Part of the "What I Learned Reading CDHC Solutions" series: According to a survey, the results of which have been published in this
article, there are now 22 million Americans enrolled in CDHPs or HDHPs, increases of 4 percent and 13 percent respectively.
Not a lot to say on this one other than that this is not a surprise and there is obviously an upward trend in these kinds of health care plans. One thing the article said that I found particularly interesting was that "consumer-driven health plans are designed to give workers more control over how they pay for their health coverage". People want more flexibility and, more specifically, freedom to run their lives as they see fit. This is particular true of what their money gets spent on and how they go about providing for themselves, especially when it comes to medical care. I believe the reason CDHPs haven't grown faster over the last 15 years is because they were very complicated compared to traditional plans…at first. Being honest, they also had the tendency to be flawed. Many employees have experienced problems with their plan because the employer did not administer them correctly. These problems have been addressed however. Many of the world's largest and most respected health care providers now offer consumer-driven and high-deductible plans, and most employers are eager to offer them as a viable alternative.