How Do People Feel About Their Health Plans?

The Employee Benefits Research Institute does what its name suggests, track data and trends in employer-offered health benefits.  It recently released a brief regarding employee satisfaction with their health benefits.  Now I would expect people to be pretty unhappy, due to high costs, including premium sharing, deductibles and copays; and because of access issues in recent years.  But most people appear to be fairly satisfied.  63% were very satisfied and 28% somewhat satisfied with the ease of selecting a health plan, assuming they have a choice at their company, which many don’t.  That kind of make senses, it is just an administrative process.  And sure enough, only 51% were very satisfied with their choices among health plans, with 32% somewhat satisfied, and 17% dissatisfied.  49% were satisfied with the affordability of their health plans, which surprises me.  A fairly high percentage were satisfied with the open enrollment process.  People with high deductible plans ended up spending more time in the open enrollment process.

People said the network of providers, low out-of-pocket costs, low premiums, drug coverage and ease of understanding benefits were the most important factors in a health plan decision.  Notwithstanding the cost focus, two-thirds of respondents said they were in a plan with a deductible.   About 20% are in high deductible plans, usually paired with some kind of savings account.  Most people said they were satisfied with the quality of their care, but most people don’t really know how to understand quality.   The one quibble about the survey is that it doesn’t break out size of employer.  Health plans at small employers can be more expensive and have lower benefits.   (EBRI Survey)