Total Team Solutions Blog

Increased Employer Satisfaction with Consumer Driven Health Plans

By: Rob Lynn

According to a recent Society of Human Resources Article by Stephen Miller, the satisfaction gap is narrowing between employees with traditional health insurance plans and those with consumer-driven health plans (CDHPs), consisting of high-deductible coverage plus a health savings account (HSA) or health reimbursement arrangement (HRA), according to new research from the nonprofit Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI).

CDHPs are intended to encourage employees to make more cost-conscious decisions when selecting health care providers for nonemergency care, since unspent funds in an HSA or HRA can be used in lieu of out-of-pocket spending for future health care needs.

Based on findings published in July 2015 from the latest EBRI/Greenwald & Associates Consumer Engagement in Health Care Survey:

• 61 percent of traditional-plan enrollees said they were extremely or very satisfied with their overall health plans in 2014 (down from 67 percent in 2006).

• 46 percent of CDHP enrollees were extremely or very satisfied with their plans (up from 39 percent in 2006).

Overall satisfaction rates have been trending upward for CDHP enrollees and downward for traditional enrollees, noted Paul Fronstin, director of EBRI’s Health Research and Education Program and author of the report. 

In other survey findings:

• Quality of care. CDHP enrollees were as satisfied as individuals in a traditional plan with the quality of care they received. In 2014, about two-thirds of individuals either in a CDHP (66 percent) or in a traditional plan (68 percent) were extremely or very satisfied with the quality of care received.

• Access to doctors. Satisfaction levels with getting doctor appointments were high relative to other aspects of health care, regardless of plan type. In 2014, about two-thirds of all plan participants were extremely or very satisfied with their ability to get doctor appointments. Satisfaction rates have been largely flat among traditional-plan enrollees, while they have been trending upward among CDHP enrollees.

Providing and administering cost effective employee benefits, payroll services and human resource support is how TTS helps our clients to focus more on their core business and less on the business of having employees 

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