Although "little research" has been conducted on the effects of high-deductible health plans on women, "several studies point to potentially higher costs, ... especially where maternity care is concerned," MarketWatch reports.
Under high-deductible plans, an individual is responsible for at least the first $1,100 of out-of-pocket medical costs, and out-of-pocket costs for family plans start at $2,200, "though deductibles often run much higher," according to MarketWatch.
An April Harvard Medical School study on high-deductible plans found that in 2006, health costs for working-age women averaged about $1,844, compared with $847 for men. Among people ages 18 to 44, women's median outlays were about $1,266 for high-deductible plans, compared with $463 for men (Gerencher, MarketWatch, 7/5). A June study conducted by researchers at the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Georgetown University Health Policy Institute found that consumer-driven health plans generally require families to pay higher out-of-pocket costs for maternity care than traditional insurance plans (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 6/13).
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Judy Waxman, vice president for health at the National Women's Law Center, said that women often do not fare well under high-deductible plans because they have to use medical services more often than men and are more likely to forgo needed medical care if they have to pay for treatment out-of-pocket.