Towers Perrin's outlook: what employers (and providers) need to know about defined contribution health plans.

In the face of spiraling healthcare costs, administrative burdens and pent-up demand by employees for more control over their healthcare, a growing number of employers are taking a fresh look at defined contribution health plans with consumer-driven components. In fact, the use of defined contribution health plans and other techniques to shift responsibility and cost to employees is the number one cost-control technique employers are currently considering, according to "Navigating the Healthcare System," a Towers Perrin survey of health benefit managers that was completed in early 2002.