Driven by private sector efforts to build products and services to give consumers more information and decision making power, a respected think tank believes growth will continue despite lawmaker disinterest in the next congress.

 “The momentum toward giving consumers more power and authority over their health care decisions and spending will continue, but will likely get less of a boost from the 110th Congress, which will focus more on the government's role in the health sector,” said Grace-Marie Turner, president of the Galen Institute, a non-profit research organization,

Turner’s group believes that there is a great deal of energy in the private sector to boost consumerism, with thousands of new companies investing in ideas and technologies to make the delivery of health care faster, better, and cheaper, while empowering consumers to be more engaged in their healthcare decisions.  This includes programs and options such as the price cuts on generic drugs, consumer-focused clinics that are springing up in retail stores and malls across the country, and the creation of digital health information records.

Turner states that “while the elections were not a referendum on health care, the issue nonetheless is likely to take center stage in the Democrat-controlled Congress. There will be new leaders, different issues, and a new playbook.” The likely focuses will be health insurance for the uninsured and moves to reform the states’ health care systems.

She sees that “the efforts to build congressional support for measures that would create Association Health Plans and allow cross-state purchasing of health insurance will likely stall in the new Congress, as will efforts to refine and enhance Health Savings Accounts.  Over the past several years, President Bush and his administration have been staunch supporters of HSAs and it is believed that they will continue to argue against changes that would reduce the success and growth of these plans. 

Based on these beliefs, Turner believes it is likely that the focus will shift to the private sector. “Employers are likely to focus on consumer-directed options. A recent McKinsey survey shows that 96 percent of major employers said that use of consumer-directed health plans is important to sustain a health care benefit offering over the long term.”

Turner further reports that:

• Companies find that they must engage in a much more active employee education effort in order to make the new plans work, such as involving the CEO, customizing messages to suit their corporate culture; providing information in many different formats such as face-to-face meetings, videos, interactive programs, and print; and measuring employee engagement and satisfaction.

• Employers also are finding that their efforts to promote preventive care, by integrating and providing new incentives for wellness activities, are paying off. Employers are finding that removing some barriers to care and treatment options and educating employees about self-care for chronic illnesses can save money in the long run.

• The movement toward consumerism is a growing global force. Competition can work in the health sector, as it does in the rest of the economy. As people have more tools to become informed consumers in the health sector, they will begin to shape the health sector so that it provides more attractive and affordable treatment and coverage options.

• Policy changes in Washington are unlikely to change this trend, but the debate nonetheless can be expected to shift toward a greater focus on government programs and government oversight in the health sector.