Consumer-driven health plans (CDHP), typically high-deductible health plans with either a health reimbursement arrangement (HRA) or health savings account (HSA), are usually home to participants with higher incomes and education levels.
Those enrolled in these plans also typically have better health behaviors, according to a report from the Employee Benefit Research Institute. Based on data from 2005 to 2011, the report indicates that about 21 million Americans were enrolled in a plan of this nature by the end of the period, accounting for about 12 percent of the market.
"Consumer-driven health plans are a growing presence in the health insurance market, so it's important to understand how they differ from traditional health plans," noted Paul Fronstin, the report's author and director of EBRI's Health Research and Education Program. "It is often assumed that CDHP enrollees are more likely to be young than those with traditional coverage, because they use less health care, on average. However, in most years, the survey found that CDHP enrollees were less likely than those with traditional coverage to be between the ages of 21 and 34."
Enrollees in CDHPs were more likely to exercise regularly and less likely to smoke, according to researchers, and more of them reported excellent health in all but one year of the survey. They were also more likely to have college and graduate degrees. It is not entirely clear whether these factors are a contributing cause or simply correlation, the report notes.
Employee benefit consultants and other HR and insurance professionals may wish to investigate further. Many already favor CDHPs for their cost and other features, and any additional advantages may cause them to be even more favorably perceived.
