"2003 Consumer-Driven Healthcare Survey"
No authors cited
The American Management Association, July 2003.
Available Online
Consumer-driven health care plans have become increasingly popular because
they give employees a better sense of how much their health benefits are
worth, while helping companies better control health care expenditures.
A recent survey by the American Management Association and the Council on
Education in Management, however, found that HR professionals are not very
familiar with consumer-driven health care plans. Most respondents admit
that they don’t know enough about them to determine if they are appropriate
for their companies.
According to the AMA/CEM report only 6 percent of surveyed HR professionals
said they were “very familiar” with consumer-driven health care
plans. On the other hand, 35 percent were unfamiliar with the plans and
19 percent said they “know very little.”
Only 18 percent of respondents thought such a program would be appropriate
for their company, whereas 63 percent said they didn’t know. More
than 60 percent of those surveyed also reported that their companies currently
do not have and are not considering consumer-driven health care plans. Half
the respondents were not even sure if their current health care providers
offered such a plan.
HR professionals were most concerned about employees’ ability to
manage their benefits effectively under a consumer-driven plan. They rated
this issue an average 4.36 level of concern on a 5-point scale. The second-greatest
concern is training employees to use the benefit plan, which received an
average concern rating of 4.15.
Despite these obstacles respondents believe that a consumer-driven plan
would encourage employees to be more cost-conscious in their health spending,
make more informed decisions, and have greater satisfaction in their choices.
Likewise, companies would benefit from health savings and reduced costs.
