CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — A recent joint Employee Benefit News/Forrester Benefit Decisions Impact Study on consumer directed health plans finds that employers contemplating offering such plans would have them as part of a mix of benefit offerings.

According to the study, benefits executives' concerns over employees' health empowerment, the complexity of CDHP benefits management and the level of savings CDHPs deliver are the key roadblocks to widespread CDHP adoption. The study finds 30% of large employers surveyed compared to 16% of midsized employers currently offer CDHPs. In addition, more employers are incorporating preventative health options such as structured disease management and health/wellness programs into their benefits structure.

According to Forrester analysts, for CDHPs to grow, employers are not only looking for demonstrations of the return on investment of such plans, but also some form of member decision support. Here is a look at a few other survey findings: