Characteristics of the Population with Consumer-Driven and High-Deductible Health Plans, 2005-2012

20 Pages Posted: 27 Apr 2013

See all articles by Paul Fronstin

Paul Fronstin

Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI)

Date Written: April 1, 2013

Abstract

This paper examines the population with a consumer-driven health plan (CDHP) and how it differs from the population with traditional health coverage. Data from the 2005-2007 EBRI/Commonwealth Fund Consumerism in Health Care Survey and the 2008-2012 EBRI/MGA Consumer Engagement in Health Care Survey are used for the analysis. Differences between the population with traditional coverage and high-deductible health plan (HDHP) enrollees are also examined. Generally, the population of adults within both high-deductible (HDHP) and traditional health plans have been split 50-50 between men and women. In contrast, differences in gender have been found between CDHP enrollees and those with traditional coverage. In most years, CDHP enrollees were less likely than those with traditional coverage to be between the ages of 21 and 34, and the CDHP population was more likely than traditional-plan enrollees to be in households with $150,000 or more in income in every year except 2009 and 2010. CDHP enrollees were roughly twice as likely as individuals with traditional coverage to have college or post-graduate educations in nearly all years of the survey. CDHP enrollees have consistently reported better health status than traditional-plan enrollees, exhibiting better health behavior than traditional-plan enrollees with respect to smoking and (except for 2010 and 2011), exercise, and sometimes obesity rates. In the earlier years of the survey (2005-2009), the CDHP population was more likely than the population with traditional coverage to have that coverage through small employers (between two and 49 employees). More recently (2010-2012), there were no statistically significant differences by employer size between the CDHP population and that of the population with traditional coverage. When comparing HDHP enrollees with traditional-plan enrollees, it was found that, in all years of the survey except 2007, HDHP enrollees were less likely than traditional-plan enrollees to be with large employers (500 or more employees). They were more likely to be from small employers in all years of the survey except for 2010.

The PDF for the above title, published in the April 2013 issue of EBRI Notes, also contains the fulltext of another April 2013 EBRI Notes article abstracted on SSRN: “Retirement Plan Participation and Asset Allocation, 2010.”

Keywords: Consumer-driven health plans (CDHPs), Demographics, Employment-based benefits, Health insurance coverage, Health status, High-deductible health plans (HDHPs)

JEL Classification: I1, I11, J11, J3, J32

Suggested Citation

Fronstin, Paul, Characteristics of the Population with Consumer-Driven and High-Deductible Health Plans, 2005-2012 (April 1, 2013). EBRI Notes, Vol. 34, No. 4, April 2013, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2257064

Paul Fronstin (Contact Author)

Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) ( email )

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