Dive Brief:
- Patients with high-deductible, consumer-driven health plans (CDHPs) account for less total health spending than patients with non-CDHP plans, but pay more out of pocket, according to a new Health Care Cost Institute study.
- On average, patients with CDHP plans spend $343 more out of pocket annually than patients with non-CDHP plans.
- Patients with CDHP plans are between 9% and 10% less likely to utilize healthcare services across several categories, and 21% less likely to use brand prescriptions.
Dive Insight:
More and more patients with employer-sponsored health insurance are covered by some sort of high deductible care. Around one in five patients with employer-sponsored coverage had a high-deductible plan in 2014, up from 13% of patients in 2010.
One of the intentions behind CDHPs and other high-deductible plans is to reduce overall healthcare spending by discouraging patients from receiving unnecessary care. The Health Care Cost Institute indicates this might be an effect of CDHPs. In 2014, total healthcare spending on patients with CDHPs averaged $4,481 while spending on other patients averaged $5,140.
It isn’t surprising that patients with CDHPs are spending more out-of-pocket than patients with non-CDHP plans. However, this doesn’t necessarily mean that they plans are costlier for consumers. The study didn’t consider how much patients with CDHPs were saving on premiums compared with non-CDHP patients.