Coming soon, but slowly

0 Comments | Philadelphia Inquirer, The, January, 2006 | by Josh Goldstein

Consumerism is the latest rage in health insurance.

Employers are pushing it in hopes of saving money and improving the health of workers. Insurers are marketing health savings accounts and health reimbursement arrangements to attract subscribers. And millions of people have jumped from managed-care policies into consumer-directed plans.

Except in the Philadelphia area that is.

While employers here are interested and the region's major insurers all offer an array of such plans, the number of people embracing consumer-directed health plans is tiny.

Only 6,200 of Independence Blue Cross' 2.7 million area subscribers are in one of its BlueSaver consumer-directed plans.

UnitedHealthcare, the nation's second-largest insurer, has 1.5 million...