Sliding Economy, Rising Consumerism

Our current economic downturn is affecting all Americans in one way or another, whether it be a small or large impact, yet research shows consumerism is up!

Consumerism within the healthcare industry has seen a rise over the last year and is quickly gaining speed. I recently read an article published in Inside Consumer Directed Care (volume 7, number 7, April 3rd 2008, pages 5-6) which highlighted two interesting findings – 1) use of prescription comparison tools have spiked considerably within the last 6 months, and 2) employee contributions to their HSA have increased, despite employer contribution decreases in the last year. These two findings are not only interesting, but show the incredible growth seen within consumer directed (or driven) healthcare.

This article references that web-based prescription pricing tools from various companies have seen an increase in daily hits of 30% in comparison to last year and site traffic has jumped approximately 144%. We at HealthEquity have also seen similar usage spikes with our own prescription pricing comparison tools. What’s amazing about this is the return of patient responsibility. It’s a patient’s responsibility to fill the prescription their doctor has prescribed. In good economic times, to pay what the cashier tells them to pay. Now the responsibility for seeking out alternative drugs and prescription coupons is gaining significant popularity. HealthEquity’s real-time prescription pricing comparison tools have shown to be one of our most popular locations within our member portal. We have laid the groundwork for our members to continue to manage their healthcare finances responsibly, in turn improving their health equity.

The second portion of this article relates to the decrease in employer contributions to their employees Health Savings Accounts (HSA’s). Despite many companies cutting back costs by lowering their contributions to HSAs, many more employees increased their personal contributions throughout all of 2008. Times are tough, but many individuals and families are seeing the intrinsic value in HSAs which not only instill patient responsibility, but also ensure they are getting the right education from their doctors on treatments and costs, and can in turn do their own research for care alternatives with lower costs with equal quality of treatments. Not to mention, HSAs provide terrific ways to contribute, save, grow and spend your dollars—all tax free!

This report makes me hopeful that the work we have been doing in educating individuals and families on the importance of taking back control of their health and wealth is actually making a difference. We’re a long ways away from our goal, but this report is a great indicator to a bright future for HealthEquity and Americans alike.