California Individual And Group Health Insurance Plans

Business Wire - Oct. 12: San Mateo, Calif. - New data released today by WageWorks is more evidence that employees are missing out on the advantages of consumer driven healthcare, and employers may be partly to blame. The data reveals that a lack of guidance may be contributing to low adoption of consumer driven healthcare accounts, and shows that even among employees who do sign up for the accounts, many are not using them correctly and are missing out on significant savings.Conducted on behalf of WageWorks(R), provider of consumer-driven, tax-advantaged health care spending and savings accounts to more than 1,000 employers, the national survey of 1,105 adult employed Americans identified some areas of concern, especially regarding Health Savings Accounts (HSAs).-- Among employees with access to high deductible health plans (HDHPs), only half (51 percent) receive information from their employer on how an HSA and HDHP work together. Similarly, only half (51%) report that their employer offers them access to an HSA.-- Only four in ten (41%) employees with access to HDHPs are provided with a list of banks they can visit to obtain an HSA."It is important for employers to offer thorough information on why employees should enroll in an HSA along with their HDHP. If employees neglect to do so they could be missing out on significant savings and are not reaping the full benefits of their HDHP," says Jon Kessler, chairman and chief executive officer of WageWorks. "Luckily, the upcoming benefits open enrollment season provides a new opportunity for employers to offer more hands on guidance, and employees get more engaged in their healthcare decisions and get it right in the coming year," he continues.The problems are not limited to HSAs and HDHPs. The survey also found that 35 percent of employees who have access to a flexible spending account (FSA), HSA, or major medical coverage say that none of these benefits had been thoroughly explained to them by their employer. This relates to earlier findings from an April 2006 study of 1,044 individuals conducted by StrategyOne which revealed poor choices and lack of awareness with regard to all types of consumer driven accounts, including FSAs. For example:-- 57 percent of Americans are likely to set aside money for out of pocket expenses, but only 1 in 5 have an FSA, indicating a lack of knowledge about the benefits of an FSA and a possible shortfall in educational guidance.-- 36 percent of individuals with an FSA said that they did not allocate the correct amount to their FSA or didn't know whether they allocated the right amount.-- A majority of individuals (61 percent) have more difficulty budgeting and planning for health care expenses than for other types of expenses, indicating the need for additional help with the planning process. Top-ranked desired resources from employers were: clear information to help choose health care benefits (33%), better information about costs and savings of health benefits (28%), hands-on help from health and financial experts (15%), and tools for health care expense management (12%)."Along with other industry data in the market today, these survey findings are yet another sign that simply offering consumer driven benefits is not enough to solve the problem of rising healthcare costs," Kessler continues. "If employers decide to use consumer driven benefits as part of their overall strategy to reduce costs and recruit and retain top talent, they also need to make sure employees are getting the tools, education and guidance they need, and are using the tools effectively in order to make good decisions. Otherwise, adoption and savings rates for both the employer and employee will suffer."