Consumers buy high-deductible health plans begrudgingly

Non-group insurance enrollment hit an all-time high in 2015, but many of those consumers that bought high-deductible plans do not think are a good value, Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) President and CEO Drew Altman wrote in the Wall Street Journal. Only 37 percent of respondents to a KFF survey described their high-deductible health plans--defined as more than $1,500 for an individual plan and more than $3,00 for a family plan--as an "excellent" or "good" value, compared to 68 percent for those who bought non-group plans with a lower deductible. A high-deductible plan is often a "Faustian bargain" for many consumers, Altman said; they may need more comprehensive coverage, he said, but the lower premium is all they can afford. Commentary