Headlines about "Health plans - consumer-driven"

Gathered from the web by the editors at BenefitsLink.com.
Employer Health Benefits 2008 Annual Survey
Excerpt: "This annual survey of employers provides a detailed look at trends in employer-sponsored health coverage, including changes in premiums, employee contributions, cost-sharing provisions, and other relevant information. The survey continued to document the prevalence of high-deductible health plans associated with a savings option and included new questions on the wellness programs and retiree health benefits offered by employers." (Kaiser Family Foundation)

The True Cost of High-Deductible Health Plans for Communities of Color (PDF)
12 pages. Excerpt: "This issue brief discusses three serious concerns that make high-deductible health plans less helpful -- or even potentially harmful -- for racial and ethnic minorities: 1. Out-of-pocket costs in high-deductible plans are simply unaffordable for many racial and ethnic minorities. 2. The heavy costs of high-deductible plans will force many minorities to delay or avoid necessary care. 3. The barriers created by high-deductible plans will aggravate the health disparities that already plague many minority communities." (Families USA)

HSAs, FSAs, HRAs: Which Consumer Driven Health Care Option Should You Choose? (PDF)
2 pages. Updated for 2008 and 2009 Excerpt: "Unfortunately, many consumers and employers are confused about the differences between the various consumer-driven plans and which option would be best for them. The Council for Affordable Health Insurance (CAHI) has prepared this analysis [in chart form] in an effort to help people make informed choices." (The Councial for Affordable Health Insurance)

Health Savings Accounts and High-Deductible Health Plans: A Data Primer (PDF)
6 pages. Excerpt: "Before analysts can evaluate the effects of HSAs, they must decide which data source(s) to use. This primer provides basic guidance in that direction. The primer also provides the most recent data available from each source on enrollment, premiums and deductibes for HSAs, HSAs and HRAs combined, and HDHPs." (U.S. Congressional Research Service)

[Guidance Overview] Upon Establishing a Health Savings Account, Must Custodian/Trustee Ask for Proof the Individual Is Covered by a High-Deductible Health Plan?
Excerpt: "No. IRS Notice 2004-2, Q&A-10 indicates that an HSA custodian/trustee may require proof or certification that the individual is indeed covered by a high-deductible health plan but there is no requirement to do so." (Wolters Kluwer)

Number of Retail Clinics Rises With High-Deductible Health Plans
Excerpt: "Once the consumer-driven health plan market started to ignite, so did the retail clinic industry. Today, there are nearly 1,000 such sites operating in the U.S., compared with about 100 in 2006." (Workforce Management; free registration required)

California Companies and Brokers Tussle Over HRAs in Consumer Plans
Excerpt: "A dispute between health insurance companies in California and brokers could end a practice favored by small employers to save money on health coverage. The feud centers on employers' funding of health reimbursement arrangements with high-deductible health plans. Normally, high-deductible plans are used with health savings accounts, which are owned by employees and often partially funded by the employer to help defray an employee's health care costs." (Workforce Management; free registration required)

Battle Brewing Over High-Deductible Plans
Excerpt: "A contractual battle pitting major health insurers in California against brokers and employers casts a bright light on whether recent attempts to assist employees with high-deductible health plans in the face of rising medical costs defeats the purpose of helping them spend out-of-pocket dollars more wisely – a philosophical hallmark of the worksite market." (Employee Benefit News and SourceMedia, Inc.)

Answering Your Questions about Health Savings Accounts, Updated for 2008 and 2009 (PDF)
The questions and answers show how HSAs work and what they can mean for you. (Councial for Affordable Health Insurance)

Consumer-Driven Health Insurance Marketplace Continues to Grow
Excerpt: "According to Mercer, the percentage of all employers offering a consumer-driven health plan (CDHP) grew by one percentage point, from 6% to 7%, in 2007. Mercer also found that enrollment in CDHPs jumped from 3% to 5% of all covered employees, reflecting growing enrollment in existing plans, as well as the establishment of new plans." (Wolters Kluwer)

[Guidance Overview] IRS Guidance on Transfers from IRAs to HSAs
Excerpt: "Employees may now make a one-time, tax-free transfer from their individual retirement account (IRA) to their health savings account (HSA). . . . There is an exception to the one-time limit: Individuals who change from self-only, high-deductible health plan (HDHP) coverage to family HDHP coverage may make a second transfer within the same year." (Watson Wyatt Worldwide)

Lessons from the Evolution of 401(k) Retirement Plans for Increased Consumerism in Health Care: An Application of Behavioral Research (PDF)
28 pages. Excerpt: "Retirement and health benefits following a similar evolution: The private sector's shift away from 'traditional' company-financed pension plans toward individual 401(k) accounts illustrates how benefit decision-making and responsibility have shifted from the employer to the worker. The current trend in health care design toward 'consumer-driven' health plans illustrates the same trend with health benefits." (Employee Benefit Research Institute)

[Opinion] Written Statement on Impact of High Deductible Health Insurance and Health Savings Accounts on Consumers (PDF)
4 pages. Statement Before the Health Subcommittee Committee on Ways and Means, United States House of Representatives. Excerpt: "The potential for health savings accounts and encouragement of high deductible insurance to split the healthy from the sick and the rich from the poor is alarming. But of even greater concern is the distraction they pose to turning the full attention of policy makers and the health policy community toward the challenge of providing true health care security to all." (Consumers Union)

The Nuts and Bolts of Consumer Driven Health
Excerpt: "Russell Head, VP and partner at Augusta, Ga.-based Group and Benefits Consultants agrees. The health insurance industry has conditioned people to think about benefits backwards, he says. The current system's first line is co-pays and first-dollar benefits, then deductibles and finally out of pocket limits. Head says benefits should be approached in the opposite direction: first, out of pocket limits; second, deductibles; and finally, co-pays and first-dollar coverage." (Employee Benefit Advisor; free registration required)

More Employers Move to Integrate Incentives With Consumer-Directed Care Benefits
Excerpt: "'Anybody who implements an incentive program needs to be mindful of discrimination laws, regulations regarding HIPAA and all sorts of tax regulations,' . . . . Employers and health plans considering an incentive program should consult their legal counsel to make sure the proposed program is in compliance with state and federal laws . . . ." (AISHealth.com)

Financial Health Incentives on the Rise, but Design Is Key
Excerpt: "High-deductible health plans are the clearest examples of ways employers are trying to change employee behavior by making them more responsible for the cost of health care. But like other incentives, they are best utilized when employers also provide quality and cost information for doctors, hospitals and other services." (Workforce Management; free registration required)

[Guidance Overview] Question on Maximum Annual HSA Contribution Limits
Excerpt: "How do the maximum annual HSA contribution limits apply to an individual with family high-deductible health plan (HDHP) coverage if the family HDHP covers spouses or dependent children who also have coverage under a non-HDHP, Medicare, or Medicaid?" (Wolters Kluwer)

Creative Pairing of HSAs with Other Benefits Can Result in Synergies That Deliver Better Benefits and Coverages
Excerpt: "In the early days of HSAs, employers were trying to get their bearings in order to understand – and then utilize – this new savings vehicle. Now, a solid group of HSA devotees has begun pairing other products and programs with HSAs so employees can better maximize the advantages inherent in these plans. These pairings must take into account that HSA-eligible individuals must be covered by a high deductible health plan that meets IRS criteria and can have no other coverage that pays benefits before the IRS-established minimum deductible has been met." (Warner Norcross & Judd LLP)

[Opinion] Milliman's Consumer-Driven Impact Study Gets it Wrong
Excerpt: "A recent publication by Milliman, 'Consumer-Driven Impact Study' is another bizarre study. The biggest problem? The primary purpose of a consumer-driven health plan (CDHP) is to change utilization. These plans are designed to give consumers a reason to think twice about using health care services, so that excess utilization will be reduced. If you 'control for differences in utilization' you have eliminated the very thing CDHPs were designed to do. OF COURSE CDHPs reduce costs by reducing utilization. That is the whole point. A study that eliminates the utilization factor is useless." (Councial for Affordable Health Insurance)

[Guidance Overview] Employee Benefits Developments, June 2008 (PDF)
3 pages. This edition of the newsletter focuses on HSAs. (Hodgson Russ LLP)

[Guidance Overview] HSA Contribution Continuation Under Family-Coverage High-Deductible Health Plan
Excerpt: "The husband's HSA is no longer eligible to receive regular HSA contributions due to his enrollment in Medicare. His wife is covered under an HDHP, presumably is not covered under a non-HDHP, and is not enrolled in Medicare. She therefore remains eligible for contributions to an HSA in her name." (Wolters Kluwer)

New San Francisco Health Benefit Mandate May Force Employees Into Consumer-Directed Health Plans
Excerpt: "The legal challenges to the new law -- which mandates that employers spend a minimum amount on worker health care regardless of employment status -- is being closely watched throughout the country. Although the law does not require account-based benefits, a CDH approach may be the most prudent way for most small companies to comply." (AISHealth.com)

Comprehension and Choice of a Consumer-Directed Health Plan: An Experimental Study (PDF)
8 pages. Excerpt: "This study highlights the difficulty many consumers have in understanding comparative plan information. It also suggests that presentation strategies may help consumers understand choices better." (The American Journal of Managed Care)

[Guidance Overview] 2009 Minimums and Maximums for Health Savings Accounts Plans and High-Deductible Health Plans
Excerpt: "On May 13, 2008, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) released Revenue Procedure 2008-29,1 which announced various inflation-adjusted amounts for 2009 for Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) and High-Deductible Health Plans (HDHPs). The IRS calculates the annual adjustments using the 12-month period ending March 31." (The Segal Group, Inc.)

[Guidance Overview] Treasury, IRS Issue 2009 Contribution Limits for HSAs
Excerpt: "On May 13, the Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service released Revenue Procedure 2008-29, which lists the new indexed amounts, adjusted for inflation, for high-deductible health plans (HDHPs) and health savings accounts (HSAs) under Internal Revenue Code section 223(g)." (JPMorgan Chase & Co.)

[Opinion] Myth vs. Fact: Consumer-Driven Health Plans
Excerpt: "'Consumer-driven health care' is the euphemism for high-deductible health plans with savings accounts. It is based on the theory that increased financial exposure will encourage patients to act like consumers, comparing quality and costs and negotiating lower prices. It also, according to the rhetoric, gives people greater control over their health care. Yet many experts paint a different picture." (Center for American Progress)

[Opinion] American Benefits Council Statement for the Record for Ways and Means Committee Hearing on HSAs (PDF)
10 pages. Regarding the May 14, 2008, Hearing entitled 'Health Savings Accounts and Consumer Driven Health Care: Cost Containment or Cost-Shift?' before the Subcommittee on Health of the U.S. House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee (American Benefits Council)

[Opinion] Witness List and Testimonies at House Hearing on Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) and Consumer Driven Health Care
John E. Dicken of the U.S. Government Accountability Office; Michael E. Chernew, Ph.D. of Harvard Medical School; Linda J. Blumberg, Ph.D. of The Urban Institute; Judy Waxman of the National Women's Law Center; Wayne Sensor of Alegent Health. (Committee on Ways and Means, U.S. House of Representatives)

Health Plan Participants: Think Generic and Save
Excerpt: "Switching to generic drugs could save you up to 80 percent per prescription. Thanks to a tidal wave of brand-name drugs losing patent protection, more generics are available than ever before. . . . Switching to a generic on some company health plans could save you $30 in a snap on the co-payment." (Kiplinger via Washington Post; free registration required)

[Guidance Overview] GAO Reports Findings on Participation in HSAs and HDHPs
Excerpt: "For its report, the GAO examined (1) participation in HDHPs and HSAs, (2) the income characteristics of HSA account holders, and (3) contributions made to and withdrawals made from HSAs. Here are some highlights:" (Employee Benefits Institute of America (EBIA))

Georgia Laws Boost High-Deductible Plans / HSAs
Excerpt: "Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue signed two bills that provide tax breaks to insurance companies and aim to help residents afford healthcare coverage by combining high-deductible health plans with health savings accounts." (Modern Healthcare Online; free registration required)

Health Care Price, Quality Information Missing from Consumer-Directed Health Plan Equation
Excerpt: "The term 'consumer-directed health plans' (CDHPs) is a misnomer because the price and quality information tools necessary to make well-informed health care decisions are not yet available, two recent articles in The Financial Times reported. Any price reductions that CDHPs have achieved thus far may be attributed to continued cost shifting to employees and reduced utilization of services, the articles observed." (Wolters Kluwer)

Consumer-Driven Health Portal Provides Employees Entry Point Into Individual Market
Excerpt: "MyCanopy.com, launched in December by Canopy Financial, aims to fulfill many employers' wildest dreams: Getting out of the health insurance business. Goodbye, benefits brokers. Adios, open enrollment. So long, rising premiums. Under the program, employers pay a fixed monthly amount, usually $50 to $500, to each employee, who use the money to buy an individual high-deductible health plan with a health savings account." (Employee Benefit Adviser; free registration required)

Study Finds Direct Correlation Between CDHP Enrollment and Cost Trends
Excerpt: "A key finding of this year's study is the direct correlation between consumer-driven health plan enrollment and cost trends. Best performers are almost 50 percent more likely than the poorest performers (50 percent vs. 34 percent) to offer a CDHP. Moreover, companies with at least 50 percent of their employees enrolled in a CDHP have a two-year median cost increase that's about half that of companies that do not offer these plans (3.6 percent vs. 7 percent)." (Human Resource Executive Online)

Johnson & Johnson's Consumer-Directed Health Plan Is More Than a Band-Aid for Employees
Excerpt: "A corporate-wide culture of wellness and sophisticated marketing to a health-conscious population eased the transition to consumer-directed health (CDH) when New Brunswick, N.J.-based Johnson & Johnson introduced a health reimbursement arrangement (HRA) to its non-unionized salaried staff in January 2008." (AISHealth.com)

6.1 Million People Covered by HSA/High-Deductible Health Plans (PDF)
16 pages. Excerpt: "An annual census by America's Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) of U.S. health insurance carriers shows that the number of people covered by health savings account/high-deductible health plans (HSA/HDHPs) totaled 6.1 million in January 2008." (America's Health Insurance Plans)

[Guidance Overview] Answers to Two Important Questions Regarding High Deductible Health Plans and HSAs (PDF)
4 pages. Attorney Allen Buckley gets out a calculator and crunches the numbers for various scenarios. Excerpt: "Question 1: When is a High Deductible Health Plan/HSA Arrangement Appropriate? . . . Question 2: Should an HSA participant pay for medical expenses from the HSA or from personal funds?" (Smith Moore LLP)

Are Consumer-Driven Health Plans Working?
Excerpt: "At the moment, the question of whether consumerism is the wave of the future remains open, although some surveys suggest these plans have significant growth potential. So far, employers are still waiting for definitive evidence about cost savings as they weigh the criticism that these plans could have an adverse impact on worker health and morale." (The Wall Street Journal)

Health Care Cost Hikes Significantly Lower for Companies With High Enrollment in Consumer-Directed Health Plans
Excerpt: "A consumer orientation in health benefits appears to have a halo effect with advantages that go beyond those enrolled in consumer-directed health (CDH), according to a new study from Watson Wyatt and the National Business Group on Health (NBGH). Health cost increases for companies with high CDH enrollment are about half of those offering only traditional coverage, the authors of the report say." (AISHealth.com)

Latest Health-Coverage Fad, Consumer-Driven Health Plans, Goes Thud
Excerpt: "Consumer-driven health plans have stalled out. Adoption has slowed, enrollment rates are low and flat, and the tools needed to drive behaviors have never materialized, most recent studies of the plans have found . . . ." (Financial Week; free registration required)

Findings From the 2007 EBRI/Commonwealth Fund Consumerism in Health Care Survey: Implications for Plan Sponsors (PDF)
Pages 1-5 of 12 pages. Excerpt: "This article provides reaction to and analysis of the 2007 EBRI/Commonwealth Fund 'Consumerism in Health Care Survey,' published in the March 2008 EBRI Issue Brief and available online at www.ebri.org" (Employee Benefit Research Institute)

Comparing the Assets of Uninsured Households to Cost Sharing Under High-Deductible Health Plans
Excerpt: "Financial assets are relevant when one is assessing whether high-deductible plans, which require greater up-front cost sharing, are worthwhile for the uninsured. We show that uninsured households have less financial assets compared to the insured; at lower income levels, their net financial assets may even be negative. Although lower premiums may increase the ability of the uninsured to buy some coverage, high out-of-pocket liability may leave families exposed to costs that they cannot meet. Paying premiums for a policy that exposes the uninsured to unaffordable medical bills may be viewed as an uneconomical use of their limited assets." (Health Affairs)

[Opinion] Consumer-Driven Health Care - If You Fix It, They Will Come
Excerpt: "Consumer-driven health plans have stalled out. Adoption has slowed, enrollment rates are low and flat, and the tools needed to drive behaviors have never materialized, most recent studies of the plans have found. The most common plan designs are a setup for failure. For example, when Towers Perrin wanted to quantify potential cost savings from consumer-driven plans in a recent study, it found that the universe of well-designed plans was too small to do a credible survey." (Workforce Management; free registration required)

Health Care Consumerism - A Two-Way Conversation
Excerpt: "The U.S. health care system is in the midst of a transformational change that many believe is centered on consumerism -- the process of enabling and engaging consumers more directly in selection and purchase decisions regarding health care services. . . . Industry stakeholders need to prepare to address the challenges and opportunities that consumerism presents. Explore the resources [at the target page] to learn more about this trend, as well as our comprehensive survey of consumer behaviors, attitudes and unmet needs toward health, health care and health insurance." (Deloitte)

Shepherding Major Health System Reforms: A Conversation With German Health Minister Ulla Schmidt (PDF)
10 pages. Excerpt: "During her tenure with the German health ministry, Ulla Schmidt has overseen major system reforms, balancing social solidarity with fiscal responsibility." (Health Affairs)

A Living Model of Managed Competition: A Conversation With Dutch Health Minister Ab Klink (PDF)
8 pages. Excerpt: "The Dutch government's centrist approach to health reform with an individual insurance mandate could provide another model for U.S. reform efforts." (Health Affairs)

Benefits Quarterly Article Highlights Research on Blue Cross Consumer-Directed Member's Health Care Utilization
Excerpt: "In a peer-reviewed study published in the March issue of Benefits Quarterly, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota (Blue Cross) reports that their CDHP (consumer-directed health plan) members had 11 percent fewer visits to the emergency room and had an 11 percent decrease in prescription drug use, as compared to members in traditional plans. The study, which adjusted for differences in health, also found that the CDHP members used 12 percent more preventive services than traditional plan members. More than 830,000 enrollees were studied over a period of three years." (Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association)

Consumer-Driven Health Plans Impact Study (PDF)
22 pages. Excerpt: "Do consumer-driven health plans (CDHPs) help reduce healthcare costs? Many have opined on this issue but objective analysis has been lacking. So Milliman, in partnership with the National Business Group on Health (NBGH), undertook the industry's first independent, risk-adjusted study of six employers' CDHPs. The results show that CDHPs are creating modest (1.5%) savings for employers. These results reinforce the need for better consumer information. Actual savings are likely to increase when people have the patient education resources they need to truly compare and shop for healthcare based on quality and cost." (Milliman)

Survey of Companies in Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia Shows Only Small Increase in High-Deductible Employee Benefit Plans
Excerpt: "Consumers and businesses remain wary of high-deductible and 'consumer-driven' health care plans, which have been available since 2001 and marketed as a way for businesses to reduce their own health care expenses, according to a regional survey released today." (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

Consumer-Directed Health Plans - Mixed Employer Signals, Complex Market Dynamics (PDF)
4 pages. Excerpt: "[It has been] observed that relatively low premium increases in the last two years have reduced the pressure on some employers to introduce CDHPs, reasoning that more modest premium increases can be addressed by employers through increased patient cost sharing in traditional health maintenance organization (HMO) and preferred provider organization (PPO) products." (Center for Studying Health System Change)

[Opinion] New Survey That Is Highly Critical of Consumer-Directed Health Care
Excerpt: "The Commonwealth Fund and the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) have produced the third in a series of studies that we can only believe reflects an agenda to show that CDHC is a failure. The Commonwealth website, for example, highlights the clearly inaccurate claim that these plans are only for the healthy and wealthy. The joint news release says that enrollment in the plans remains low, that they do not help to reduce the number of uninsured, and that participants are less satisfied with their plans and have more missed care, just for example." (Galen Institute)

Summary of 13th Annual National Business Group on Health/Watson Wyatt Study Detailing Current Trends and Best Practices in Employer-Sponsored Health Care Benefit Programs
Excerpt: "Best-performing companies have a two-year median cost increase of 1 percent, compared with 10 percent for their poor-performing peers. The median two-year increase for all employers is 6.2 percent." (Watson Wyatt Worldwide)

Findings from the 2007 EBRI/Commonwealth Fund Consumerism in Health Survey (PDF)
52 pages. Excerpt: "The online survey of 4,217 privately insured adults ages 21–64 was conducted to provide nationally representative data regarding the growth of account-based health plans and high-deductible health plans (HDHPs), and their impact on the behavior and attitudes of health care consumers." (Employee Benefit Research Institute)

Watson Wyatt/NBGH Study - Employers Embrace CDHPs
Excerpt: "By 2009, nearly 55% of U.S. corporations plan on offering a consumer-directed health plan, reports Watson Wyatt and the National Business Group on Health. After surveying 453 companies that employ 8.4 million workers, Watson and NBGH found that 47% of employers offer a CDHP, an increase from 39% in 2007 and 33% in 2006." (Employee Benefit News; free registration required)

One-Third of Employers Offer Consumer-Driven Option, According to Survey
Excerpt: "More than one-third of surveyed employers offered a consumer driven health plan option in 2007, according to a recent benefits survey from the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans." (Wolters Kluwer Financial Services)

Over 40% of Large Companies Now Offer Consumer-Driven Health Plans, Survey Finds
Excerpt: "[L]arge corporations are clearly leading the overall consumer-directed charge: among companies with more than 20,000 employees, 41% now offer either an HSA or an HRA, compared with 37% last year. The number one reason for offering either an HSA or an HRA was 'lowering the organization's benefit cost,' according to the survey." (Financial Week; free registration required)

Mid-Size Employer Turns to 'Hybrid' CDHP Model
Excerpt: "Sperian Protection, an equipment manufacturer, lowered its health care costs over the past years with some innovative tinkering with consumer-driven health care options and through a catchy communications program." (Employee Benefit News; free registration required)

AAPPO 2008 Survey of Consumer-Directed Health Plans (PDF)
Excerpt: "Virtually all CDHPs, which includes health savings accounts (HSAs) and health reimbursement accounts (HRAs), are based on PPO networks. The hallmarks of the PPO delivery system – choice, access and flexibility – clearly are a factor in enhancing the CDHP model and promoting continued growth in CDHP enrollments." (American Association of Preferred Provider Organizations)

[Guidance Overview] Upon Replacing High-Deductible Health Plan with Traditional Coverage, What Happens to HSA Balance?
Excerpt: "An HSA owner may use HSA assets to pay for or reimburse eligible medical expenses, even if he/she is no longer eligible to contribute to an HSA." (Wolters Kluwer Financial Services)

Executive Summaries of Benefits Quarterly, 1st Quarter, 2008, Articles on Retirement and Health Plans
The titles are: Conceptualizing the Defined Benefit Pension Promise - Implications from a Survey of Expert Opinion; The Consequences of Favoring Short-Term Budget Goals Over Long-Term Retirement Policy; Tax-Sheltered Annuities Under Code Section 403(B) New Regulations and New Obligations; Living With GASB 45: How To Manage Liabilities Associated with Retiree Medical Benefits; More Preventive Care, and Fewer Emergency Room Visits and Prescription Drugs -- Health Care Utilization in a Consumer-Driven Health Plan. (International Society of Certified Employee Benefit Specialists)

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