Consumer cost sharing in private health insurance: on the threshold of change.

Employers are asking employees to pay more for health care through higher premium contributions, share of contribution, and out-of-pocket maximums, along with variations in deductibles, co-pays, and coinsurance based on choice of providers, networks, drugs, and other services. This issue brief examines consumer cost-sharing trends in private insurance, discusses the outlook for cost sharing in employment-based benefits, and considers public policies to support health care markets for consumers.