Consumer-driven plans need more educational tools

If insurers want more people to sign up for consumer-driven health plans, they must provide specific tools and outreach to educate consumers and employers that provide these plans to their workers, reported Business Insurance. And with more third-party vendors introducing educational tools, insurers are working to enhance their own in-house offerings. "Vendors are taking real claims data and are building more specific unit-cost pricing," said Jim Winkler, chief innovation officer of health and benefits at Aon Hewitt in Norwalk, Connecticut. "That has pushed the health plans to make their tools provide more specific cost information." Some insurers are even partnering with vendors to offer more assistance for members with consumer-directed health plans. For example, Aetna has partnered with a vendor to provide a hospital comparison tool for its members. Article