EBRI Survey Finds Consumer-Driven Health Plans Remain Small But Continue to Grow

The ranks of people enrolled in either a consumer-driven health plan (CDHP) or a high-deductible health plan (HDHP) reached 22 million in 2010, according to a report released today by the nonpartisan Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI). Participation in these account-based health care plans is low, but continues to grow, EBRI finds in its sixth annual Consumer Engagement in Health Care Survey.

The EBRI report found that enrollment in CDHPs rose to 5 percent of the privately insured population (5.7 million people) in 2010, up from 4 percent in 2009. Enrollment in HDHPs increased to 14 percent of the privately insured population (17.2 million people) in 2010, up from 13 percent in 2009.

The data are based on the 2010 Consumer Engagement in Health Care Survey (CEHCS), which analyzed the behavior and attitudes of 4,509 adults ages 21–64 with private health insurance coverage.

The survey is conducted by EBRI and Mathew Greenwald and Associates. “Findings From the 2010 EBRI/MGA Consumer Engagement in Health Care Survey” are published in the December 2010 EBRI Issue Brief, online here. The press release is online here.