CMS has announced that 10 states will be chosen to demonstrate whether health opportunity accounts, in combination with high-deductible insurance plans, can reduce inappropriate medical services by giving Medicaid beneficiaries a greater role in their healthcare decisions.
State Medicaid directors have been invited to apply to participate in the five-year demonstration project, which permits states to set aside cash accounts for Medicaid enrollees that can be used to pay for medical expenses in order to meet the out-of-pocket costs associated with high-deductible insurance plans. The insurance plans offered to Medicaid enrollees who volunteer to participate in the demonstrations will encompass all standard state Medicaid benefits.
The Deficit Reduction Act allows states to use state funds and federal matching dollars to deposit up to $2,500 per adult and $1,000 per child into a health opportunity account. People who become ineligible for Medicaid but have remaining balances in their health opportunity account can use the balance for up to three years to cover medical expenses or to purchase private health insurance coverage. Individuals who have had a health opportunity account for more than one year before becoming ineligible may use any surplus funds for such things as job training programs or tuition payments.
