High-Deductible Health Plan (HDHP) and Traditional Plan Enrollees Equally Likely to Report Making Cost-Conscious Decisions In the last 12 months/Since you joined your current health plan, did you do any of the following? Percentage Yes Traditional High-Deductible Health Plan March 14, 2024, #496 Checked whether my health insurance plan would cover my care or 65% 65% medication 48% Ask for a generic drug instead of a brand name drug 47% Checked the quality rating of a doctor or hospital before I received care 51% 45% from them How Has Health Care Behavior Changed Over Time? Checked the price of a doctor’s visit, medication, or other health care 47% 45% service before I received care 45% Talked to my doctor about other treatment options and costs 41% Among the key reasons that employers adopt high-deductible health plans (HDHPs) is the hope that such cost sharing will lead to more cost-conscious health care behavior. Evidence from the Employee Benefit Research 44% Talked to my doctor about prescription options and costs 44% Institute (EBRI) and Greenwald Research Consumer Engagement in Health Care Survey shows that participants Used an online cost tracking tool provided by my health insurance plan 28% in such plans generally were more cost conscious than participants in traditional health care plans in past years of 23% to manage my health expenses the survey. That was no longer the case in 2023. 20% Declined all or part of a medical procedure due to its cost 19% The survey asked a number of questions about cost-conscious behavior. It asked whether the health plan 33% Developed a budget to manage my healthcare expenses 23% participant did any of the following: 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% Source: 2023 EBRI/Greenwald Research Consumer Engagement in Health Care Survey. • Checked whether their health insurance plan would cover care or medication. Esse • n tiaC lly, t hecrked aditi ton he al pr p ice lan o enr f a o doc llee tor s ’ ca s vi ugh sit t up , medi to H caD tiH on P enr , or ot olher lees h ea in t lter h c mar s o e s f e th rvi eice r cos bef t-o cons re rec ciou eivs ing de ci car sion e. making. This is not a surprise for two reasons. Even among traditional plan enrollees, cost sharing has been • Checked the quality rating of a doctor or hospital before receiving care. increasing. In fact, when adjusted for inflation, deductibles for employee-only coverage in preferred provider organizations (PPOs) and point-of-service (POS) plans have been increasing, while those in HDHPs have been • Talked to their doctor about prescription options and costs. declining. Second, regardless of health plan, enrollees tend to have access to the same tools and resources. So, it • Talked to their doctor about other treatment options and costs. should come as no surprise that traditional plan enrollees are now using those tools and resources at the same rate as HDHP enrollees. • Used an online cost-tracking tool provided by their health insurance plan to manage health expenses. • Developed a budget to manage health care expenses. More information about the EBRI/Greenwald Research Consumer Engagement in Health Care Survey can be found online. • Declined all or part of a medical procedure due to its cost. • Asked for a generic drug instead of a brand-name drug. The 2023 Consumer Engagement in Health Care Survey is an online survey of 2,020 Americans ages 21–64 with private health insurance coverage. It was fielded between October and December 2023. The survey is made possible with funding support from the following organizations: Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, HealthEquity, Millennium Trust Company, Segal, TIAA, and Voya Financial. In 2021, the survey found that HDHP enrollees were more likely than traditional health plan enrollees to have taken most of the above actions. However, while these differences were not found in 2022 or 2023, there are two i A m bou port tan EB t fR indi I: The E ngs rem lat ped t loyo t ee B heene se qu fites Rtes ion ea s. rch I Firs ns t, t tihe tute i per s ca pr entage ivat o e, f p nonpa lan ernr tisa oln, leeand nonp s who too rof k tih t r es ee seac artch ion ins s titute i bas ncred eas in edWa nesh arliy ng atcr on, D oss t.C he .,boar that f d o fcus or bot es on h h trad ea itlitona h, sa l p vilngs, r an and H etire D m H eP en nt, and e rollecono es. Se m cond, ic secur the itiy nc is rsue eass e i . EB n th R e I does not per l cent obby age and do of enres ol no lees t t rake epor pol ting icy po that t sih tey t ions. Th ook te work hese act of ions wa EBRI i s l s a m rge ade r pos among sib t le ra by f ditiund onali p ng lan froenr m iotls m lees em tha be n rs it was for HDHP enrollees. and sponsors, which include a broad range of public and private organizations. For more information, visit www.ebri.org. Greenwald Research is a leading independent custom research firm and consulting partner to the health and wealth industries that applies creative quantitative and qualitative methods to help companies stay competitive and navigate industry change. Leveraging deep subject matter expertise and a consultative approach, Greenwald offers comprehensive services to answer strategic business questions. For more information, go to w ww.greenwaldresearch.com. ### EBRI on Twitter @EBRI or twitter.com/EBRI LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/employee-benefit-research-institute EBRI on Twitter: @EBRI or twitter.com/EBRI LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/employee-benefit-research-institute © 2024, Employee Benefit Research Institute, 901 D St. SW, Suite 802, Washington, DC 20024, 202/659-0670 | ebri.org 2