

OK… that’s not what everyone is saying, but more people areexpressing that sentiment than in the past.

A new survey suggests that workers are increasinglyprioritizing wages over healthcare benefits.

The poll of 1,500 employees by Employee Benefit ResearchInstitute and Greenwald & Associates found that a fifth saidthey would happily reduce their benefits package in exchange forhigher pay.

That might not seem like a big percentage, but it’s twice thenumber who said the same thing in response to a similar survey in2012.

“I do these surveys all the time, and it’s rare where you seethings change that quickly,” Paul Fronstin, director of the healthresearch and education program at the Employee Benefit ResearchInstitute, told Kaiser Health News.

In contrast, 14 percent of workers said they would forfeit somemoney in exchange for better benefits.

Fronstin explained that younger workers care less about healthbenefits than their elders. However, another recent survey showedthat young people are nearly as likely as older workers to say thathealth benefits are an important factor in deciding whether to takea job.

Consistent with other surveys, the EBRI poll showed that mostworkers are generally happy with their health care coverage. Twelvepercent said they were “extremely” satisfied, while 38 percent saidthey were very happy. Forty-one percent said they were “somewhat”satisfied, leaving only 9 percent who were apparentlyunsatisfied.

Although many employees appreciate being able to customize theirinsurance plan, only 17 percent say they would prefer for theiremployer to simply give them the money to buy their ownplan.