Consumer-directed benefits, like managed care, are buzz words with broad,
but important relevance for employers. Today's trend toward consumerism
attempts to inject something that's been missing from health benefits — a
consumer who cares more about cost and quality.
The premise behind
consumerism is that by providing financial incentives and information to
employees, corporations can encourage them to assume a greater role in
managing their own healthcare and the associated costs. High-deductible
health insurance products are perhaps the most widely publicized component
of the early consumerism models. They are structured to provide more
transparency in health costs, with the intention of enabling employees to
make more value-driven healthcare decisions.
However, since a high percentage of healthcare dollars are accounted for by a small percentage of
high-cost claimants, consumer-directed health plans alone will not provide
the solution. Other components of consumerism need to be included, such as
preventive services, wellness and disease management programs, and
communications designed to provide employees with more information
regarding the quality and costs of the providers they visit and the
services they use.
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