Consumer-driven health(CDH)plans are growing in popularity in the United States, according to a survey.

The study conducted by Aon and the International Society of Certified Employee Benefit Specialists found that 37% of employers offer a CDH plan, up from 28% last year and 22% in 2005.

A CDH plan is a combination of employer contributions through a health reimbursement arrangement or health savings account, out-of pocket purchases paid by the employee, and preventative healthcare coverage.

“Employers like them because they are seeing a reduction in healthcare cost increases,” says Bill Sharon, senior vice-president with Aon. “Our analysis shows that a company can achieve first-year savings of 8% of their premium if they implement an effective consumer-driven healthcare strategy.”

More employees are enrolling in a CDH plan than last year, with 60% of employers saying that more than one-tenth of their workers participate in such a plan. That’s up from 53% of employers in 2005.

There were 470 employers located across the U.S. that participated in the study.

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