High deductible health plans dropping out of favor, CDC report says

High deductibles have never been popular for people who require a lot of care, and now those types of plans are slowly falling out of favor within America’s workplaces, too.

Less than 42% of people younger than 65 had a private health plan with a high deductible in 2023, according to new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released Thursday. That was the second straight year where a smaller percentage of Americans were enrolled in those plans, and down from the 2018 peak of 46%.

Any health plan with a deductible of at least $1,500 for individual coverage or at least $3,000 for family coverage was considered to be a “high-deductible” plan in 2023, according to the Internal Revenue Service. For this year, those deductible thresholds were $1,600 for individuals and $3,200 for families. A deductible is the amount of money a person has to pay upfront for medical care before their insurance kicks in.