Interest in high-deductible health plans appears to be growing in the Philadelphia area after several years of slow sales.

Independence Blue Cross, a Philadelphia-based health insurer covering the five counties surrounding the city, saw its HDHP enrollment grow by 109% last year.

The news signals several changes in the health care market.

First, it shows that several years of promotion of the lower-cost alternative appears to be paying off.

Second, it indicates that employers are becoming more price conscious. Over the last few years, interest in HDHPs in the Northeast flagged compared to other parts of the country, where pricing on other health plans continued to soar. Without huge price increases in other health plan options, employers didn’t see a need to consider the new alternative, industry experts have said.

IBC officials say that as employers deal with more challenging times, more may begin to offer HDHPs as a cost saving option that will also encourage their employees to become better-educated consumers of health care.

In 2008, about 6% of all new health enrollment in the large-group market came in HDHP and Health Savings Accounts, according to America’s Health Insurance Plans. Industry experts expect that number to continue to increase as employers fight the effects of the recession.