The RAND Coporation has released a brief examining the impact of high-deductible health plans (HDHPs) on health spending and utilization.  The authors found that enrollment in HDHPs reduced costs but also decreased utilization of preventive care.  The brief suggests that policymakers find means to promote increased preventive care service utilization.

From the report: 

Relentless growth in health care costs is driving a search for solutions. One popular approach is the use of high-deductible health plans or a variation known as "consumer-directed" health plans, which combine a high deductible with a tax-advantaged health account whose funds roll over from year to year. These plans are intended to cut health spending by encouraging consumers to be more cost-conscious about their health care decisions. By 2009, about 20 percent of Americans with employer-sponsored health coverage were enrolled in high-deductible plans. A 2010 survey found that more than 54 percent of large employers offered at least one such plan. Yet despite growing enrollment, little is known about how these plans affect health care spending or the use of services.

Full report: High-Deductible Health Plans Cut Spending but Also Reduce Preventive Care

RAND Corporation.  (2011).  High-deductible health plans cut spending but also reduce preventive care.