Consumers Want Control Over Health Care Plans

MILWAUKEE, Wis. – A recent survey from The Dieringer Research Group and Pareto Health Group finds that two out of five consumers in employer-sponsored health plans are interested in enrolling in health insurance plans that would give them more control over when, where, and how they spend their health care dollars. The U.S. Consumer-Directed Health Care Survey is the first nationally representative poll to identify and compare consumer preferences in the context of emerging health insurance products and rising medical costs. When health cost inflation recently hit a 20-year high of nearly 15% both employers and employees grew concerned. The survey focused on consumer directed health (CDH) plans as one of several cost control options. Overall, 39% of consumers under age 65 indicated a willingness to consider enrollment in CDH plans. The survey also finds that surprisingly such employee interest is concentrated in smaller companies located in the non-metropolitan markets that health insurance companies are least likely to target with CDH plans. For example, 54% of small business employees in non-metropolitan markets expressed willingness to enroll in CDH plans, compared to less than a fourth of all large company employees nationwide. “Large company employees also have the greatest expectations that their employers should pay the rising costs of health insurance premiums,” noted The Dieringer Research Group President Bob Dieringer.