Among the covered Americans who have consumer-driven health plans (CDHPs), workers with employee-only coverage have seen their annual employer contributions decrease, while those with family coverage have seen their annual employer contributions increase, according to a new report by the nonpartisan Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI).

While the percentage of workers with a health reimbursement arrangement (HRA) or health savings account (HSA) plan whose employer contributes to the account has not changed statistically since 2006, the percentage of employers making contributions dropped from 67 percent in 2008 to 63 percent in 2009, according to an EBRI news release.

Between 2006 and 2008, the percentage of workers with employee-only coverage reporting that their employer contributed $1,000 or more to the account increased from 26 percent to 37 percent, but in 2009, it fell to 32 percent. The percentage of workers with an employer contribution of less than $200 increased from 3 percent to 8 percent between 2008 and 2009.

Among workers with family coverage, the percentage of workers receiving a contribution of $1,000 or more increased from 59 percent in 2008 to 73 percent in 2009.

. . . According to the EBRI report, in 2009, 4 percent of the adult population with private health insurance was enrolled in an HRA or had a high-deductible plan with an HSA, up 1 percent from the previous year. An additional 4.9 percent were eligible for an HSA but did not have such an account. Overall, 8.9 percent of adults with private insurance were either in a CDHP or were in a high-deductible plan that was eligible for an HSA, but had not opened an account.

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