In the Fall of 2014, CMS will be conducting a nationwide CAHPS survey of adult Medicaid enrolleesto attain national and state-by-state estimates of their access and experience with care across financing and delivery models (e.g., managed care and fee-for-service) and population groups (e.g., individuals with disabilitiesor dually eligible individuals).

Thesurvey results will be used to assist CMS and states to help make health care better for Medicaid enrollees.It will alsoprovide baseline information on the experiences of low-income adults during the early stages of implementation of key provisions of the Affordable Care Act.

While many states currently conduct a CAHPS survey of adults covered by Medicaid, there is no standardized way of collecting and analyzing these data from state-to-state. Please see the reverse for additional information.


Version 09/08/14

Frequently AskedQuestions

A:The survey is scheduled to begin in the Fall of 2014. A pilot test in a limited number of states was completed inearly 2014.

A:CMS recognizes that some state Medicaid agencies and Medicaid health plans conduct their own CAHPS surveys ofadult Medicaid enrollees. Deduplication of sample respondents is operationally challenging due to prohibitions against sharing personally identifiable information. In limited instances, NORC will seek to avoid selecting beneficiaries for the Nationwide CAHPS Survey who havepreviously been surveyed on behalf of the state for a similar CAHPS survey in calendar year 2014, provided the state is the intermediary for this information. The state must be able to provide NORC with either SSNs or MSIS identification numbers for those who participated in the state CAHPS survey, and transmits information to NORC via the CMS secure data transfer connection.

A:Yes. The nationwide Medicaid CAHPS survey is not intended to replace or interfere with any ongoing efforts by the states or their health plans.

A:States will be able to choose from three sampling options, each of which will yield a sample file of eligible beneficiaries who may be contacted for the survey. States will choose anoption based on state circumstances (e.g., the currency of the state’s MSIS files for Federal Fiscal Year 2014, Quarter 1 (October 1 – December 31, 2013)).CMS and NORC will work with state staff to determine the least burdensome approach for each state, which in the vast majority of cases, will be Option 1, in which NORC draws the survey sample from the states’ MSIS files.

A:All data are to be transmitted through the CMS secure data transfer connection.

A:Medicaid beneficiary contact information (addresses/telephone numbers), date of birth, and gender along with information that will help stratify the populations into four subgroups of interest: 1) dual eligibles, 2) persons with disabilities(non-duals), 3) enrollees in comprehensive managed care organizations (non-duals, nor persons with disabilities), and 4) enrollees receiving services through a FFS provider or enrolled in a primary care case management program (non-duals, nor persons with disabilities).

A:Eligibility data are requested forOctober – December 2013 (FFY 2014, Quarter 1). Additionally,long-term care claims files for the periodJanuary 1, 2013 through December 31, 2013 arerequested.

A:CMS and NORC request thatstates declare their sampling option by September 15, 2014.NORC held webinars with states in July 2014 to walk through the sampling options and answer questions. NORC will continue to provide technical assistance to states until the sampling process is complete.

A: The Adult Quality Grant Program supports states in developing the capacity to collect, report, and analyze data on the Medicaid Adult Core Set, of which the adult CAHPS 5.0H survey is a part. CMS and NORC will work with Grantees who plan to conduct the CAHPS survey to coordinate (and not duplicate) sampling efforts.

A:Please direct all questions to . Additionalproject information can be found at: