The amount of out-of-pocket expense an employee must shell out before their insurance will kick in has gone up an average of 17% since last year. This means that the majority of employees will now pay over $1000 from their own funds before their high deductible health insurance (HDHP) will start to take over. This is in addition to higher premiums and often fewer coverages. Unfortunately, raising deductibles is often the only way employers can combat the rising costs of premiums and even make health insurance available to their employees. Employers are faced with offering these higher deductibles, or carving more money out of their workers’ paychecks. Which do you think is more important to employees: their salary, or the cost of their healthcare?