Just in case you thought I only publicized the potential problems with HSAs, there are some people in America happy to see them. Destiny Health, which is now offering its consumer services via other health plans has put together a survey quoting several health plan CEOs as saying that CDHPs will be the savior for their clients, and (not that they mentioned it) give them something else to sell that essentially allows their customers to offer worse benefits to their employees. In this context CDHP stands for “consultant-driven-health plan”.
However, the rah-rah approach is a little derailed by Destiny’s CEO:
Scott Spiker, CEO of Destiny Health, the company that conducted the survey, commenting on new study that revealed that Americans’ interest in Health Savings Accounts (HSAs), a key component of the recently passed Medicare bill, is strong, but knowledge of the accounts is surprisingly low. “However, it’s clear that consumer education is vital for their full power to be reached because HSAs alone cannot change consumer behavior when it comes to healthcare spending,” he said.
True words indeed. I await the backlash from consumers when they find out what consumer-directed really means in terms of benefits from their employers, and how ready the provider side of the industry is with its soon-to-be-transparent pricing.
Of course single payer lunatic (well they all are, aren’t they?) Don McCanne explains why HSAs can’t work on a macro-scale in this post. Ten years after I first heard this notion I still await an HSA advocate to explain to me why McCanne’s logic is wrong.
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My husbands company just joined. Today I had to pay $150.00 for 14 days worth of antibiotics for my sons strep throat. We have the HSA. I called D.H. they said we have a $5000.00 deductibile on perscriptions.
Sounds like this health ins. is going to kill us.
HELP!
Renee,
Personaly I would not get involved, I can’t even begin
to tell you what we have been through and what it has cost.
We recently had a representative from Destiny Health make a presentation to our company. I’m interested in any comments negative or positive about this plan.
Thank you.
Destiny was a good up last Oct. of 05. Then they started making changes in thier Vitility program that penalized the small groups using it. They partnered with a Health Club that was over an hour from where our group lived. With the rise in gas prices it was not worth spending 2 hrs driving for a 1 hr. workout. They have also changed thier PMF to a Savings Acct. When we join them 3 years ago the Rep. from Destiny told our group that if we ended with Destiny that the money was ours and we would recieve it. Now that our group has left Destiny they are denying this and we are now told we have to submit claims to recieve this money. There would also be a $25.00 processing fee. Last year I recieved a 1099 2 weeks after the Jan. 31 dead line based on info by IRS regs. We ended our contract with Destiny on Sept. 30 and we can no longer access any of our acct. info. The Web site is not kept updated very well and I was checking my statements and couldn’t which prompted the call. They told me all my Doctors had been paid and that my Saving Acct was this and I informed this person that it was $500.00 off. They told me that they would check the balance of my Saving and also my left over spendable bucks of which I had about 1,000. The reason the group left was because of a 14% increase this year. They are taking more and giving less. They are not members of the BBB and have yet to respond to the BBB concerning thier type of business.
Care to expand on how you were “ripped off”?
Destiny Health and their Personal Medical Fund is nothing more than an insurance shell game where consumers are ripped off. I know personally.
I’m just reading the information that you had written in October 2004. Unfortunaley you are looking at a small portion of CDHP. HSA’s do not work for everyone, that’s why we sell HRA’s to employees whom may have chronic medical conditions or can’t afford to fund the HSA. I have over 30 companies insured by Destiny and have been able to save the companies and their employees thousands of dollars. Do your research!!