August 30th, 2011

From Kaiser Health News:

Employees love to gripe about rising health care costs, but a new poll finds most are not willing to sacrifice to pay less for their insurance.

Only 27 percent of people with insurance provided through their employer said they would  accept a more restricted list of doctors and hospitals in their networks, according to the latest monthly poll from the Kaiser Family Foundation. (KHN is an editorially-independent program of the foundation.) Less than a third of those polled were willing to pay more for brand name drugs or pay higher deductibles in return for lower premiums.

Only one idea floated in the poll — having people participate in corporate wellness programs promoting healthy behaviors — won over a majority of employees: 68 percent said they’d be willing to take part in one of these programs in exchange for lower premiums.

The poll found that most workers don’t blame their companies for the escalating cost of health care. Two out of three said they were offered the best coverage the company could afford given financial circumstances. A whopping 88 percent reported a somewhat or very positive experience with their employer-provided health care plan.

Read more from Kaiser Health News