Cypress-based PacifiCare Health Systems Inc. said Monday it has enrolled some 85,000 people in its SignatureFreedom self-directed health plan.
The plan is PacifiCare’s entry into the “consumer-directed health plan” market, which aims to make workers more responsible for the actual costs of providing healthcare.
SignatureFreedom, offered through more than 5,000 employers in eight states, was launched in 2003. Enrollment is up 70% from June, when the plan counted 50,000 members.
The plan includes a $1,000 account to pay for healthcare expenses, along with a preferred-provider organization health plan.
The number of SignatureFreedom enrollees is small compared with PacifiCare’s some 3 million total enrollees.
But the plan is bringing in new business, according to Chief Executive Howard Phanstiel. Nearly 90% of the businesses that bought SignatureFreedom were first-time PacifiCare customers, he said.
