High deductibles, health savings accounts and other types of consumer-driven health care strategies are being embraced by the country's youngest and best-paid workers.
A new report by BenefitFocus finds millennials are putting 20 percent more money into HSAs than other generations. Similarly, 44 percent of the youngest workers in the economy opt for a high deductible health plan.
It's hard to know whether those putting money into HSAs or using HDHPs are doing so because they like the idea of controlling more of the health care spending or because their employer isn't providing them a lot of attractive alternatives.
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As employers have increasingly shifted the burden of health care onto employees, those who opt for traditional health plans are often required to pay sky-high premiums, a fact that might nudge many to go with a high-deductible plan.
Nevertheless, the study also finds that among employees over 35, those who choose a HDHP earn an average of 17 percent more than those with a traditional preferred provider organization plan, suggesting that those with lower incomes are more likely to be conservative in their approach to health care and pick a plan that costs more from month to month but is less likely to expose them to a major catastrophic cost.
Regardless of what employees prefer, companies are rapidly moving towards non-traditional plans that demand more savings and savvy from employees.
A major study by Mercer last year found the number of U.S. employees covered by high deductible plans increased from a miniscule 3 percent in 2006 to 29 percent in 2016.
Similarly, a survey by Willis Towers Watson of 600 major companies found that by next year roughly half of the firms will only offer high-deductible plans.
HR Dive cautions that while switching to high deductible plans appears to be a logical financial move for businesses, the psychological toll it takes on employees — particularly those of modest incomes — may outweigh the immediate savings. Workers who labor under the prospect of a potentially-crippling medical expense are likely to have lower morale and be less productive.
At the very least, experts say, employers who impose high deductible plans on employees should provide resources to workers on how to take advantage of health savings accounts so that they can be prepared to cover big medical costs.
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