Americans enrolled in a relatively new type of health coverage designed to make them more cost-conscious are less satisfied with their health plan than those with comprehensive health insurance and are less likely to recommend the new plans to a friend or colleague, according to a new survey released by the nonpartisan Employee Benefit Research Institute and The Commonwealth Fund.
High-deductible health plans of $1,000 or more for individuals and $2,000 or more for families can be combined with tax-preferred savings accounts, such as Health Savings Accounts or health reimbursement arrangements. Employers can contribute money to HRAs and both employers and individuals can contribute to HSAs, which can then be used to pay for health care expenses not covered by the health plans. These consumer-directed health plans frequently have been called the latest big idea in health insurance in the United States. By giving more responsibility for costs to the consumer and theoretically providing cost and quality information about providers, the plans are designed to encourage participants to make informed, cost-conscious decisions about their health care.
The survey also found that those covered by these new plans, both with and without savings accounts, are more likely than those with comprehensive insurance to avoid or delay needed care. When they do get care, those in consumer-directed plans encounter larger financial burdens, compared with those with comprehensive insurance.
But individuals in the new plans do exhibit more cost-conscious behavior in their health care decisions – as the new plans intended – compared with those having comprehensive insurance, the survey found.
A full report on the study can be found at www.ebri.org and www.cmwf.org.
