A study by Hewitt Associates finds 45% of employees actively chose their benefits for 2010 instead of simply defaulting into the same coverage they had previously or taking no coverage at all.
This was up sharply from the 2009 open-enrollment period for voluntary benefits, where 39% actively enrolled, reports Hewitt, Lincolnshire, Ill, a human resources consulting firm.
Most employees chose to enroll in 2010 in similar health plans to what they have in the past, according to Hewitt's analysis of 6 million U.S. workers for whom it managed benefits enrollment in the fall of 2009.
Enrollment in exclusive provider organizations (1%), preferred provider organizations (35%) and high-deductible health plans (18%) remained steady in 2010 with previous years. Enrollment in health maintenance organizations dipped slightly, from 17% in 2009 to 14%. Point of service plans saw a slight uptick from 5% in 2009 to 8%, while indemnity plans rose slightly from 11% to 13%.
Enrollment in health savings accounts has risen steadily over the past 5 years, from 5% in 2005 to 14% percent in 2010. Enrollment in flexible spending accounts rose slightly to 20% in the current enrollment period, from 18% in 2009.
"It's encouraging to see that people are more engaged in assessing their benefits, but that doesn't mean they are necessarily making different choices," said Sara Taylor, health and welfare strategy leader at Hewitt. "If employers want workers to make different elections, they might need to adopt a more aggressive approach–whether it's changing or reducing plan options or offering plans with widely differing price points."
More employees are using online decision-support tools to help them compare health care coverage options and make decisions about coverage, Hewitt found. For example, use of an online tool from Hewitt that gives employees examples of the benefits choices of people in similar circumstances increased from 8% in 2009 to 26% in 2010, while 22% used its medical expense estimator in 2010, up from 11% percent in 2009.
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