This article was originally published on May 2, 2023, and was updated in March 2026 to reflect updated facts and statistics.
Employers continue to invest heavily in employee wellbeing programs to improve health outcomes and reduce healthcare costs. Yet many still struggle to see meaningful results. Why? Because they underestimate the powerful role financial stress plays across every dimension of health — physical, mental, emotional, and social wellbeing.
As a result, many well-intentioned employers focus on downstream health issues like weight management, smoking cessation, and Employee Assistance Programs, while leaving the root cause unaddressed.
The World Health Organization (WHO) defines social determinants of health (SDOH) as non-medical factors such as income, education, food insecurity, and work-life conditions. According to the WHO, SDOH accounts for 30-55% of health outcomes. As the place where people spend most of their time and often where they experience the most stress, the workplace is a primary SDOH.
Employers have an immense opportunity to positively influence all aspects of employee health, as well as their access to healthcare, economic stability, and other SDOH factors, when they offer benefits that help remove the financial challenges employees face.
Here are four ways employers can reduce healthcare costs and accelerate equity by tackling SDOH and improving employee financial health.
1. Address the root causes of mental health issues
Anxiety and depression remain among the most common mental health challenges in the workplace.
A recent Integrated Benefits Institute analysis revealed that employees experiencing anxiety or depression also have higher rates of other chronic health conditions, compounding both personal health risks and employer healthcare costs. In fact, the average annual cost per employee related to mental health challenges is approximately $1,488, driven by lost work time, turnover, and increased healthcare costs. Across large frontline workforces, those costs add up quickly.
The generational impact is particularly alarming. Deloitte’s 2024 Gen Z and Millennial Survey revealed that nearly half of the respondents cited concerns about their long-term financial future as a significant contributor to their stress and anxiety.
Even as employers expand mental health benefit offerings, financial stress continues to undermine employee mental wellbeing. According to Bank of America’s 2024 Workplace Benefits Report, 70% of employees say financial stress negatively impacts their mental health.
When employees’ mental health is compromised by concerns about everyday money problems, managing debt, or surprise expenses, traditional mental health benefits can’t provide relief.
To meaningfully improve mental health outcomes, employers must provide employees with confidential, human-led, personalized financial support that addresses and relieves their financial stress.
It’s not just a wellbeing initiative. It’s a preventative health strategy.
2. Improve health inequalities
Financial health is one of the strongest predictors of whether individuals seek medical care. According to KFF’s 2025 Health Tracking Poll, 44% of U.S. adults say it is difficult to afford their healthcare costs.
The burden is even heavier for financially vulnerable populations: 82% of uninsured adults under age 65 say affording care is difficult, as do 55% of Hispanic adults and 49% of Black adults.
Affordability challenges translate into delayed or skipped care.
- More than one-third of insured adults (37%) report skipping or postponing needed health care in the past 12 months due to cost.
- Among uninsured adults, that figure rises to 75%.
- 18% of adults say their health worsened because they delayed or skipped care due to cost.
Cost barriers also impact whether employees take medications as prescribed, particularly among women and lower-income adults.
- One in five adults (21%) did not fill a prescription due to cost.
- One-third (33%) took at least one cost-saving measure (skipping doses, cutting pills, or taking less expensive over-the-counter alternatives).
Health care debt further compounds inequities. Four in ten adults (41%) report currently carrying medical or dental debt, with disproportionate shares among Black and Hispanic adults, women, parents, and those with lower incomes.
Overall, two-thirds of adults (66%) ranked healthcare costs as their top financial concern, even above food, housing, and utilities.
For employers, these statistics translate into higher claims costs, increased absenteeism, turnover, and widening equity gaps across the workforce.
Improving health equity requires moving beyond traditional financial wellness programs. Employees need comprehensive financial support that addresses immediate financial barriers so they can afford care today while building long-term resilience.
3. Support care follow-through
Even when employees access medical care, financial strain can prevent them from following through on treatment recommendations. The cost of travel for surgery, follow-up appointments, or time away from work can create barriers that undermine recovery. When employees are not financially healthy, a medical event often triggers secondary financial stress, compounding the very health issues treatment is meant to address.
This is why financial stability is a primary social determinant of health. Without it, access to care does not guarantee improved outcomes.
Employers can help close this gap by offering support that addresses the full scope of employees’ financial realities — from offering safe, affordable loans to help employees fund travel needed for surgery, to finding free resources that ensure employees’ basic needs are covered during a temporary pay reduction, to helping employees navigate and understand leave benefits and possible hardship fund support their employer offers.
When employees have practical solutions to manage the financial impact of medical care, they are more likely to adhere to treatment without falling into deeper financial illness.
Supporting financial follow-through is not just compassionate; it’s cost containment. Health outcomes improve when financial barriers are removed.
4. Stop health-related expenses from becoming a cycle of illness
Even when employees receive care, the financial consequences can linger long after treatment ends. Medical bills remain one of the most common sources of personal debt in the United States. According to KFF, 41% of adults currently carry medical or dental debt, including bills owed to providers, credit cards, or collections agencies.
For many households, even a relatively small unexpected expense can cause disruption. About half of adults say they would be unable to pay a $500 unexpected medical bill without going into debt.
Unlike skipped appointments or delayed prescriptions, medical debt creates ongoing financial pressure. It can damage credit scores, increase borrowing costs, and limit future healthcare access. Over time, that strain contributes to chronic stress, which research links to elevated risks of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and other long-term health conditions.
When medical expenses trigger sustained financial instability, employees are trapped in poor financial health. They need financial support to prevent one illness or health event from becoming a lasting financial barrier.
Brightside Financial Care is the answer
Many employers don’t realize that most financial wellness programs don’t address the financial needs that 70% of their employees who live paycheck to paycheck face.
That’s why we created Brightside Financial Care.
It is the only model that meets employees in the moments that matter with personalized human-led support, real solutions, and relevant financial tools that support their immediate needs and continued next steps to improved financial health.
Financial Care puts the holistic wellbeing of employees at the forefront and addresses the SDOHs, healthcare inequities and systemic issues that impact an employee’s financial situation and, ultimately, their health.
Learn more about how Brightside Financial Care helps employers improve health equity, reduce healthcare costs, and support employee financial wellbeing.
This article was originally published on May 2, 2023, and was updated in March 2026 to reflect updated facts and statistics.