Consumer-directed health care–what is it?

Consumer-directed health care enables individuals to have more control over when and how they access care, what types of care they use, and how much they spend on health care services. National attention to consumer-directed health care increased following the enactment of the Medicare Prescription Drug Improvement and Modernization Act of 2003, which established tax-advantaged health savings accounts.

A new report released by NCHS today features estimates of those using consumer-directed health care in 2007–estimates are provided for enrollment in high deductible health plans (HDHPs), plans with high deductibles coupled with health savings accounts also known as consumer-directed health plans (CDHPs), and the percentage of individuals with private coverage whose family has a flexible spending account (FSA) for medical expenses, by selected sociodemographic characteristics.

To learn more, access the report at http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db15.htm.