Today's trend toward consumerism attempts to inject something that's been missing from health benefits - a consumer who cares more about cost and quality. Consumerism is more that the latest buzz word in the debate about how to control spiraling health care costs. It is a philosophical shift about how individuals should approach their own health. The premise behind consumerism is that by providing financial incentives and information to employees, corporations can encourage them to assume a greater role in managing their own care and the associated costs.
To provide research-based insight on the current state of consumerism and future trends, nearly 150 CEOs representing a broad geographic and industry spectrum were surveyed and more than 15 in-depth interviews were conducted with health benefits and human resource executives from a variety of industries.