Benefits August 13, 2014

Satisfaction with Traditional Health Plans Decreasing

August 13, 2014 (PLANSPONSOR.com) – While almost half of enrollees in traditional managed care health plans are satisfied with their health coverage, that number is decreasing, according to the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI).
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In 2013, 44% of traditional-plan participants were extremely or very satisfied with out-of-pocket costs (for health care services other than for prescription drugs), while 20% of high-deductible health plan (HDHP) enrollees and 31% of consumer-drive health plan (CDHP) participants were extremely or very satisfied. However, satisfaction has been trending upward among CDHP enrollees in recent years, according to EBRI.

“As in previous years of the survey, in 2013 individuals in a CDHP or an HDHP were found to be less likely than those in a traditional plan both to recommend their health plan to friends or co-workers, and to stay with their current health plan if they had the opportunity to switch plans,” says Paul Fronstin, director of EBRI’s Health Research and Education Program, based in Washington, D.C.

He adds that the percentage of HDHP and CDHP enrollees reporting that they would be extremely or very likely to recommend their plan to friends or coworkers has been trending upward, while it has been flat among individuals with traditional coverage.

Findings from the survey also show the following:

  • Overall Satisfaction Rates: Very few traditional-plan enrollees were not too or not at all satisfied with their health plan in any year of the survey. In 2013, only 11% of traditional-plan enrollees were not too or not at all satisfied with their health plan. In comparison, 22% of HDHP and 19% of CDHP enrollees reported that they were not too or not at all satisfied with their health plan. Overall, dissatisfaction among CDHP and HDHP enrollees has been trending downward during the survey period.
  • Quality of Care: Other than in 2006, individuals in a CDHP were as satisfied as individuals with traditional coverage with the quality of care received. By 2013, about two-thirds of individuals, whether in a CDHP (67%) or with traditional coverage (68%), were extremely or very satisfied with the quality of care received.

In contrast, individuals with an HDHP were less likely to be satisfied with the quality of care received than those in a traditional plan in every year of the survey. By 2013, 61% of HDHP enrollees were extremely or very satisfied with quality of care received, compared with 68% among traditional plan enrollees. Satisfaction with quality of care fell between 2012 and 2013 for both individuals with a CDHP and those with traditional coverage.

The full survey report, “Satisfaction With Health Coverage and Care: Findings from the 2013 EBRI/Greenwald & Associates Consumer Engagement in Health Care Survey,” is available in the August issue of EBRI Notes, which can be found at http://www.ebri.org.

These recent findings come from the 2013 EBRI/Greenwald & Associates Consumer Engagement in Health Care Survey (CEHCS), compared with the 2005‒2007 EBRI/Commonwealth Fund Consumerism in Health Care surveys, and the 2008‒2012 CEHCS.

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