Because people focus on short-term rather than long-term expenses, consumers who do participate in an HSA cap their contributions lower than they should. (Photo: Getty)

Anxiety takes on many forms and is a result of many potential reasons. But the escalating cost of health care is one of the most impactful elements affecting stress.

The WEX Health's “Paying for Healthcare in America: Challenges, Missed Opportunities & What We Can Do” research report states that more than a quarter of Americans have had greater anxiety about health care expenses over the past year. Not surprisingly, out-of-pocket expenses hit low-to-moderate income households the hardest and caused them the most anxiety.

Related: Employer-based health care hits poorer Americans' paychecks hardest

The report says there are solutions to such issues. Consumer-directed health plans (CDHPs), comprised of a HDHP and a medical savings account can help give consumers “skin in the game,” says the report. WEX Health says that during focus groups, it found that financial discipline and feelings of financial security are key markers of CDHP users, while non-users only aspire to these feelings.

The report also found that:

• 20 percent of Americans feel financially secure
• 25 percent would last less than four weeks if forced to live only off the money they have readily available
• 27 percent of workers report that their anxiety over healthcare expenses has grown worse since last year; and
• 24 percent of workers say forgoing healthcare services has impacted their productivity or engagement at work

Because people focus on short-term rather than long-term expenses, the report finds that consumers who do participate in an HSA cap their contributions lower than they should.

Education and “delivering relatable messages that focus more on people's hearts than on their heads and breaking the jargon-filled, one-and-done open enrollment packets into small bites addressing specific needs” is a key takeaway the report concludes at how best to educate and re-inform consumers of the importance of saving for important life events.

Read more: 

• HDHP enrollees are better-informed, but they're still skipping care
• Consumers expect big increases in college and health care costs
• Why it's time to rebrand the high-deductible health plan