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Operators of employer health-insurance marketplaces say many workers pick cheaper coverage than they previously had and that is one way the exchange approach can save money.

In an exchange run by Liazon Corp. that has around 60,000 people enrolled, about 75% of the workers have chosen less-expensive plans, accepting bigger deductibles and other out-of-pocket charges, as well as smaller choices of health-care providers and restrictions such as primary-care gatekeepers. "They want value for their money," said Alan Cohen, Liazon's chief strategy officer.

Accenture ACN +0.08% PLC projects that around a million Americans will get employer health coverage through such marketplaces next year, and the number will increase to 40 million by 2018.

And all of this translates to a healthier bottom line. According to the consulting firm Aon Hewitt, population health management can help employers save as much as $700 per employee per year when they focus on any three of these eight major health care behaviors, which contribute to 80% of the cases of chronic illness: poor diet, physical inactivity, smoking, lack of health screening, poor standard of care, insufficient sleep, excess alcohol intake and poor stress management.

Most in the Pioneer group achieved quality improvements, but only 18 produced cost savings.

It remains to be seen whether it functions profitably or not," said Alan Miller, chief executive of Universal Health Services, which operates more than 200 hospitals, behavioral health facilities and outpatient centers."There has been a lot of discussion of moving away from fee- for-service to something like this, but we are a long way from there," Miller said.

If it became necessary to do something to be competitive, we might change our mind, but right now we think we can continue to grow our business without spending the capital dollars and replacing what managed care companies can do well, just by contracting,"

The number of people enrolled in health savings accounts (HSA) has more than tripled in the last six years from 4.5 million people in January 2007 to 15.5 million in January 2013, according to America's Health Insurance Plans, a trade association that represents health insurers.

In the future, Cohen said he expects to see several options used more widely to lower costs, such as rewards for low cholesterol or keeping diabetes under control, incentives to join gyms and benefits for participating in healthy lifestyle programs.

The data also shows that businesses could save money while providing their employees with more choices, he said. Some of those choices, such as closed-network programs or single primary-care physician-based programs, have been avoided in the past because the common wisdom is that people don't like being limited by what doctors they may see.

For employees, perhaps the most telling red flag from the study is that their employers may be saving money not by making them healthy but rather by shifting healthcare costs onto them. "Our evidence suggests that savings to employers may come from cost shifting, with the most vulnerable employees — those from lower socioeconomic strata with the most health risks — bearing higher costs that in effect subsidize their healthier colleagues," wrote the authors.

The relatively small share of PDP enrollees who switched plans at some point between 2006 and 2010 were more likely than those who did not switch to end up in a plan that lowered their premiums.  Nearly half (46 percent) of enrollees who switched plans saw their premiums fall by at least 5 percent the following year, compared to 8 percent of those who did not switch plans.  But those who switched plans were only slightly more likely than those who did not switch to face lower out-of-pocket costs for drugs during the year

The Minuteman plan would streamline billing processes to save on administrative costs and allow providers to work more closely with employers, organizers said. Information about smoking cessation or workers’ weight collected through employer wellness programs is not typically shared with doctors. “Imagine working closely with an employer who can help us gather data and, with employees’ permission, to be able to share that data with their primary care providers,” said Dr. Jeff Lasker, chief executive of the Tufts physician group, New England Quality Care Alliance.

Partners HealthCare last year announced plans to acquire Neighborhood Health Plan, which mostly serves low-income people. Steward Health Care has worked with Fallon Community Health Plan to develop plans offered at reduced prices through a small business cooperative created by the Retailers Association of Massachusetts.

A good chunk of Detroit’s debt problem is a health-costs problem. The Detroit Free Press notes that the city has $5.7 billion in unfunded retiree health-care liabilities, nearly a third of the city’s debt.

. It plans to transition its 19,389 retirees into the health law’s new marketplaces, saving the city somewhere between $27.5 million and $40 million annually.

. One report from the Pew Center for the States looked at 61 cities across the country and found that, taken together, they had $126.2 billion in health benefits promised to retirees. Only 6 percent of that amount – $8 billion – currently has funding.

"Larger savings are possible if providers have incentives to deliver more efficient care."

Remember, the best employees are or will become Intelligent, Connected, Health Consumers. They’ll appreciate it if you empower them to make a difference in their own coverage. Give them access to innovative services like Castlight Health. Castlight is a “health care transparency solution” which can tell you, for example, that the same colonoscopy you’ll get in Chicago can cost hundreds of dollars less at a quality hospital a few miles away. Explain to your employees that the money they save can end up in their pocket—and be willing to shar