Dive Brief:
- Employee deductibles are rising - from an annual average of $900 in 2010 to $1,300 this year for an individual. One in five individuals has a $2,000 or more deductible.
- Recent big insurance company consolidations and the looming Cadillac tax could cause sudden, sharp increases in deductibles, according to the New York Times. Premiums are up too - 83% since 2005, according to Kaiser Health News.
- Since employee wages have been flat, the deductible increases are forcing workers to compromise their medical choices, often forgoing important expensive tests, like MRIs.
Dive Insight:
Although a higher deductible forces employees to make more of their own medical decisions - whether to have a test at a certain facility for example - policy experts worry it's forcing many to forgo care even with serious conditions.
"It may be tamping down on unnecessary care, but we're seeing a lot of evidence of skimping on necessary care," Sara R. Colling, vice president for healthcare coverage at the Commonwealth Fund, told The New York Times. The organization did a survey last year on the effect of out-of-pocket costs on consumers and found more than one in five insured adults spent 5% or more of their income on out-of-pocket costs, not including premiums.
Truven Health Analytic's recent analysis of employers' insurance claim showed workers with higher-deductible plans were less likely to go to the doctor or get lab tests. What was more concerning was the decline in care for those with chronic conditions, and in some cases even when preventative care was covered, workers were forgoing mammograms and cervical cancer screenings. "There's a real risk people won't get the care they need," David Lansky, CEO of Pacific Business Group on Health, told The New York Times.