CMS Unveils Scorecard to Deliver New Level of Transparency Within Medicaid, CHIP Program
Today, the
"Despite providing health coverage to more than 75 million Americans at a taxpayer cost of more than
The first version of the Scorecard includes measures voluntarily reported by states, as well as federally reported measures in three areas: state health system performance; state administrative accountability; and federal administrative accountability. The metrics included in the first Scorecard reflect important health issues such as well child visits, mental health conditions, children's preventive dental services, and other chronic health conditions. The Scorecard represents the first time that CMS is publishing state and federal administrative performance metrics - which include measures like state/federal timeliness of managed care capitation rate reviews, time from submission to approval for Section 1115 demonstrations, and state/federal state plan amendment processing times. The Scorecard falls in line with
The Scorecard is a key component of Administrator Verma's new vision for Medicaid and CHIP that was announced during the NAMD conference in
CMS has delivered on its commitment to resetting the state-federal partnership by offering states unprecedented flexibility to design health programs that meet the needs of their residents. This includes updates to our Medicaid 1115 demonstration website, new guidance to offer states more flexibility to address the opioid crisis through Medicaid, and a new opportunity for states to test community engagement incentives to help lift adult Medicaid beneficiaries from poverty. As CMS continues to approve groundbreaking Medicaid demonstrations, the agency has maintained a focus on enhancing our evaluation of state health system performance and outcomes.
In addition to ensuring robust evaluations of demonstration projects, CMS will also continue to emphasize the importance of measuring a broad set of health outcome metrics across states. Given its important role in covering over 35 million children across the country, paying for approximately 50% of the country's births, and as the single greatest payer for long-term care services for the elderly and people with disabilities, public reporting of core quality metrics maintains an important responsibility of states and the federal government.
Through its release, the initial Scorecard demonstrates the importance of transparency within Medicaid and CHIP. The data offered within the Scorecard begins to offer taxpayers insights into how their dollars are being spent and the impact those dollars have on health outcomes. In future years, the Scorecard will be updated annually with new functionality and new metrics, including opioid-related and home and community based services-related quality metrics, as well as the ability to compare spending patterns. CMS will continue to work with states to encourage greater reporting across a broader set of metrics to improve consistency across states.
Through a strengthened partnership with states, CMS will advance policies and projects that increase flexibility, improve accountability and enhance program integrity and are designed to fulfill the Medicaid program's promise to help Americans lead healthier, more fulfilling lives. As states continue to seek greater flexibility from CMS, the Scorecard will serve as an important tool in ensuring that CMS is able to collect and report on critical outcome metrics.
The Scorecard may be found at: https://www.medicaid.gov/state-overviews/scorecard/index.html
For more information, visit the fact sheet here:https://www.medicaid.gov/state-overviews/downloads/scorecard/factsheet.pdf
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