50% of Americans can’t cover a $500 medical bill—here’s an option

Healthcare is no longer a medical problem; for most Americans, it has become a financial issue. Cost barriers cause nearly 4 in 10 to delay care, degrade productivity, and create hidden costs for employers.

With healthcare costs continuing to rise at their highest levels in decades, here are the insights we want all brokers, consultants, and benefits leaders to see:

• Financial stress = health risk. Recent KFF data shows 50% of Americans could not cover an unexpected medical bill of over $500 in full. Average out-of-pocket costs for individuals hover around $1,100 annually and increase with family size.

• Delays compound costs. When employees avoid or delay care, their conditions worsen, leading to more expensive interventions later. Those costs are borne by employers in the form of healthcare cost inflation and lost workplace effectiveness.

• TempoPay’s solution: capped, interest-free financing. Employees access a set limit of funds (via a Visa®-based solution) to cover care when it's needed and repay over time. No interest charges, no fees, and no credit checks. Employers don't hold liability for employee balances.

• Broad benefit, easy execution. TempoPay can be added outside open enrollment, integrates with existing payroll/benefits systems, and offers real-time reporting to track adoption and utilization.

• Meaningful, practical value. With average transaction sizes of $131, 4-6 transactions per year, and registration rates of 35–40% within six months, the demand for this type of financial benefit mirrors consumer demand for interest-free healthcare financing options.

For employers seeking new ways to ease cost pressures on employees and strengthen their benefits program, TempoPay is a simple addition to your strategy.

Learn more in the recap from a recent webinar with Shortlister, or contact our team to get started today.