Next week make sure to attend at least one of the insurance meetings. You will want to gather as much information as possible about you and your family’s insurance benefits under the district’s new consumer-driven health plans (CDHPs). But I doubt they’ll tell you everything about your new plan.

At the meeting I doubt they’ll tell you that individuals with more comprehensive health insurance (i.e. Super Care/Choices II) are more satisfied with their health plan than individuals in high deductible health plans (HDHPs).

At the meeting I doubt they’ll tell you that individuals with CDHPs and HDHPs are significantly more likely to spend a large share of their income on out-of -pocket health care expenses than those in comprehensive health plans.

At the meeting I doubt they’ll tell you that individuals with CDHPs and HDHPs are significantly more likely to avoid, skip, or delay health care because of costs than are those with more comprehensive health insurance, with problems particularly pronounced among those with health problems or incomes under $50,000.

At the meeting I doubt they’ll tell you that there is evidence that people in CDHPs and HDHPs are more likely to go without care.

All of this information came from a study published in December 2005, by the Employee Benefit Research Institute. Check it out yourself: http://www.cmwf.org/usr_doc/fronstin_consumerism_survey.pdf