Why Consumer-Driven Health Plans are Gaining Favor

May 28, 2014

The overall satisfaction level of people enrolled in consumer-driven medical plans is rising. However, the level is declining among people who have traditional plans. This finding was the result of a recent research project. While consumer-driven plans' popularity rose, traditional plan members were still more likely than HDHP or CDHP enrollees to be happy with their benefit offerings and deductibles.

This research also shows that some of these heightened satisfaction trends for consumer-driven plans may be fueled by people who are upset about paying more upfront for traditional plans. The survey was used to examine issues with consumer-directed health care, which includes the costs of care, insurance prices, health care satisfaction and medical plan satisfaction. It also covered the reasons why people choose certain health plans and where they gather information concerning health care plan options. In addition to this, the report includes earlier findings to provide a timeline of results.

From the overall trends, researchers found several other interesting details, which include the following:

  • With respect to care quality dissipating between traditional plan enrollees and those enrolled in CDHP plans, differences were discovered early in the project. The satisfaction rates were higher for those who had better access to health care providers regardless of their coverage.
  • People who were enrolled in HDHPs and CDHPs were not as likely as people enrolled in traditional plans to recommend their plans to others. In addition to this, they were less likely to show a desire to keep their current health plans when presented with the opportunity to switch providers.

With health insurance facing changes in the future, it is important for employers and consumers to take these issues into consideration. There are plenty of affordable health plans. However, not all plans are optimal for every person. For example, a person who has a chronic illness as a preexisting condition may benefit from a much different plan than a person who has a history of staying healthy and has no chronic illnesses.

With everything changing, it is important for consumers and employers alike to know what options are available to better evaluate which choices are best for individual circumstances. To learn more about what plans and coverage inclusions are available, discuss these concerns with an agent. Agents will be able to provide the most up-to-date information and helpful recommendations based on various circumstances. Now is the time to start considering plan changes or additions.