Yes, Healthcare’s a Mess. But Here’s What You Could Do Today

For all the brouhaha and hoopla surrounding the acrimonious debate over healthcare, employers could very easily take some of the worry out of it for their workers, today, with a simple, frictionless, and free fintech product. It’s something that would benefit the most vulnerable members of the workforce – those lower-wage workers who are paid by the hour to tend to customers, collect the money, provide the services, man the machines, and answer the phones. And your workers will love you for it

Because while your frontline workers certainly do worry about their healthcare, they worry a lot more about their finances. The vast majority of hourly workers live paycheck to paycheck, without even $500 for a financial emergency. Ask one of them about their healthcare coverage and you’ll learn that financial healthcare is way, way more important, because their family’s financial well-being is something they have to pay close attention to every day, whether they are physically healthy or not.

Lack of adequate and affordable financial healthcare means that any simple car accident, illness, or other expensive occurrence could leave someone like this knocking on the door of a pawn shop or payday lender – either that or they’ll be incurring exorbitant overdraft fees and late charges on their everyday bills. This choice is truly draconian, and it leads to severe financial stress, which is itself a major factor in increased health problems.

A 2015 study by the American Psychological Association, in fact, found that money remains the #1 cause of stress among Americans, followed by work (if employed) and family matters. More than 20% of Americans rate their stress over money issues in just the last month at an 8, 9 or 10 on a 10-point scale. More than a third of lower-income households say they are chronically stressed about money, worrying about it constantly. And a USA Today survey reported that the 52% of Americans with high financial stress have three times the digestive tract problems (including ulcers), double the rate of heart attacks, and 44% more migraines, among other problems.

However you analyze it, relieving even a small part of the financial stress that comes from living paycheck to paycheck would greatly improve many lives.

But guess what?

VIRTUALLY EVERY BETWEEN-PAYCHECK FINANCING OPTION IS A RIP-OFF!

Until now, that is.

See how easy it is for an employer to put payday lenders out of business by installing PayActiv, an app-based employee benefit that costs a business nothing but provides hourly workers with tremendous value. Which is why HR Executive Magazine named PayActiv HR Product of the Year, calling it “one of the simplest, most straightforward solutions we have seen addressing the precarious, paycheck-to-paycheck state of millions of middle- and low-income American workers.”

Healthcare? Yeah, we all hope whatever the government ends up doing will make sense. But financial well-being is something you can help improve right now. No debate necessary.