As inflation, workforce instability, and rising medical costs strain American households, healthcare executive John Theodore Zabasky is raising awareness about a growing crisis often overlooked in national conversations: millions of working Americans remain effectively locked out of usable healthcare despite being employed. Zabasky, CEO of WorXsiteHR Insurance Solutions, Inc., points to the rapid expansion of part-time, seasonal, and gig-based labor as a key driver of the problem.
"The workforce has changed faster than our healthcare systems," Zabasky explains. "Traditional benefits were built for full-time, long-term employment. That's no longer the reality for a huge portion of workers." According to recent labor data, nearly 40% of U.S. workers now fall outside traditional full-time employment, and studies show that over 30 million Americans delay or avoid medical care each year due to cost. Even among insured individuals, high deductibles and confusing plan structures often prevent people from seeking care.
"Coverage doesn't automatically mean access," says Zabasky. "If people are afraid to use their insurance, the system has already failed." Founded in 2013, WorXsiteHR Insurance Solutions serves as the exclusive Third-Party Administrator for the HealthWorX Plan, a no-cost medical plan subsidized by a nonprofit to support lower-income, part-time, and seasonal workers. Through affiliated nonprofit efforts, Zabasky's organization helps facilitate over $100 million annually in healthcare services and premiums for families in need.
But Zabasky emphasizes that the issue extends beyond any single company. "This isn't about one plan or one provider," he says. "It's about recognizing that healthcare needs to be simple, usable, and designed around how people actually live and work today." With academic training spanning history, business, information systems, and health sciences, Zabasky approaches healthcare as a systems problem. "History shows us that systems fail when they stop serving the people they were built for," he notes. "If we don't adapt, we repeat the same mistakes—just at a larger scale."
He also warns against overcomplication, a common trend in modern healthcare. "Complexity benefits administrators, not patients. Simplicity is what restores trust." Rather than waiting for policy reform alone, Zabasky encourages practical, individual-level action: employers can explore alternative healthcare models for nontraditional workers; workers should ask direct questions about actual costs, not just coverage; communities can support nonprofits expanding healthcare access; and leaders can prioritize systems that emphasize usability over optics.
"You don't need to rebuild the entire system to make a difference," John Theodore Zabasky says. "You just need to stop accepting that 'this is how it's always been.'" As economic uncertainty continues into 2025, Zabasky's message is clear: healthcare access is no longer just a benefits issue—it's a workforce, stability, and dignity issue. "When working people can take care of their health," he adds, "everything else becomes more stable—families, businesses, and communities."
