thats a fair point. no idea if its possible perhaps they could classify it as a lump sum tax exempt benefit rather than a categorical reimbursement based one that mostly goes unused.

still even with a 40% tax hit - i'd take a "cash benefit" over the piles of benefits i know i'm not using.

That wouldn't work for US employees. Any benefits other than very specific allowed categories are taxable income. The wellness benefit, CSA share, etc are already taxable.