Although a program dedicated to rewarding Medicaid recipients for healthy behavior is a good idea, not many are taking the state up on it, the Jessie Ball duPont Fund said in a study released Thursday.
The report from fund-commissioned researchers from Georgetown University’s Health Policy Institute on the Enhanced Benefits Rewards Program was its sixth in a series examining a five-year Medicaid reform pilot in Duval and Broward counties. The pilot also is under way in Baker, Clay and Nassau counties.
Researchers found that Enhanced Benefits Rewards Program administration costs are high, many Medicaid recipients and doctors don’t know about it after nearly two years, and few Medicaid recipients have cashed in on their rewards for healthy behavior.
“I think the program has a laudable goal, but that’s a really tough outcome to achieve. There’s a question whether this approach will actually work to change people’s behavior,” Georgetown University Health Policy Institute Researcher Joan Alker said.