Earlier this week, I wrote about how more employers looking toward consumer-driven plans with health savings accounts to save money should make sure they are also helping employees get the health care they need.

Employers that want to offer these plans during their upcoming open-enrollment period should also consider the impact health reform will have.

After all, the last thing a company wants to do is introduce a new concept in health insurance to employees-for whom any change to health benefits tends to be interpreted as a loss of benefits-and then have to make more changes because the plan does not meet the new federal requirements.

Employers have been steadily moving to these plans. Companies still struggling in this economy may seek these plans since they have lower premiums. A third of jumbo-sized firms offer the plans and about 8 percent of the market is enrolled in them.

Last month, a Fidelity study suggested that 55 percent of employers believe high-deductible health plans are more attractive as a result of the passage of health reform.

Companies believe the new law will lead to cost increases and that high deductible health plans will keep those costs down.

Health reform may make these plans more attractive but the law is designed to keep their growth in check.

Some high deductibles may not qualify under the health law if the deductible is too high. Though there is no exact deductible amount above which a plan does not qualify, the plan overall has to cover 60 percent of the cost of coverage, called the actuarial value of the plan.

New restrictions on the use of health savings accounts may dampen the usefulness of these plans. Beginning January 1, HSAs cannot be used to pay for over-the-counter drugs and the penalty for using HSAs for "non-qualified" expenses will double.

On the other hand, some experts argue that the new Cadillac tax on health plans that goes into effect in 2018 will lead employers to increase their use of high-deductible plans. The 40 percent excise tax will be applied to individual plans exceeding $10,200 and family plans exceeding $27,500. The lower premiums of high-deductible plans means employees may not get hit with the tax.

But experts have also pointed out that contributions to people's health savings accounts will be counted toward the plan's overall value, increasing the risk that these plans could also face the new Cadillac tax.

Employers with low-income employees may have the most complicated task deciding whether high-deductible plans work for them. Their employees will be eligible for government subsidies if premiums exceed 9.5 percent of income. (Employers of employees who get the subsidy face a penalty.)

These employers may move to higher-deductibles to keep premiums down, but as I said earlier, using a high deductible to cut costs can lead to unintended consequences for lower-income employees who fail to seek health care because they can't afford it and end up in the emergency room.

It can also flout the new law.

Whether these plans work will depend on the needs of each company. The changes in law certainly complicate matters, even if they ultimately persuade an employer to introduce plans with health savings accounts to their employees.