CDHP cost savings can help ailing US economy

The USA's CIGNA Choice Fund account-based consumer-driven health plans reduced medical cost trend by 13% relative to health maintenance  organizations and preferred provider organization plans, even as  individuals enrolled in CDHPs use more preventive services and comply  with their medical treatments, according to a new multi-year study that  compares the health care claims experience of nearly 440,000 covered by  CIGNA CDHPs and traditional HMOs and PPOs.

"In these tough economic times, it's critical that we all do what we can  to cut medical costs without cutting care," said CIGNA chief medical  officer, Jeffery Kang. "Critics of consumer-driven health plans contend  that people will sacrifice their health to save money; when in fact our  data show that account-based plans save money even as individuals  receive the same or higher levels of care than those in traditional  health plans," he added.

According to Dr Kang: "in our latest study of medical claims for 440,000  people covered by CIGNA plans, we reviewed claims for 22,000 individuals  who have either hypertension or diabetes and found that medical cost  trend was substantially less for those with CDHPs, while their treatment  regimens were the same or better than those in traditional HMOs and  PPOs."