The COVID-19 pandemic has created a national health crisis, and wrought havoc in almost all aspects of our lives. But in addition to exposing the shortcomings of our nation's health care infrastructure, it has also highlighted existing gaps in our health care financing system that have needed to be addressed for quite some time.

According to a recent study from The Commonwealth Fund, 43.4% of Americans have been inadequately insured in the first half of 2020.  As troubling as this statistic is in itself, what is even more surprising, and particularly concerning, is that approximately one quarter of all individuals insured through employer plans are still considered underinsured – meaning their plan cost sharing responsibility is so high relative to their income that they often can't afford to use their "benefits."

Deductibles and premiums associated with employer plans have been on a rapid rise for years. While most Americans recognize that being uninsured is a bad idea, many are now starting to question whether the health insurance benefits offered by their employers are worth the cost, since in many cases they simply can't afford the deductible. Essentially, we've arrived at a point where employers are spending millions of dollars on a product that many of their employees can't really use!