Employers who offered their employees a consumer-directed health plan enjoyed “sustained savings,” according to one insurer’s analysis of its costs over a five-year period.

Aetna said its six-year study of 2.6 million members, of which 410,000 were enrolled in an Aetna HealthFund plan, either its Health Reimbursement Arrangement or Health Savings Account, showed savings with no reduction in care.

The analysis, one of the only ones to look at a carrier’s actual results based on the different types of plans, appears to bolster the argument for employers to consider CDHPs as a means of cutting costs on health insurance.

“In these difficult economic times, employers are looking for tried and true strategies that will allow them to continue to offer their employees a comprehensive and affordable benefits package,” said Aetna President Mark Bertolini.

The analysis found that for full replacement HRA and HSA plans, employers saved $21 million per 10,000 members over the five-year period.

Employers who offered the HRA or HAS experienced savings of $7 million per 10,000 members over the five-year period, Aetna said.

Those employers who offered Aetna’s CDHP as an option and implemented the strategies that Aetna identified as “best-in-class” achieved savings of $23 million per 10,000 members over the five-year period.

The results also show that CDHP enrollees are seeking increased levels of chronic and preventive care, using generic drugs more often and accessing online tools and information at higher rates than PPO members, while experiencing lower annualized medical cost increases. The analysis also found that CDHP members had lower emergency room use than PPO members, suggesting that members are becoming better informed about where to access health care, according to the company.

About 200 plan sponsors offered an Aetna HRA and/or HSA plan, according to the insurer.

Last year, Aetna identified several strategies that have proven successful for employers, including fostering a culture where employees and senior executives are engaged health care consumers, implementing a focused and ongoing employee education campaign, offering wellness programs and incentives for healthy behavior, providing 100 percent coverage for preventive care and carefully constructing a plan with the right mix of member responsibility.

Aetna noted this year that encouraging employees to enroll in the CDHP, either by lowering the required contribution or increasing the fund amount, can improve employee response, the insurer said.

“Consumerism in health care is about much more than a product – it is the idea that with the right mix of education, member responsibility and benefits design, you can engage members and help them make more informed health care decisions for themselves and their families,” Bertolini said.