Enrollment for consumer-driven health plans (CDHPs) remains low, but is slowly rising. New findings released this month from the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) show 4 percent of the U.S. population was enrolled in a CDHP in 2009, up from 3 percent last year.
That 4 percent represents 5 million adults ages 21 to 64 with private insurance.
Enrollment in HDHPs increased from 11 percent in 2008 to 13 percent in 2009, translating to 16.2 million adults with private insurance.
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Of those 16.2 million people, 38 percent (6.2 million) reported being eligible for a health savings account (HSA) but didn't have one.
In all, 11.2 million adults ages 21 to 64 with private insurance, representing 8.9 percent of that market, were either in a CDHP or were in an HDHP that was eligible for an HSA, but had not opened the account, according to EBRI.
Findings also show those enrolled in a CDHP were more likely to watch their health spending, and financial incentives were a larger factor for CDHP enrollees than for traditional plan enrollees when it came to participating in wellness programs, choice of doctor, and the use of health information technology, as well as patient engagement using e-mail and the Web.
According to EBRI's December Issue Brief, CDHP enrollees were more likely to say that "they had checked whether the plan would cover care; asked for a generic drug instead of a brand name; talked to their doctor about prescription drug options, other treatments, and costs; asked their doctor to recommend a less costly prescription drug; developed a budget to manage health care expenses; checked prices before getting care; and used an online cost-tracking tool."
Research also indicates those enrolled in a CDHP were generally healthier and have higher income. Adults in CDHPs and HDHPs were significantly less likely to smoke than were adults in traditional plans, and were significantly more likely to exercise. People in CDHPs were also less likely to be obese compared with adults enrolled in a traditional health plan.
Adults in CDHPs were also significantly more likely than those with traditional health coverage to have a high household income. And CDHP and HDHP enrollees were more likely than traditional plan enrollees to be highly educated.
Enrollees were also more likely to engage in wellness programs and were more likely than traditional plan enrollees to report they've had the opportunity to fill out a health risk assessment and had access to a health promotion program.
Findings are from the 2009 EBRI/MGA Consumer Engagement in Health Care Survey, which provides nationally representative data regarding the growth of consumer-driven health plans (CDHPs) and high-deductible health plans (HDHPs), and the impact of these plans and consumer engagement more generally on the behavior and attitudes of adults with private health insurance coverage. Findings from this survey are compared with four earlier annual surveys.
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