Support Mandatory Quality Data Reporting to Advance Health Equity
Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) provide health care for some of the most vulnerable Americans, including individuals with very low incomes, pregnant people, children, and people with physical, cognitive, mental, and other disabilities who require long term services and supports. State reporting on the core health quality measures is currently not standardized or comprehensive enough to compare state performance or identify racial, ethnic or other disparities in the quality of care delivered through Medicaid and CHIP.
Right now, the Biden Administration is trying to correct that situation and is accepting comments on a proposed rule requiring states to report annually on quality measures using a standard format and breaking down the data by race, ethnicity and other factors. The rule is needed to implement laws enacted in 2018 that require all states to report all Child Core Set measures, all behavioral health measures in the Adult Core Set and all Health Home Core set measures. These measures are designed to strengthen the the quality of care and improve health outcomes for children and adults enrolled in Medicaid or CHIP.
The proposed regulation is an essential step toward implementing mandatory quality reporting, but it doesn’t do so quickly enough or with the specificity necessary to identify disparities soon enough so they can be addressed. Some commenters will urge the Biden Administration to water down its proposal. We need your help to tell them to strengthen and finalize this important rule. Mandatory reporting is essential to holding states, providers, and managed care plans accountable for the quality of the services that Medicaid and CHIP beneficiaries receive.
The deadline for submitting comments is Friday, October 21, 2022. Your comment will be sent directly to Regulations.gov and the National Health Law Program will retain a copy.
Who Should Comment?
Everyone who would like to improve the quality of health care provided through Medicaid and CHIP and address health disparities.
How to Comment
Use the form to submit a comment and tell the government why you support the new rule. Feel free to tell a little about yourself and why improving the quality of health care for all is important to you.