A massive assessment of high-deductible health plans shows that while they cut health spending they also prompt patients to reduce preventative health care. The study, completed by RAND Corporation, looked at more than 800,000 families across the US and found that when people shift to a high deductible insurance plan of at least $1,000 per person, their health spending declined by 14% on average.

Spending was also lower in high deductible households where health savings accounts were sponsored by employers. Some of the cut backs families experienced were reduced immunizations, cancer screenings and routine tests for diabetes. “We discovered that costs go down dramatically during the first year people are enrolled in high-deductible health plans, as long as the deductible is at least $1,000 per person,” said Amelia M. Haviland , a study co-author and a statistician at RAND, a nonprofit research organization in a news release. “But we also found concerning reductions in use of preventative care. This suggests people are cutting both necessary and unnecessary care.”

High-deductible plans have been gaining interest because they are more affordable than other plans. By 2009, 20% of Americans with employer-sponsored plans had high-deductible coverage. A 2010 study found that more than half of large employers offered at least one high deductible plan to their employees. Officials believe that health care reform will push even more people into high-deductible plans.

So what’s the real cost savings of having a high deductible plan? The study shows that the deductibles had to be at least $1000 in order for the savings to be significant. With high-deductible plans spending was lower both on inpatient care, outpatient care, and prescription drugs.  Rates of mammography, cervical cancer screening, colorectal cancer screening and blood tests were among preventative care that dropped with high deductible plans. “We saw that patients reduced preventive care, and if this persists, it is likely to have health consequences in the future,” Haviland said in a news release. “These cutbacks could cause a spike in health care costs down the road if people end up sicker and need more-intensive treatment.”

Talking to elderly parents about their driving can be very difficult. Liberty Mutual Insurance, the eight largest auto and home insurer in the US, knows that well. That’s why they developed The National Conversation Drive. The program is on display at Grand Central Terminal in New York City as a way to help Americans talk to elderly family members about their driving habits. Part of the display included a “senior simulator” movement-restricting suit as well as visually-impairing eyewear which allowed people to understand what’s it like to be a senior behind the wheel.

Organizers are hoping others are motivated to talk to their aging parents about safe driving.”Talking to your elderly parents about driving safety can be very difficult.  But in fact, most seniors expect their adult children to have these conversations with them,” said Dave Melton of Liberty Mutual in a news release.  ”The National Conversation Drive  encourages families to have those discussions about safe senior driving – or to at least pledge to have those talks – and we also give them the resources they need to make such conversations easier ones to have.  Ultimately, this initiative is about helping to preserve seniors’ mobility, whether by modifying driving habits, or by finding alternative, cost-effective means of transportation.”

And making the pledge not only helps keep roads safer but it assists elderly seniors. Liberty Mutual agreed to donate the cost of a free ride for seniors through ITNAmerica, a non-profit transportation network for aging Americans. “The National Conversation Drive gives adult children and people of all ages the proper resources with which to talk to their elderly parents about driving safety and alternatives to mobility,” said Dr. Vicki Rosebrook, executive director of the Macklin Intergenerational Institute in a news release. The orgnaization specializes in fostering awareness and acceptance among the generations.  ”When it comes to having these critically important talks, there is nothing like having context – and there is no better context than to experience first-hand the challenges faced by our aging population on the road.”

As surprising as it may sound to most Americans, where you live may actually determine what sort of health insurance you have – if you have any at all.

Democrats in Congress were seeking ways to put limits on how high the cost of insurance can rise under the expansive health care bill on Friday in a bid to remove a final committee impediment that would get in the way in September.

The presentation of a new measure, intent on greatly expanding the current health insurance parameters for the treatment of autism and other developmental disabilities is making the rounds in the New Jersey legislature and could soon become state law.