Rand Corp. Report on Consumer-Directed Health Care
The verdict is mixed (PDF document) – some good, some bad. Interesting discussion about consumers feeling uninformed to make good decisions about halfway through the document, reporting on a study by Rand Corp..
In my opinion, consumer-directed health care is ripe to create a market of adverse selection in the health care industry, since it is likely to be the young, healthier patient who opts for the HSA approach, leaving those with chronic illness still in the traditional insurance pool, and that appears to be the case.
My prediction: This will prove to be one of the Bush Administration’s longer-lasting legacies to this country, particularly when health care costs triple in the next 10 years.
Washington Post: Most employers save around 10% on health insurance costs, mostly due to the cost shifting to employees. The “consumer” who benefits the most from these plans is the employer.
Technorati Tags: consumer-directed health care, HSA, adverse selection