Health Highlights: Dec. 7, 2006

Here are some of the latest health and medical news developments, compiled by the editors ofHealthDay:

Consumer-Driven Health Plans Not Attracting People: Survey

Americans are not attracted to new consumer-driven health plans, according to a survey released Thursday by the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) and the Commonwealth Fund.

Enrollment in the plans, which feature reduced premiums but higher annual deductibles, remains low, and consumer satisfaction with the plans is lower than with more comprehensive health insurance, the survey of 3,158 adults showed.

The survey defined consumer-driven and high-deductible plans as having deductibles of $1,000 or more for employee-only coverage and $2,000 or more for family coverage.

As of September 2006, 1 percent of privately insured people ages 21-64 (1.3 million people) were in consumer-driven health plans. That percentage was unchanged from the previous year. Another 8.5 million people had plans with deductibles high enough to qualify for a health savings account but didn't have an account.

The survey appears in the December 2006EBRI Issue Brief.

"Despite their tax benefits, consumer-driven health plans are not attracting large numbers of adults without insurance coverage, relative to other insurance. New strategies are needed to provide affordable and meaningful insurance to the nation's 47 million uninsured," Karen Davis, president of the Commonwealth Fund, said in a prepared statement.

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Keep Toys with Magnets Away From Young Kids, CDC Warns

U.S. health officials are warning parents to keep toys with magnets away from small children because swallowing the magnets can lead to digestive tract blockages and other problems.

Since 2003, one child died and 19 others have required surgery after they swallowed magnets found in toys, according to a report released Thursday in the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention'sMorbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.