Consumer-directed health plans (CDHPs) are designed to make employees more cost- and health-conscious by exposing them more directly to the costs of their care, which should lower demand for care and, in turn, control premium growth. These features have made consumer-directed plans increasingly...

The purpose of this Issue Brief is to provide an understanding of tiered provider networks and the issues involved, with an emphasis on tiered hospital networks. Under a tiered provider network benefit structure, employees pay different cost-sharing rates for different tiers of providers

The body of research on how consumer-directed health plans (CDHPs) affect the use and costs of health care services -- while still relatively small -- is growing. In recent work, the Employee Benefit Research Institute has examined these relationships using panel data from a large employer that...

This paper presents findings from the 2007 EBRI/Commonwealth Fund Consumerism in Health Care Survey. Findings from the 2007 survey are compared with our findings from 2005 and 2006. In 2007, 2 percent of the population was enrolled in a consumer-driven health plan (CDHP), up from 1 percent in...

This paper examines whether offering a health savings account (HSA)-eligible health plan for free, alongside other health plan options with a premium, alters employee enrollment choices; and if responders differ by health status. The data for this study come from two large employers and cover...

There is no shortage of public opinion surveys related to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), enacted March 23, 2010. However, differences in public opinion among individuals with private health insurance have not been explored as they relate to type of health plan. This...

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) enacted March 23, 2010, and the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act (HCERA) enacted March 30, 2010, require that group health plans and insurers make dependent coverage available for children until they attain the age of 26...

This paper examines recent trends in self-insurance. Data come from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) and are presented by establishment size among private-sector employers. State-level data are also presented, along with the correlation between state mandates and the prevalence of...

This paper examines issues related to private health insurance exchanges, possible structures of an exchange, funding, as well as the pros, cons, and uncertainties to employers of adopting them. A summary of recent surveys on employer attitudes are examined, as are some changes that employers...