Financial protection afforded by employer-sponsored health insurance: current plan designs and high-deductible health plans.
This article provides the first national estimates of actuarial values and out-of-pocket spending from the era of nonrestrictive managed care that began in the late 1990s. Employer plans paid about 84 percent of total medical expense for those with employer-sponsored coverage in 2004, about 1 percent less than in 2000, and high users faced potential out of pocket spending in the thousands of dollars when they received a portion of their care out of network. Since 2004, more employers have offered plans with higher deductibles coupled with employer-funded personal accounts. These arrangements can result in low out of pocket costs for many employees, but high users will face substantially higher costs. Many employers adopting high-deductible plans are not contributing to personal accounts. Those who are concerned about higher out-of-pockets might consider income-related cost sharing, educational efforts to communicate the savings that can result from using in-network providers, and continued availability of managed care options that limit out-of-pocket spending.
McDevitt
Roland
R
Watson Wyatt Worldwide, Arlington, Virginia, USA.
Gabel
Jon
J
Gandolfo
Laura
L
Lore
Ryan
R
Pickreign
Jeremy
J
D000206:Actuarial Analysis; D003625:Data Collection; D003669:Deductibles and Coinsurance; D006264:Health Benefit Plans, Employee / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000639:trends; D014481:United States