Two recent reports present differing views on the status of consumer-driven health plans, i.e. high deductible plans that are often paired with health savings accounts (HSAs). One report shows increased adoption of these plans by 43% over 2007 accounting for about 13% of all plans offered by employers. The opposing perspective is presented by a small study in Iowa, showing that about 17% of the 954 surveyed businesses offered consumer-driven health plans combined with HSAs, dropping from 26% in 2007. This may be due to the fact that many employers don’t see the value in high dedutible plans since it seems like insurance companies are raising the premiums to the same level of traditional managed care plans. This is a great strategy on the part of the health insurance industry to maintain control over healthcare transactions. Consumer-driven health plans put patients in the driver’s seat. Why should the insurance industry hand over decision-making to consumers? They obviously know better how to spend the patients’ money.

Filed under: Health Policy