Leaders at Silicon Valley-based Intel had already been educating employees about their high-deductible plans, among other insurance options, but a few years ago they significantly ramped up those efforts.

 

  They developed a side-by-side chart, comparing the five primary insurance approaches, which included a high-deductible plan paired with either a health savings account or a health reimbursement account. They spent additional time at Intel work sites meeting with employees and provided a phone number for questions.

 

  Also, beginning in 2007, they launched an internal health benefits forum so that employees could exchange information during enrollment. The overall strategy: to convince employees to look at facets other than just the high deductible involved, including the lower premiums and the accrual of a health account.

 

  “We wanted to make sure that employees understand the total value of what’s there,” says Corrie Zenzola, Intel’s global health and risk benefits design manager.

 

  U.S. employees have been slow to embrace consumer-directed health plans, which pair a high-deductible policy with a health savings or health reimbursement account. In 2009, 9 percent of all insured employees were covered by high-deductible plans, compared with 5 percent in 2007, according to Mercer’s annual health plan survey data, released in November 2009.

 

  But at least half of large employers offer a high-deductible plan. The figure in 2009 was 54 percent, according to the Health Care Cost Survey by Towers Perrin (now Towers Watson). The survey focused on Fortune 1,000 companies.

 

  When companies introduce high-deductible plans, their complexities can trigger confusion and misunderstandings that extend beyond the enrollment period. Companies like Intel are striving to avert these issues. Among the numerous variables, according to benefits experts, are questions such as these:

  

• How much does the employer contribute to the health savings account or health reimbursement account?
• How does the attached debit card work?
• How should employees budget for these accounts or, more broadly, a higher-deductible plan in general?

 

  “You peel back each onion layer and there is just more and more to explain,” says Dean Hatfield, national health practice leader at Sibson Consulting. “It’s one of those programs that really needs some very carefully thought out communication to help employees understand it and not scare them away.” Contact for complete article.