Exploring Consumer-Driven Health-Care Plans

New Hampshire employers, as well as employers throughout the country, strive to provide employee benefit plans that attract, retain and reward employees while they continue to battle ever-increasing health-care costs. This has caused significant discussion around what has been termed ConsumerDriven

The creation of tax-favored Health-Care Saving Accounts (HSAs) and Health-Care Reimbursement Accounts (HRAs) have propelled the discussion around CDHPs to a new level, as one of the main purposes of these accounts is the financial incentive to create value-conscious health-care consumers.

Factors Driving Health-Care Increases

Health-care costs have continued to increase at a trajectory higher than the rate of inflation. In 2004, average rate increases among the major carriers in NH have ranged between 14 to 16 percent. While NE has seen increases considerably higher and slightly lower than that average, these rates are in stark contrast to the current rate of inflation, which is about 3.1 percent. The current trajectory of these increases is unsustainable without employers seriously evaluating cost-shifting strategies.