The Washington Post offers a profile of an educated health care consumer, counsel for the Senate Finance Committee, who was "pushed to the limits of her knowledge and patience keeping track of her so-called consumer-directed health plan."
The headline of the article calls consumer-directed plans "a health gamble."
That savvy consumer said, "I appreciate the concept of making consumers more aware about health care costs," but "I didn't understand the full consequences" of choosing a high-deductible policy. She says her health plan left her confused and with a pile of paperwork. She says her experience was "awful," adding, "I don't consider it consumer-directed and it's certainly not consumer-friendly."
Posted by schwitz at October 18, 2005 10:24 AM | TrackBackYet another problem with America's healthcare system.
When people are offered a lot of choices of something, rather than spend time researching them all, most consumers just lock up, or make an uninformed decision.
This has been proven in studies regarding investments.
If it's difficult for professionals to decode insurance policy details, how can anyone expect the average consumer to do so?
That is IF they can even afford it.
We're headed for a healthcare crisis in this country.
Posted by: What's Next In Health at October 21, 2005 02:16 PM