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EBRI

Health

“How Does Household Expenditure Change With Age for Older Americans?” and “2014 Health and Voluntary Workplace Benefits Survey: Most Workers Continue to be Satisfied With Their Own Health Plan, but Growing Number Give Low Ratings to Health Care Syste ..

Older Americans: Although health expenses increase steadily with age, and remain a cause of concern, home and home-related expenses are the largest spending category for older Americans, according to a new report by EBRI. Press release.

Workplace Benefits Survey: Although American workers rank their own health care highly, their opinion of the overall U.S. health care system is low and continues to fall, according to a new report by EBRI. Press release.

EBRI Notes Sep 18, 2014 20 pages

Quality of Health Care After Adopting a Full-Replacement, High-Deductible Health Plan With a Health Savings Account: A Five-Year Study

With an ever-growing number of workers covered by health savings account (HSA)-eligible health plans, how does use of health care services used to measure quality compare with traditional managed care? New research from EBRI finds a mixed bag: Depending on the health care service, HSA-plans could result in higher or lower use, and in some cases no change whatsoever. EBRI Issue Brief Sep 16, 2014 20 pages

“Satisfaction With Health Coverage and Care: Findings from the 2013 EBRI/Greenwald & Associates Consumer Engagement in Health Care Survey,” and “Contributory 'Negligence?' The Impact of Future Contributions to Defined Contribution Plans on Retirement ..

Health Plans: Who’s happier with their health plan—those in “traditional” managed care plans, or those in so-called “consumer-driven” and high-deductible plans? The latest data from EBRI show that the overall satisfaction rate among consumer-driven health plan (CDHP) enrollees is gradually increasing, while it is gradually decreasing among traditional enrollees. Press release.

Gen Xers: Are Gen Xers in worse shape than the Baby Boom generation when it comes to having enough money for retirement? Not if you take into account future contributions and the current trends in automatic plan design features, according to a new report by EBRI. Press release.

EBRI Notes Aug 14, 2014 28 pages

“Lifetime Accumulations and Tax Savings from HSA Contributions” and “IRA Withdrawals in 2012 and Longitudinal Results, 2010–2012”

HSAs: With an ever-increasing number of Americans gaining access to health savings accounts (HSAs) via their employment-based health plan, how much could they accumulate for health care expenses in these accounts? The answer depends on how much is contributed to the HSA—a tax-exempt trust or custodial account that an individual can open and use to pay his or her health care expenses—as well as how much is withdrawn, and what the investment return and fees on the HSA are, according to new research by EBRI. Press release.

IRAs: Individual retirement accounts (IRAs) are a vital component of U.S. retirement savings, representing approximately one-quarter of all retirement assets in the nation. But as a growing number of Americans head into retirement, how much are they withdrawing from these accounts—and will it last? Press release

EBRI Notes Jul 29, 2014 24 pages

Employee Benefits: Today, Tomorrow, and Yesterday

While much has changed with health and retirement benefits during the past three decades—the first generation of the main federal law governing private-sector benefits, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA)—many of the issues that were present at the founding of EBRI in 1978 remain with us today. EBRI Issue Brief Jul 24, 2014 24 pages

“’Short’ Falls: Who’s Most Likely to Come up Short in Retirement, and When?” and “Consumer Engagement Among HSA and HRA Enrollees: Findings from the 2013 EBRI/Greenwald & Associates Consumer Engagement in Health Care Survey”

“Short” Falls: Will Baby Boomers and Gen Xers have enough money to live on when they retire, and if not, when will they run short? New modeling by EBRI finds that those in the lowest-income brackets are most likely to run short, many in the first year of retirement. But some in all income brackets—including the highest—may also run short at some point during their retirement. Press release.

HSA/HRA Consumer Engagement: Which type of health plan is more likely to get workers involved in their own health care: Health savings accounts or health reimbursement arrangements? The two account-based types of health insurance are similar, but a new report from EBRI finds that people with HSAs are more likely to engage in cost-conscious behavior related to use of health care services than are those in HRA. Press release.

EBRI Notes Jun 19, 2014 20 pages