According to recent research from the Employee Benefits Research Institute, consumer-driven health plans have been successful in helping people pay closer attention to how much they pay for health care and their behaviors related to seeking care. In the 2015 Consumer Engagement in Health Care Survey conducted with the help of Greenwald and Associates, adults who participated in high-deductible health plans (HDHP) and consumer-driven health plans (CDHP) were more likely than people who had traditional plans to have better cost-conscious behaviors when it came to their personal health care.
This survey also showed that people who participated in a CDHP were more likely than people who had traditional health plans to have their choice of health plan. In addition to this, CDHP participants were more likely to use wellness programs, health promotion programs, risk assessments and various types of screenings available to them. Experts pointed out that they had hoped for many years to fuel more interest among health plan participants to be more engaged in their plans. They hoped to do this through the use of wellness plans and better cost sharing programs.
People who had consumer-driven health plans were more likely than those with traditional plans to check whether procedures were covered in a plan ahead of time. They were more likely to ask for generic drugs instead of using a branded drug, and they were more likely to discuss prescription costs and options with their doctors. These participants also asked for less expensive drug recommendations, talked with their doctors about alternative treatments, used online tracking tools offered by their plan providers and developed a budget to stay on track with their health care costs.
According to the research results, those who participated in a CDHP were also more likely to talk to their family, friends or coworkers about the plans they considered. They were more likely to participate in meetings and seminars about plans, and they consulted with HR representatives in the workplace about available benefits. HDHP participants were more likely than people with traditional plans to look up information about health plans online, talk to coworkers or friends about plans and look for additional ways to educate themselves about specific plans.
Consumer-driven plans combine higher deductibles with tax savings or spending accounts. These spending accounts give plan participants money to spend on health care costs when they need it. When health reimbursement accounts became popular in 2001, CDHPs first appeared in workplace benefits packages. When employers started offering HSAs and health plans in 2004, CDHPs gained more popularity. However, they were still only used by a small percentage of the American population at that time.
Recent research showed that about 25 percent of the population was enrolled in a CDHP or HDHP, and 75 percent of the population had regular coverage.
Alan Wang is the President of UBF and serves as the lead consultant. He has delivered the UBF solution set throughout the world and is highly regarded for his areas of expertise. You can follow him on Twitter @UBFconsulting.