Consumerism's Effect on Individual Health

In the realm of health care, "consumerism" is defined as a trend toward patients deciding what types of health care they need and how much they're willing to spend on it. This is being driven by the drop in employer-provided health insurance coverage and the development of financial vehicles such as tax-free savings accounts, which encourage individuals to invest in their health care to ensure its quality and availability.

Definition

• Consumer-directed health plans typically have three components, the Aetna insurance company explains on its website. In addition to providing the tax-free health savings account or a similar type of fund that either consumers or employers pay into, they include a health insurance plan with high deductibles but low monthly premiums. The insurance companies also provide information, often online, to help consumers make informed decisions about treatments and costs so that the patients can choose which treatments they need instead of relying on the physicians or insurance companies to make the selections for them. These insurance plans don't require the policyholder to pay for preventive care, such as routine physicals, child vaccinations, obesity weight-loss programs or routine prenatal care, Aetna explains.

The Pros

• These plans' high deductibles force consumers to pay for more of their health care, encouraging them to seek only necessary treatment and to comparison-shop. Moreover, the lower monthly premiums make the plans more affordable for many who might not otherwise be able to participate, Aetna points out. By fully covering the cost of preventive care, the plans also encourage consumers to seek it and develop healthy lifestyles, reducing the likelihood that they'll need more costly medical care down the road.

The Cons

• Consumerism in health care rewards the healthy but punishes those who can't keep health care costs down because they have severe or chronic illnesses or injuries, researcher Mary Crossley writes in a 2005 University of Pittsburgh Legal Studies Research Paper. She views this as a type of discrimination against unhealthy people who may have little if any control over the existence or severity of their medical conditions and the cost of treatment.

Impact on Consumers' Choice of Providers

• Health care consumerism's emphasis on rewarding those who seek to keep costs down may drive the current trend toward seeking routine care from nurse practitioners, an article on the Nursing Program.com website points out. "HMOs and other insurance plans are encouraging patients to choose nurse practitioners as their primary care givers whenever possible," the article says.

Federal Health Care Reform's Impact

• The health care reform legislation President Barack Obama signed into law in March 2010 is designed to extend health care coverage to 30 million uninsured U.S. residents. It will require those who can afford it to obtain health care and insurers to cover those with pre-existing conditions. This could help some of the physically disadvantaged receive essential care that would otherwise be beyond their financial reach, according to a Reuters article on the legislation. However, many people who buy expensive health care insurance will be taxed on it, the Consumerism Commentary website warns.