n some cases, the lower employee premium contributions coupled with the larger HSA contributions ensure that employees who enroll in CDHPs will pay less out of pocket than if they enroll in a traditional preferred provider organization plan. And because the premiums employers pay for consumer-driven health plans are lower, too, it’s a win-win for all concerned, health benefits experts say.

    "We're pushing it heavily," said Raymond Brusca, vice president of benefits at Black & Decker Corp. in Towson, Md., referring to the company's high-deductible CDHP, which it introduced this year.

    Although deductibles are $1,500 for single employees and $3,000 for couples and families, Black & Decker's contribution to the health savings account lowers those deductibles to $1,000 and $2,000, respectively. The lower payroll contribution required by employees for the consumer-driven health plan reduces the out-of-pocket expense even further.

    Since single coverage costs Black & Decker $611 less per year than PPO coverage, their deductible essentially falls to just $389, which is slightly higher than the $325 annual PPO deductible.

    The outcome is more attractive for families. Because their annual premium contributions for the CDHP are $1,744 less than for the PPO, deductibles for couples and families that enroll in the consumer-driven health plan fall to just $256, far less than the $650 their PPO deductible would be. Black & Decker is currently undergoing open enrollment, so it won’t know until next month whether the incentive programs worked.

    But for employees who do the math, "it's a no-brainer," said Mr. Brusca, who is hoping to boost Black & Decker's CDHP enrollment to 25% in 2009 from 4% this year.

    Although Black & Decker hasn't yet seen its savings figures for last year, which was the first year it offered its consumer-driven health plan, Mr. Brusca is confident they will be significant.

    "Hopefully costs will be lower because of behavioral change and not due to adverse selection. We're going to find that out this year," he said.

    Greg Scandlen, director of Consumers for Health Care Choices, a Hagerstown, Md.-based organization that merged in April with the Heartland Institute in Chicago, believes that increasing enrollment in CDHPs is helping to curb medical inflation nationwide. He pointed to this year’s Kaiser Family Foundation/Health Research and Educational Trust report as evidence of that.

    The study, which was released in September 2008, found that employer health care costs rose 5% from 2007 to 2008, compared with 6.1% in 2007 and 7.7% in 2006. At the same time, enrollment in consumer-driven health plans grew to 13% in 2008, up from 10% in 2007 and 7% in 2006.

    "One of the contributing factors of these trends has got to be the rise of consumer-driven health care," Mr. Scandlen asserted. "The premium advantage of a consumer-driven plan is dramatic."

    Indeed, while the KFF/HRET study found that total PPO premiums—including both employer and employee contributions—averaged $4,802 for individuals and $12,937 for families last year, the total average cost of CDHPs was just $3,527 for individuals and $9,101 for families.

Joanne Wojick is a reporter for Business Insurance.  To comment, e-mail editors@workforce.com.