Why Benefits Administration Integration Is One Key to Helping Boost Your Employee Experience with Consumer-Driven Health Plans

Consumer-driven health plan (CDHP) solutions are gaining ground. More employers are now offering both traditional and high-deductible health plan (HDHP) options, up from 82 percent in 2023 to 84 percent in 2025 plan year enrollment, while those offering only one type are declining, from 19 to 16 percent in that same timeframe.¹  

As a result, as HDHP availability increases, the data indicates a slight shift among employees away from traditional plans.

Growing popularity makes sense, too. Employers are starting to recognize the potential benefits of such CDHP products as Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) in their efforts to help reduce long-term healthcare cost trends  

Tax-advantaged accounts such as HSAs, sit at the center of CDHPs, providing a way for employers to help employees with eligible health care expenses. HSAs are triple tax advantaged accounts – pre-tax money goes in via payroll deduction, money grows tax free and money is not taxed when it’s used for eligible medical expenses. Because consumers must be enrolled in an eligible HDHP to be eligible to contribute to an HSA, together they are felt to be a meaningful way to help foster a healthy and cost-conscious workforce.

Popularity does not come without its challenges.  

What's behind the CDHP disconnect for employees

According to a recent report from Bank of America, employees’ understanding of HSAs has decreased 12 percent over the last five years with only half saying they have a strong grasp of their role. What’s more, employees often struggle to accurately identify the features of an HSA. A  Voya research study² shows only three percent of adults were able to identify all the attributes of an HSA and

• Less than half (47 percent) understood an HSA can provide tax advantages.
• Less than a third (29 percent) knew an HSA could be used as an investment vehicle.
• 12 percent didn’t understand any of the benefits of an HSA.

More eligible employees may be choosing CDHPs, but that doesn’t always mean they understand the power of participating in them.

What’s behind the CDHP disconnect for employers

Benefits managers not only have to consider the administrative side of managing another vendor if they are offering CDHPs such as an HSA, but also the employee side when helping them to better understand and access their account(s), likely from multiple locations. This complexity may have the potential to erode employee engagement.  

Managing multiple vendors is burdensome work, especially across complex organizations or those growing with mergers and acquisitions. All this disconnection shines a light on the opportunity benefits teams have before them. It just requires taking the next step towards streamlining any CDHP communications and management.  

Changing the game for everyone with technology solutions

HR leaders have had a firsthand seat as tools and technology have come on board to help transform the benefits administration experience and reshape the enrollment process.  

Now, they can be more discerning when it comes to the quality and standards they hold their vendor partners to. Creating more disconnections is unacceptable. And while providing HR leaders with a function for administration and employees access to enrollment is essential, it’s critical that the benefits and CDHP experiences are also interwoven and engaging.  

Here’s how to determine whether your benefits and CDHP platform partner meet those criteria:  

• Engagement. HR managers need a solution that not only solves their administrative burdens but also addresses one of their biggest challenges, especially when it comes to CDHPs – employee engagement. Benefitfocus brings everything together in one platform, helping to bridge the gap, so employees have access to what they need, the moment they need it. Employees can view their health savings account balances in real-time on the homepage of the Employee Hub, Benefitplace^TM.
• Interoperability. Solving barriers to access is paramount to engagement. That's why Benefitfocus, a Voya Financial company, has built in single sign-on capabilities to Voya's Consumer site, making it a seamless experience for employees who also have the Voya HSA or other Voya-offered health spending account.
• Education. Point-in-time education should happen during enrollment, of course. But an employee reviewing their HSA during enrollment likely needs more. They need ongoing points of engagement around their HSA and its use. Benefitfocus’ communication capabilities combined with Voya education material helps employees understand the advantages of their health spending and savings accounts throughout the year.  

Why our clients use our CDHP solutions

Creating a simple, connected experience doesn’t have to be difficult. While these products and services are also available separately, choosing Benefitfocus, means not only do you have one less vendor to manage when you are also offering Voya’s CDHP solutions – you get the ease of our teams working together.  

Benefitfocus offers comprehensive benefits administration and employee engagement solutions, and Voya offers and administers health account solutions like HSAs, Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs), and Health Reimbursement Arrangements (HRAs). We focus on creating a connected experience with a streamlined implementation and a path for customer support. Our goal is to go beyond simply being a benefits administration platform to reshaping the way employees engage with their benefits, including CDHP solutions.  

Ready to simplify Consumer Health and Savings Accounts? Learn more here.  

¹Based on enrollment transactions aggregated across 316 large employers (1,000+ full time employees) within the Benefitfocus customer base, representing more than 1.8 million employees in total. The data was evaluated on an anonymous basis. Enrollment records include both active and passive enrollments made by a variety of industry roles (employee, carrier representative, broker, benefits administrator, etc.) from the fall of 2022 through fall of 2024 for plan year effective dates of January 1. These measurements are not meant to be a nationally representative sample, but to represent the aggregate activity for large employers on the Benefitfocus platform.

²Voya Financial Consumer Insights & Research survey conducted September 27th - October 7th, 2024 among 345 adults aged 18+ Americans, working either Full-time or Part-time, who have primary or shared household responsibility for making financial and health/medical plan decisions, are benefit eligible for employer-sponsored retirement and health plans and currently enrolled.

Benefitfocus is a Voya Financial company.    

The information provided does not, and is not intended to, constitute legal advice; instead, all information and content herein is provided for general informational purposes only and may not constitute the most up-to-date legal or other information. Benefitfocus does not act in a fiduciary capacity in providing products or services; any such fiduciary capacity is explicitly disclaimed.

Health Account Solutions, including Health Savings Accounts, Flexible Spending Accounts, Commuter Benefits, Health Reimbursement Arrangements, and COBRA Administration offered by Voya Benefits Company, LLC (in New York, doing business as Voya BC, LLC). Custodial services provided by Voya Institutional Trust Company.  

This highlights some of the benefits of these accounts. If there is a discrepancy between this material and the plan documents, the plan documents will govern. Subject to any applicable agreements, Voya and its subcontractors reserve the right to amend or modify the services at any time.  

The amount saved in taxes will vary depending on the amount set aside in the account, annual earnings, whether or not Social Security taxes are paid, the number of exemptions and deductions claimed, tax bracket and state and local tax regulations. Check with a tax advisor for information on whether your participation will affect tax savings. None of the information provided should be considered tax or legal advice.  

Not FDIC/NCUA/NCUSIF Insured I Not a Deposit of a Bank/Credit Union I May Lose Value I Not Bank/Credit Union Guaranteed I Not Insured by Any Federal Government Agency

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