I recently received both glares and head nods in a leadership meeting with competitors, hosted by a national carrier, after I said “Over the past decade, I don't think any other industry has been more excited than ours about 97 percent adoption rates, and 3 percent utilization rates. Employers want something that works.”
History and health literacy
Somewhere in the late 1990s, the continued upward trend in health insurance costs paved the way for “consumer-driven health plans” (CDHPs). The question is, have CDHPs been ahead of their time with the notion that educated consumers could pave the way to create change, without the tools, resources, or transparency to do so effectively?
By 2003, CDHPs received a lift with the creation of health Savings Accounts (HSAs). By 2007, roughly 5 percent of those who secure coverage through their employer were enrolled in a consumer-driven plan; however, less than a decade later, it had risen nearly six-fold to 29 percent, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.
The jury is still out on whether we can truly call these plans “consumer-driven health plans” when the medical industry is far from forthcoming with the tools or transparency needed to be a good consumer. But that's a conversation for another day.
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