I Regret Enrolling in an HSA, and So Do Many Others
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Copyright 2009 SourceMedia, Inc.All Rights Reserved Employee Benefit News
March 2009
EDITOR'S DESK; Pg. 7 Vol. 23 No. 3
711 words
I regret enrolling in an HSA
Kelley M. Butler
I don't have many regrets in my life, but the ones I do have are biggies. Among them now is enrolling in a high-deductible health plan with a health savings account.
Like, I suspect, other HSA enrollees, I started out at open enrollment last fall with good intentions, and when it came down to it, little choice. Everyone in my family is in generally good health, and the more traditional health coverage options available to me were, frankly, too expensive. The economy wasn't affecting us too badly, but as the steward of my family's finances, I knew we couldn't afford the premiums that we'd have to pay to keep our beloved PPO.
So, after much discussion with my husband, fine-tooth-combing our family budget, using three comparison tools and a medical cost estimator, and reading every page of communication my employer sent on the subject, I checked the high-deductible plan option, funded my HSA up to the deductible and hoped for the best.
Just weeks since the plan became effective Jan. 1, the best has not happened. As the economy has squeezed tighter, I harken for the days when I could just put down my $30 copay and keep moving. It turns out I'm not alone.
Findings from the Employee Benefit Research Institute/Commonwealth Fund Consumerism in Health Care Survey, now in its fourth year, show that enrollees in consumer-driven health plans and high-deductible health plans are less satisfied than individuals with more traditional coverage.
Among the survey's findings:
* HDHP enrollees continued to be more likely than traditional plan enrollees to report that they had delayed or avoided getting any needed health care services because of costs.
* Individuals in CDHPs and HDHPs are both less likely than those in traditional plans to recommend their health plan to a friend or co-worker - 49% of those in traditional plans, compared to 28% in HDHPs and 28% in CDHPs.
* Individuals in CDHPs and HDHPs are less likely than those with traditional plans to stay with their current health plan if they had the opportunity to switch plans - 61% of those in traditional plans, compared to 38% in HDHPs and 45% in CDHPs.
* Individuals are more likely to report they have health quality information than to report having health cost information, and CDHP and HDHP enrollees were less likely than traditional plan enrollees to say that the plan provided the information.
* Individuals in CDHPs and HDHPs exhibit more cost-conscious behavior in their health care decision-making than individuals with traditional health insurance.
* In 2008, 63% of traditional plan enrollees were extremely or very satisfied with the overall health plan, compared with 49% among CDHP enrollees and 40% among HDHP enrollees.
Count me squarely among my HDHP/CDHP-enrolled peers on all counts.
Rather than select the best doctor, I simply try to find the least expensive. The only exception to this rule is our family pediatrician.
I have neglected to go to the doctor, even when I knew I should, because I worried that if I spent my HSA funds I wouldn't have them if a true medical emergency hit. I have put off having minor but necessary surgery, due to cost concerns.
I have found little reliable cost information from my plan, or even from physicians themselves. At a recent consultation, I asked a specialist what he charged for a certain procedure and got a blank stare in response. Gathering himself, he told me to ask his receptionist.
For these reasons, I'm certainly among those surveyed that would switch plans if they could and would not recommend an HSA to anyone with even slight financial concerns.
This could be why "although consumer-driven plans have been around since 2001, market penetration is small," says Paul Fronstin of EBRI.
"Employers, especially large employers, appear to be increasingly providing the plans as an option, but enrollment has yet to take off."
I know HDHPs/CDHPs are a source of cost savings for employers, but is that the only measure of their success? What is your take on the success/stumblings of the plans? How might they be improved to serve employers and employees better? I look forward to hearing your thoughts (and to open enrollment this fall).
Send letters, queries and story ideas to Editor-in-Chief Kelley Butler at kelley.butler@sourcemedia.com
http://www.ebn.benefitnews.com/
March 2, 2009
Copyright © 2009 LexisNexis, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Terms and Conditions Privacy Policy
March 2009
EDITOR'S DESK; Pg. 7 Vol. 23 No. 3
711 words
I regret enrolling in an HSA
Kelley M. Butler
I don't have many regrets in my life, but the ones I do have are biggies. Among them now is enrolling in a high-deductible health plan with a health savings account.
Like, I suspect, other HSA enrollees, I started out at open enrollment last fall with good intentions, and when it came down to it, little choice. Everyone in my family is in generally good health, and the more traditional health coverage options available to me were, frankly, too expensive. The economy wasn't affecting us too badly, but as the steward of my family's finances, I knew we couldn't afford the premiums that we'd have to pay to keep our beloved PPO.
So, after much discussion with my husband, fine-tooth-combing our family budget, using three comparison tools and a medical cost estimator, and reading every page of communication my employer sent on the subject, I checked the high-deductible plan option, funded my HSA up to the deductible and hoped for the best.
Just weeks since the plan became effective Jan. 1, the best has not happened. As the economy has squeezed tighter, I harken for the days when I could just put down my $30 copay and keep moving. It turns out I'm not alone.
Findings from the Employee Benefit Research Institute/Commonwealth Fund Consumerism in Health Care Survey, now in its fourth year, show that enrollees in consumer-driven health plans and high-deductible health plans are less satisfied than individuals with more traditional coverage.
Among the survey's findings:
* HDHP enrollees continued to be more likely than traditional plan enrollees to report that they had delayed or avoided getting any needed health care services because of costs.
* Individuals in CDHPs and HDHPs are both less likely than those in traditional plans to recommend their health plan to a friend or co-worker - 49% of those in traditional plans, compared to 28% in HDHPs and 28% in CDHPs.
* Individuals in CDHPs and HDHPs are less likely than those with traditional plans to stay with their current health plan if they had the opportunity to switch plans - 61% of those in traditional plans, compared to 38% in HDHPs and 45% in CDHPs.
* Individuals are more likely to report they have health quality information than to report having health cost information, and CDHP and HDHP enrollees were less likely than traditional plan enrollees to say that the plan provided the information.
* Individuals in CDHPs and HDHPs exhibit more cost-conscious behavior in their health care decision-making than individuals with traditional health insurance.
* In 2008, 63% of traditional plan enrollees were extremely or very satisfied with the overall health plan, compared with 49% among CDHP enrollees and 40% among HDHP enrollees.
Count me squarely among my HDHP/CDHP-enrolled peers on all counts.
Rather than select the best doctor, I simply try to find the least expensive. The only exception to this rule is our family pediatrician.
I have neglected to go to the doctor, even when I knew I should, because I worried that if I spent my HSA funds I wouldn't have them if a true medical emergency hit. I have put off having minor but necessary surgery, due to cost concerns.
I have found little reliable cost information from my plan, or even from physicians themselves. At a recent consultation, I asked a specialist what he charged for a certain procedure and got a blank stare in response. Gathering himself, he told me to ask his receptionist.
For these reasons, I'm certainly among those surveyed that would switch plans if they could and would not recommend an HSA to anyone with even slight financial concerns.
This could be why "although consumer-driven plans have been around since 2001, market penetration is small," says Paul Fronstin of EBRI.
"Employers, especially large employers, appear to be increasingly providing the plans as an option, but enrollment has yet to take off."
I know HDHPs/CDHPs are a source of cost savings for employers, but is that the only measure of their success? What is your take on the success/stumblings of the plans? How might they be improved to serve employers and employees better? I look forward to hearing your thoughts (and to open enrollment this fall).
Send letters, queries and story ideas to Editor-in-Chief Kelley Butler at kelley.butler@sourcemedia.com
http://www.ebn.benefitnews.com/
March 2, 2009
Copyright © 2009 LexisNexis, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Terms and Conditions Privacy Policy
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