CMS has fielded the MA (Consumer Assessment of Health Care Providers and Systems) CAHPS Survey annually since 1998, the Medicare FFS CAHPS Survey annually since 2000, and the MA DP and Stand Alone PDP CAHPS survey annually since 2006. The Medicare CAHPS is a national survey of health and prescription drug plans conducted at the contract level for MA, MA PD and Stand Alone PDP plans and at the state level for Medicare fee-for-service. Medicare CAHPS provides data to permit preparation of plan performance measures to assist Medicare beneficiaries in their selection of a health and/or prescription drug plan and help policymakers and others assist the Medicare program and Medicare plans design and monitor patient-centered quality improvement initiatives. The 2009 Call letter for MA and MA PD plans requires these plans to contract with private vendors from a list selected by CMS to conduct the 2011 Medicare CAHPS survey for their plan at the contract level and provide the collected data to CMS for analyses and preparation of CAHPS measures for use in consumer and plan reports and for quality improvement purposes for MA, MA PD, and Stand Alone PDP plans. CMS will continue to collect the Medicare FFS CAHPS data from surveys at the state and some sub-state levels. This revision to a currently approved collection is to add questions focusing on care coordination. The Medicare CAHPS survey has taken the OMB No. 0935-0732.
On average, the burden to Medicare beneficiaries has not changed to complete a CAHPS survey: MA burden is 0.4 hour and the stand-alone PDP and FFS survey burdens are 0.25 and 0.3 hours, respectively.
The number of respondents has gone up by approximately 201,450 respondents (mostly due to increases in the FFS sample to support refined comparisons with MA), and the number of contracts has gone down by approximately 10, so the total survey burden has increased by approximately 60,645 hours.
The burden to MA and PDP contracts is 54 hours each, or a total of 32,346 hours across the 599 plans; this is a decrease of approximately 540 hours.
On behalf of this Federal agency, I certify that the collection of information encompassed by this request complies with 5 CFR 1320.9 and the related provisions of 5 CFR 1320.8(b)(3).
The following is a summary of the topics, regarding the proposed collection of information, that the certification covers:
(i) Why the information is being collected;
(ii) Use of information;
(iii) Burden estimate;
(iv) Nature of response (voluntary, required for a benefit, or mandatory);
(v) Nature and extent of confidentiality; and
(vi) Need to display currently valid OMB control number;
If you are unable to certify compliance with any of these provisions, identify the item by leaving the box unchecked and explain the reason in the Supporting Statement.
Form CMS-R-246 Medicare Advantage Surveys
Response to Comments to OMB MCAHPS.DOC
Medicare Advantage Surveys