Communication, Information Tools Critical to Success of Consumer-Directed Health Plans
Roland D. McDevitt, Ryan Lore, Melinda Beeuwkes Buntin, Cheryl Damberg, Hayoung Park
Watson Wyatt Worldwide and The Rand Corporation, July 2007
Available
online (Research Brief)
According to a joint study by Watson Wyatt Worldwide, a leading global consulting firm, and the RAND Corporation, a non-profit research organization, most employers that offer a consumer-directed health plan (CDHP) say communicating with workers about these plans is their greatest challenge. Additionally, most employers are not pleased with the availability of information on provider cost and quality.
An overwhelming majority of respondents, 90 percent, cited employee communication as their greatest challenge in introducing the CDHP and during the plan's first year. On average, employers began communicating information about the new plan to workers four months prior to open enrollment. The study was based on over 40 large employers that offer a CDHP to their workers.
Ted Nussbaum, North America health care practice director at Watson Wyatt, recently said in a press release for the study that, "The 'consumer-driven' part of consumer-driven health plans means that workers need to be engaged, and that can't happen without effective communication. These plans are different from those that most employees previously had, and it's not a simple task to encourage employees to carefully review their options and learn how consumer-directed plans work."
Employers agree that getting employees to enroll in these plans can be difficult when they also have more traditional health plan options available to them. The study found that employers were most likely to achieve high levels of CDHP enrollment when they devoted additional time and resources to communication, forced employees to make an active choice at open enrollment and offered financial incentives in ways that enhanced the appeal of the CDHP.
Another challenge that employers face when offering a CDHP is providing workers with information they need to help make good decisions about health care cost and quality. The joint study found that employers are generally pleased with Web-based, out-of-pocket cost calculators for employees. However, they find that specific resources needed to help workers evaluate the cost and quality of care from specific providers are often lacking.
The multi-year study is jointly funded by the California HealthCare Foundation and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The RAND Corporation is the lead organization, with Watson Wyatt serving as a research partner.