Hawai'i Patient Reward and Incentives to Support Employment

HI-PRAISE logo; Palm tree with outline of sun

Project Dates: 2011 – 2016

Funded by: Centers on Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS)

Find out about the project:

About

The Centers on Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) awarded the Medicaid Incentives for the Prevention of Chronic Diseases to the State of Hawai’i ~ Department of Human Services (DHS) in September 2011. The Hawai’i Patient Reward And Incentives to Support Empowerment (HI-PRAISE) five-year project has been facilitated by the University of Hawai’i, Center on Disability Studies (UH-CDS) and the John A. Burns School of Medicine (JABSOM). This comprehensive demonstration grant sought to determine if direct incentives provided to participants with chronic disease(s) would improve biometric measures and reduce utilization of acute health care services and related cost. The overarching project objective was to test approaches that are widely available across the State, scalable, easy to access within the community, and promote self-management of chronic diseases.

This comprehensive demonstration grant sought to determine if direct incentives provided to participants with chronic disease(s) would improve biometric measures and reduce utilization of acute health care services and related cost. The project included a quasi-experimental study of 2643 participants with nine federally qualified health centers and a randomized controlled trial of 320 participants with Kaiser Permanente Hawaii.

Principal Investigators: Dr. Rebecca Rude Ozaki; Dr. Ritabell Fernandes

Primary Contact: Dr. Chuan Chinn

Team MembersRebecca Ozaki; Ritabelle Hernandez; Dongmei Li; Chuan Chinn; Misha Morioka; Robin Arndt; Timothy Frankland; Christina Lizzi

Mission

The purpose of this research project was to find out if giving rewards for healthy behaviors will help people manage their diabetes better. The study was funded by the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. The Department of Human Services received grant funding while the University of Hawai’i John A. Burns School of Medicine and Center on Disability Studies coordinated all grant activities.

Rewards were distributed for:

Improving Self-Management of Diabetes

  • FSBG Monitoring, verification of BG log = ≤ 20
  • Attend 1st session of diabetes management education = ≤ 20

Improving Compliance with ADA Recommended Preventive Measures

  • Pneumococcal and/or Influenza vaccination = ≤ 10

Improving Compliance with ADA Recommended Treatment and Management

  • Retinal eye exam (annual) = ≤ 20
  • Urine for Microalbumin test = ≤ 10
  • LDL Cholesterol test = ≤ 20
  • HbA1c = ≤ 20

Eliminating Barriers to Healthy Lifestyle

  • Attend group or individual smoking cessation class = ≤ 20
  • Attend counseling for behavioral health = ≤ 20
  • Weight loss of 7% in 52 weeks (persons with BMI > 25) = ≤ 50

Improving in ABCs of Diabetes

  • HbA1c decrease of 1% = < 20
  • HbA1c goal of < 7% = ≤ 50
  • BP goal of < 140/90 = < 20
  • LDL Cholesterol goal of < 100 mg/dl = < 20

Maximum Total Direct Incentives: $320 per person/year

Incentives will include, but will not be limited to:

  • gift cards for business in CHC neighborhood (e.g. gas station, supermarket)
  • vouchers for CHC cafeteria or open market
  • tokens to trade in for higher priced items (e.g. walking shoes)

Partners

Federally Qualified Community Health Centers

Materials

Resources