CMS releases home- and community-based quality measure set
Implementation is expected to promote more consistent use of nationally standardized quality measures and promote health equity.
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The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has released the first-ever home- and community-based services quality measure set to promote consistent quality measurement within and across state Medicaid home and community-based programs.
The measure set is intended to provide insight into the quality of HCBS programs and enable states to measure and improve health outcomes for people relying on long-term services and support in Medicaid.
CMS said the release of this voluntary measure set is also a critical step to promoting health equity among the millions of older adults and people with disabilities who need long-term care because of disabling conditions and chronic illnesses.
WHY THIS MATTERS
Implementation of the HCBS quality measure set will create opportunities for CMS and states to promote more consistent use, within and across states, of nationally standardized quality measures in HCBS programs to promote health equity and reduce disparities in health outcomes among this population.
It provides states with tools to better understand and compare health outcomes across groups receiving home- and community-based services, according to CMS Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure.
"CMS is using every lever available to protect and expand coverage for all people eligible for Medicaid. We are working to expand their access to care across settings – including in the setting of their choice," she said.
THE LARGER TREND
Nationally, more than 7 million people receive HCBS under Medicaid, and Medicaid-funded HCBS accounts for $125 billion annually in state and federal spending.
From the beginning of the Medicaid program in 1965, state Medicaid programs were required to provide medically necessary nursing facility care for most eligible individuals ages 21 or older, but coverage for home- and community-based services has been a state option.
States have used several Medicaid authorities, as well as CMS-funded grant programs, to develop a broad range of these services to provide alternatives to institutionalization for eligible Medicaid beneficiaries and to advance person-centered care.
The HCBS quality measure set is one piece of a larger Medicaid quality strategy, CMS said. The agency expects to update the measure set in the future, including adding newly developed measures that address measure gaps, as the field of HCBS measure development advances.
Twitter: @SusanJMorse
mail the writer: SMorse@himss.org
