Respond to Aubrey posts. Your responses should include elements such as follow-up questions, a further exploration of topics from the initial post, or requests for further clarification or explanation on some points made.
What are the pros and cons to Consumer-Driven Health Plans? Provide detailed examples where appropriate. Do you believe Consumer Driven Health Plans are here to stay, and what are the plans of the future? 4 days ago Aubrey Lorenzini RE: Discussion Prompt COLLAPSE Consumer Driven Health Plans allow the patient to take ownership of their own healthcare. Although, these are usually high deductible plans, the employee premiums are low. Also, the employer cost is a lot less than traditional plans. Employees that are generally healthy, are a perfect fit for this plan. It allows employees to really look into their medical costs, instead of blindly going to the doctor. Another good benefit is that employees can use tax-free Health Saving Accounts with these plans. This allows the employee to have some of their eamings withheld before taxes and put into an account for health care expenses. This money can be used for co-pays and deductible costs, as well. The cons are that the deductibles are high, so if you are strapped for cash and need to be seen in the emergency room; you could have to pay $5000 out of pocket before your insurance kicks in. If the consumer or employee is not educated on their plan, they could end up paying more out of pocket for non-covered procedures. A great example may be a family with multiple children. With children, your chances increase that they will be seen by a doctor more than once a year. With more than one child, those chances increase significantly. So, in my opinion, it would not be a good plan for a middle-class family.
Consumer Driven Health Plans have increased to 20% of insured patients, as of 2013. (Nowicki, 2015). I do believe these plans will gain popularity over the next several years. First, it has made a huge financial difference for employers. Their healthcare savings has been substantial with these plans. (Nowicki, 2015). It has also gained popularity from the consumer standpoint since it has lowered premiums overall. It the government allows for continued tax-free savings accounts and increases the amount from time to time; this could be even a bigger draw to these plans. I do believe that employers have the responsibility to educate the patient’s about these plans. Looking at overall health care costs for an employee and their family is crucial when trying to make a decision about if these plans fit the
