The financial burdens of high-deductible plans

Health Affairs

Volumn 35, Issue 12, 2016, Pages 2297-2301

  Abdus, Salam ^a   Selden, Thomas M ^a   Keenan, Patricia ^a  

^a AGENCY FOR HEALTHCARE RESEARCH AND QUALITY   (United States)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

ARTICLE; FAMILY INCOME; FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT; HEALTH CARE COST; HEALTH INSURANCE; HEALTH SERVICE; HIGHEST INCOME GROUP; HUMAN; LOWEST INCOME GROUP; PREVALENCE; ADULT; COST; ECONOMICS; HEALTH CARE DELIVERY; INSURANCE; MIDDLE AGED; POVERTY; QUESTIONNAIRE; STATISTICS AND NUMERICAL DATA; UNITED STATES;

ADULT; DEDUCTIBLES AND COINSURANCE; DELIVERY OF HEALTH CARE; HEALTH BENEFIT PLANS, EMPLOYEE; HEALTH EXPENDITURES; HUMANS; INSURANCE COVERAGE; INSURANCE, HEALTH; MIDDLE AGED; POVERTY; SURVEYS AND QUESTIONNAIRES; UNITED STATES;

EID: 85009177466     PISSN: 02782715     EISSN: 15445208     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1377/hlthaff.2016.0842     Document Type: Article

References (15)

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7. The specified deductible amounts were $1,200 for individual plans and $2,400 for family plans in 2011 and 2012, and $1,250 for individual plans and $2,500 for family plans in 2013. These amounts correspond to the contemporaneous minimum annual deductibles for high-deductible health plans as defined by the Internal Revenue Service. See Internal Revenue Service. Publication 969, health savings accounts and other tax-favored health plans [Internet]. Washington (DC): IRS; [cited 2016 Oct 17]. Available from: https://www.irs.gov/uac/about-publication-969
8. To access the Appendix, click on the Appendix link in the box to the right of the article online.
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14. These results are broadly consistent with evidence from a New England health plan. See Galbraith AA, Ross Degnan D, Soumerai SB, Rosenthal MB, Gay C, Lieu TA. Nearly half of families in high-deductible health plans whose members have chronic conditions face substantial financial burden. Health Aff (Millwood). 2011;30(2):322-31.
15. Some families with family coverage might also have faced worker-only premiums above the threshold for subsidy eligibility. The Medical Expenditure Panel Survey does not provide worker-only premium data in these cases. However, the federal poverty level and the associated thresholds are higher for multi person families, so that eligibility for Marketplace subsidies is likely to be infrequent in this group. See Hudson JL, Hill SC, Selden TM. If rollbacks go forward, up to 14 million children could become ineligible for public or subsidized coverage by 2019. Health Aff (Millwood). 2015;34(5):864-70.