Cost-Effectiveness of the Wellness Incentives and Navigation (WIN) Program.

OBJECTIVES: Promoting patient involvement in managing co-occurring physical and mental health conditions is increasingly recognized as critical to improving outcomes and controlling costs in this growing chronically ill population. The main objective of this study was to conduct an economic evaluation of the Wellness Incentives and Navigation (WIN) intervention as part of a longitudinal randomized pragmatic clinical trial for chronically ill Texas Medicaid enrollees with co-occurring physical and mental health conditions. METHODS: The WIN intervention used a personal navigator, motivational interviewing, and a flexible wellness expense account to increase patient activation, that is, the patient's knowledge, skills, and confidence in managing their self-care and co-occurring physical and mental health conditions. Regression models were fit to both participant-level quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) and total costs of care (including the intervention) controlling for demographics, health status, poverty, Medicaid managed care plan, intervention group, and baseline health utility and costs. Incremental costs and QALYs were calculated based on the difference in predicted costs and QALYs under intervention versus usual care and were used to calculate the incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICERs). Confidence intervals were calculated using Fieller's method, and sensitivity analyses were performed. RESULTS: The mean ICER for the intervention compared with usual care was $12 511 (95% CI $8971-$16 842), with a sizable majority of participants (70%) having ICERs below $40 000. The WIN intervention also produced higher QALY increases for participants who were sicker at baseline compared to those who were healthier at baseline. CONCLUSION: The WIN intervention shows considerable promise as a cost-effective intervention in this challenging chronically ill population.

The Wellness Incentive and Navigation intervention improved health-related quality of life among Medicaid enrollees: A randomized pragmatic clinical trial.

OBJECTIVE: To examine whether the Wellness Incentive and Navigation (WIN) intervention can improve health-related quality of life (HRQOL) among Medicaid enrollees with co-occurring physical and behavioral health conditions. DATA SOURCES: Annual telephone survey data from 2013 to 2016, linked with claims data. STUDY DESIGN: We recruited 1259 participants from the Texas STAR + PLUS managed care program and randomized them into an intervention group that received flexible wellness accounts and navigator services or a control group that received standard care. We conducted 4 waves of telephone surveys to collect data on HRQOL, patient activation, and other participant demographic and clinical characteristics. DATA COLLECTION/EXTRACTION METHODS: The 3M Clinical Risk Grouping Software was used to extract variables from claims data and group participants based on disease severity. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Our results showed that the WIN intervention was effective in increasing patient activation and HRQOL among Medicaid enrollees with co-occurring physical and behavioral health conditions. Furthermore, we found that this intervention effect on HRQOL was partially mediated by patient activation. CONCLUSIONS: Providing navigator support with wellness account is effective in improving HRQOL among Medicaid enrollees. The pragmatic nature of the trial maximizes the chance of successfully implementing it in state Medicaid programs.