Enrollment in consumer-directed health plansgrew 19 percent in 2012, increasing from 33 million in 2011 to 39million last year.

A record number of employers offer those plans, while moreemployees are taking advantage of them, according to an analysis ofthe Mercer National Survey of Employer Sponsored Health Planscommissioned by the American Association of Preferred ProviderOrganizations.

More than one-third of large employers (36 percent) offeredCDHPs in 2012, up from 32 percent the year before, while 22 percentof small employers offered employees a CDHP option, up from 20percent in 2011.

The study also found that 59 percent of the nation's largestemployers—those with 20,000 or more employees—offered CDHPs in2012, up from 48 percent the year before. And 62 percent of theseemployers expect to offer CDHPs in 2013 and 68 percent by 2018.

Sixteen percent of all employees with employer-sponsored planschose CDHPs in 2012—showing larger enrollment growth than any othertype of insurance plan. This trend corresponds with a slight, butsteady decline in HMOs over that same period, researchers said.

Karen Greenrose, AAPPO President and CEO, said that healthcare's uncertain environment is part of the reason for increasingpopularity of CDHP plans.

“As our economy continues to stumble and the fate andfeasibility of the Affordable Care Act remains in question,employers of all sizes continue to seek innovative ways to reducewhat they spend to cover their employees,” she said. “Given thecost savings inherent in the consumer-directed model, it's clearthat employers—especially our largest ones—are increasingly lookingto CDHPs to do that.”

The hope is that consumer-directed health plans curb risingpremiums for employers while driving employee engagement andresponsibility for their health care choices.

The study also found the trend is likely to continue in the nearfuture as well, with 40 percent of employers of all sizes expectingto offer a CDHP in the next five years.

Those plans—and its associated products, such as health savingsaccounts and flexible spending accounts—have seen massive growthlately.