ValuePoint: Consumerism

Consumerism takes a number of shapes - High Deductible Health Plans, Health Savings Accounts, etc. - but its end result is the same. Consumers are taking on an increasing financial responsibility for their healthcare purchases, whether through changes in their employer sponsored coverage, loss of coverage altogether, or other reductions. Here are some observations that healthcare experts are making.

Enrollment in consumer-directed health plans grew by 18 percent in 2011, with large employers showing the biggest one-year increase seen so far – from 23 percent in 2010 to 32 percent in 2011

From 2006 to 2011, the percentage of covered workers with a deductible of $1,000 or more for single coverage tripled, from 10% to 31%

40% of surveyed employers did not offer health insurance coverage in 2011

34% of the uninsured are full-time workers

Nearly 40% of the uninsured population reside in households that earn $50,000 or more

Sources: The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, Mercer's National Survey of Employer-Sponsored Health Plans, U.S. Census

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