According to a new report from the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research, 3 million Californians are enrolled in high-deductible health plans.

With deductibles more than $5,000, these health plans may cause members to stall care and can put families in financial trouble if a health problem arises, say the authors of the report, Profiling California's Health Plan Enrollees: Findings from the 2007 California Health Interview Survey. Still, high-deductible plans are typically the only insurance many Americans, particularly self-employed or low-income people, can afford.

Profiling California's nearly 32 million insured residents, the report states a total of 3 million commercially insured Californians were enrolled in high-deductible plans in 2007. Participating in high-deductible health plans is especially popular among enrollees of preferred provider organizations. In fact, of all commercial PPO members, 28 percent say they have a deductible higher than $1,000. Fourteen percent of commercial health maintenance organization plan members reporting having such plans.