Jun 9, 2017, 9:31 PM
[from Nonprofitquarterly.com] According to a recent study by the National Center for Health Statistics at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the percentage of privately insured American adults aged 18 to 64 with high deductible health plans (HDHP) has risen from 26.3 in 2011 to 39.3 percent in 2016. This represents an increase of almost 50 percent in HDHP insured people. According to the report, “In 2016, HDHP was defined as a health plan with an annual deductible of at least $1,300 for self-only coverage or $2,600 for family coverage.”
The report tracks both employer-provided policies and policies purchased by individuals, and both groups are seeing significant recent increases in use of HDHPs. This is not surprising because HDHPs are less expensive than health insurance policies with lower deductibles and other patient-paid out-of-pocket costs. However, HDHPs become expensive when used, as the higher deductibles, copays, and other expenses like potentially higher prescription drug costs can easily overwhelm a typical person or family’s budget. An unanticipated medical bill of at least $1,300 represents a crisis for many Americans.
Read the full article at the Nonprofit Quarterly.
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