January 2012
Cardiovascular Performance
December 2011
Preventive Care
November 2011
Hospital Selection
October 2011
Financial Trends
September 2011
Mental Health, Substance Abuse Costs
August 2011
Healthcare Online Trends
July 2011
Costs of Care
June 2011
Hospital Performance
May 2011
Workforce Wellness
April 2011
Outpatient Trends
March 2011
Hospital-Based Care
February 2011
Healthcare Spending
January 2011
Cardiovascular Service
December 2010
Healthcare Reform: Utilization
November 2010
Healthcare Reform: Readmissions
October 2010
Healthcare Reform: Medicaid
September 2010
Consumer Healthcare Sentiment Index
August 2010
Wellness Pays
July 2010
Hospital Performance
June 2010
Financial Trends
May 2010
Ambulatory Surgery Trends
April 2010
Orthopedic Trends
March 2010
Niche Technologies
February 2010
Outpatient Trends

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HealthLeaders magazine, September 13, 2008

Consumer-directed health plans aim to reduce healthcare expenditures by creating a financial savings vehicle for enrollees' increased out-of-pocket healthcare expenses to create incentive to spend wisely. But some early findings have raised questions about the plans' effectiveness in this regard. One study found that although increased out-of-pocket expenses were expected to lower utilization of unneeded services, CDHP enrollees reported making more visits and undergoing more procedures than non-CDHP enrollees. One explanation is that CDHP enrollees have a higher "health conscience" that prompts them to use excess services even in the face of higher out-of-pocket costs. Whatever the reason, CDHPs may need to alter their incentives and offer new forms of information to enrollees to achieve the lower expenses they seek.