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Health Reimbursement Accounts (HRAs) and Health Savings Account (HSA) eligible health plans emerged as new health care insurance models referred to as Consumer Directed Health Plans (CDHPs) in the early 2000s. Factors that determine enrollees’ plan choice can influence the distribution of socio-economic, health risk, and behavioral characteristics across plans. These factors in turn can affect the financial costs, risk pools, and long-term solvency of such plans.

Prior out-of-pocket spending may have a different association with plan choice than health risk scores relative to Consumer Directed Health Plans choice. This study examines differences in the possible influence between health status and out-of-pocket spending on health care needs on health care plan choice between Managed Care and CDHPs.

Health Care Administration, Management, Human Resources