Large employers continue to embrace consumer-directed health plans, a new survey on employer-provided health insurance finds. The percentage of companies with 1,000 or more workers offering a high-deductible health plan with a saving option (HDHP/SO) increased from 22% in 2008 to 28% in 2009.

In the Employer Health Benefits 2009 Annual Survey, researchers from the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Health Research and Educational Trust found that overall 12% of employers provide an HDHP/SO. For instance, 2% of companies offer an HDHP with a health reimbursement arrangement and 10% provide an HDHP with health savings account.

“As in the past, we’re seeing many businesses struggling with ways to curb their health care costs, including offering high-deductible plans for workers,” says Gary Claxton, a vice president at the Kaiser Foundation and lead author of the study.

The survey’s report notes that 60% of employers offer health benefits in 2009, which is relatively stable compared to 63% last year. In addition, 46% of companies with three to nine employees offer health coverage, while 72% of employers with 10 to 24 workers did the same. About 87% of businesses with 25 to 49 workers, and more than 95% of employers with 50 or more workers provide health insurance coverage.

Other findings included:

• Organizations with 1,000 or more workers are more likely to offer HDHP/SOs (28%) than firms with 3 to 199 workers (11%) or 200 to 999 workers (18%). Enrollment of covered workers in HDHP/SOs remained the same as in 2008 (8%).

• Covered workers in small firms (3–199 workers) are more likely to be enrolled in an HDHP/SO than workers in large firms (200 or more workers) (13% vs. 6%).

• Three percent of covered workers are enrolled in HDHP/HRAs and 6% are enrolled in HSA-qualified HDHPs.

• Annual deductibles for single coverage for HDHP/HRAs and HSA-qualified HDHPs average $1,690 and $1,922, respectively. Deductibles vary considerably however; for example, 27% of workers enrolled in an HSA-qualified HDHP for single coverage have a deductible between $1,150 and $1,499, while 10% have a deductible of $3,000 or more.

• The average aggregate annual deductible for family coverage for HDHP/HRAs is $3,422 and $3,734 for HSA-qualified HDHPs.