CDHP Options – AspireUSA

Consumer Driven Health Plan Options

As part of our commitment to remaining the most well-informed experts on your behalf, AspireUSA examines and monitors CDHPs on an ongoing basis. While we advise our clients to exercise caution when considering these options, we also offer this brief overview of three major programs:

Health Reimbursement Arrangements (HRA)

These plans provide a great deal of flexibility for employers, which is one of the most appealing factors of HRAs. Employers have many options including the use of a high deductible health plan, increasing employee out of pocket expense maximums, limiting benefits in the base health plan, etc. An employer then establishes a medical reimbursement plan wherein employees submit claims for reimbursable expenses to the employer or HRA plan administrator.

Health Savings Accounts (HSA)

A number of insurers and administrators have designed a variety of plans meeting the regulatory guidelines for HSA plans. Basically, a high deductible health plan is coupled with a tax-deferred savings account, which can be funded by the employer and/or employee. Since the savings account belongs to the employee, some believe that HSA-covered insureds will be more responsible consumers within the health care system. The HSA concept continues to evolve, and it may be a good fit for some employers, however, employers should be aware of and understand all pros and cons.

Risk Transfer Program (RTP)

AspireUSA has access to a creative program, which can be packaged with an underlying health insurance plan to provide purchasing efficiencies for employers willing to “think outside the box”. The RTP ultimately results in premium minimization without eroding the much needed insurance protection. If available, we suggest that an employer consider an RTP as a method to reduce costs in the short term and as a conservative first step toward other CDHP options.

To provide the best counsel to our clients, AspireUSA has been doing extensive research on these and other CDHPs. Based on our research to date, we feel that the above programs will likely provide you with improved purchasing efficiency. However, Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) are a “different animal”. Benefits studies conducted so far on HSA-covered insureds do not reflect positive trends. We will continue to keep our clients informed as more is learned in this area.