Turning Medicaid Beneficiaries Into Purchasers of Health Care: Critical Success Factors for Medicaid Consumer-Directed Health Purchasing

August 2006 Turning Medicaid Beneficiaries Into Purchasers of Health Care: Critical Success Factors for Medicaid Consumer-Directed Health Purchasing A number of states are considering Medicaid consumer-directed health purchasing initiatives. Interest in these initiatives was originally sparked when health savings accounts were authorized as part of the Medicare Modernization Act of 2003. Two primary models are emerging. In the direct services model, the state funds a health spending account for each Medicaid beneficiary, ranging from "rewards" for pursuit of healthy behaviors to more comprehensive accounts intended for direct purchasing decisions by beneficiaries such as the payment of deductibles, copayments . . .