There's irony lurking in the shadows of the health savings account (HSA) world. Employers are increasingly offering high deductible health plans (HDHPs) coupled with HSAs as part of employee benefits packages. Enrollment data from AHIP shows that enrollment in HDHPs has grown from 1 million in 2005 to more than 23 million in 2017. And the 2018 Midyear Devenir HSA Research Report shows 23.4 million open HSAs, an 11 percent year-over-year growth.

Related: 9 takeaways on HSA growth

Yet, while employers and the insurance industry widely recognize HSAs as effective financial management tools for employees, a recent study commissioned by Further reveals that only 1in 3 employees actively use them.

The gap between employer HSA offerings and employee engagement may seem as unbridgeable as the Grand Canyon, especially when you, the broker, are increasingly responsible for educating diverse workforces across multiple industries about the benefit and convincing employees to use it.

Fortunately, there's a key to narrowing the chasm, and it lies in addressing employee health literacy. As employee benefits professionals, we live in a world full of jargon and acronyms that, to the average health care consumer, might as well be Klingon. Further's research bears this out. Study participants cited “employee level of personal health care knowledge/education” as the biggest challenge when offering health spending/savings accounts, with 31 percent of respondents rating the scenario as “very challenging.” It's no wonder that employee participation in HSAs lags behind enrollment numbers. Before anyone can actively involve themselves, they need to understand not only what's in it for them, but the very terms that define the benefits.

Take a plain language approach

The best place to begin addressing health literacy is by training yourself first. Be mindful about speaking in everyday language that your clients' employees will understand, and then coach your clients to speak the same way. Words and phrases like “deductible,” “copay,” “coinsurance,” “premium,” “in network versus out of network,” etc., oftentimes don't make sense to people outside of the insurance industry or HR. The more you use plain language, the more understandable, the more digestible and the more relatable the information is going to be to workers. One Further study participant said it best: “Employers must know [their] audience. Speak to them in language and grammar and stories that facilitate understanding of what's meaningful to them regarding their health spending/savings programs.”

Capture mindshare when it's available

Most adults are open to learning something new on specific occasions:

• When they're intrinsically motivated by a personal interest or passion
• When they're extrinsically motivated by an immediate reward, whether it's tangible or intangible
• When they feel compelled to fulfill an obligation

When it comes to health literacy, you can bet that most workers fall into the last category of learners. Therefore, you need to capture their mindshare when it makes sense to do so, and the most obvious time is before and during open enrollment. However, a one-and-done approach won't be enough to get the information to stick. Just like learning a foreign language, if a student doesn't use it, they'll lose it. Therefore, take advantage of other opportunities to share information when employees may be open to learning, such as during times of lighter workloads, like summer.

Likewise, be sure to make educational materials easily accessible whenever employees need them, such as during life events that could change eligibility status — moving to a different state, marriage, divorce, birth or adoption of a child, etc.

Leverage the ancient art of storytelling

When introducing HSAs for the first time, it's easy to focus on the numbers and the calculators that help individuals figure out how much to save, how to spend, and the amount they'll save in taxes over the short and long term. While numbers can be compelling from an intellectual standpoint, it can be difficult for employees to relate to them if they've never used a health savings plan before or don't have any idea how much they've spent on health care in the past. That's where the power of storytelling can help.

The use of storytelling to improve literacy is well documented in the world of formal education. Storytelling's influence, however, doesn't stop when the diplomas are distributed. Rather, stories help us learn throughout our entire lives.

When you use storytelling to guide employees in planning their health care savings and spending, they can see themselves and their family situation in those stories, which is more impactful than trying to coach through calculator-based models. For instance, illustrate for them the best-case scenario for their particular plan. Ask them to visualize that everyone they're supporting on their plan stays healthy for the year and are only going to the doctor for routine, preventative care. Then, show them what the plan would look like under that scenario. Do the same thing for a worst-case scenario.

Lean on your partners

Don't be afraid to rely on your health spending and savings account administrator partner for information. They will not only keep you up-to-date on the latest legislative rules and regulations of HSAs, but can also provide resources that help you, your clients and their employees better understand these health finance accounts. Your spending account administrator works in this space daily and has a plethora of tools, resources and professionals who specialize in the world of HSAs.

When they just won't get it

Finally, realize that some of your clients' employees will simply refuse to comprehend and engage with an HSA, no matter what educational steps everyone tries. However, it's important to not give up. Instead, try to find out why. Is it fear? Is it frustration or anger about a transition in their benefits that was put forth to them, but they don't understand the reason behind the change? Helping employees understand the “why” behind a change in health benefits is critical before they'll be open to learning about the product and how to use it. More importantly, when explaining the reason, be sure to include a story that's going to make sense for the employee, not just the employer.

Health care saving and spending is complex, which makes the topic less-than-appealing for most people. However, we know how vital it is for individuals to learn the language and understand how their health benefits can help them live their best lives. By mindfully using plain language, opportune times to capture attention and storytelling, you can go a long way to helping your clients and their employees achieve health literacy.

Emily McAuliffe is Chief Experience and Marketing Officer with Further, a national leader in health spending and savings account administration dedicated to guiding account holders across the U.S. in saving and spending wisely on their health care. Further serves large corporations, small businesses, labor unions, retirees, and groups in the public sector by providing health savings accounts (HSAs), flexible spending accounts (FSAs), health reimbursement arrangements (HRAs), voluntary employee beneficiary association (VEBA) accounts and commuter benefit services. Visit hellofurther.com for more information.