In a likely sign of the times, some employers with consumer-driven health plans are dropping their annual contributions and others are shifting their contribution mix, according to a new survey from the Employee Benefit Research Institute. Overall, the percentage of employers making contributions to their employees’ HRAs or HSAs dropped from 67% in 2008 to 63% in 2009, the survey found.

Employers are also shifting their contributions to HRAs and HSAs to the advantage of employees with family coverage and the disadvantage of those with employee-only coverage. Workers with employee-only coverage saw their employer contributions fall in 2009 after two years of increases. Between 2006 and 2008, the percentage of workers with employee-only coverage whose employer contributed at least $1,000 to their accounts increased from 26% to 37%, but fell to 32% in 2009. 

Meanwhile, employees with family coverage in a CDHP saw their employer contributions rise this year. The percentage of workers with CDHP family coverage receiving an employer contribution of at least $1,000 stood at 79% in 2009, up from 59% in 2008. 

The share of the adult population enrolled in account-based health plans remains small and growing slowly, the survey confirmed. In 2009, 4% of adults with health insurance were enrolled in an HRA or had a high-deductible plan with an HSA, up from 3% in 2008. An additional 4.9% were eligible for an HSA but were not enrolled, the survey found. 

More participants in CDHPs are reporting rollovers from year to year, EBRI reported. Those reporting a rollover of $1,500 or more stood at 31% in 2009, up from 13% in 2006. This boosted account balances, with the percentage of participants reporting an account balance of at least $1,000 rising from 25% in 2006 to 44% in 2007, 43% in 2008, and 47% in 2009. 

The report, published in the November 2009 EBRI Notes, is available at ebri.org.