NC Medicaid has released the results of the latest Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS®) surveys. CAHPS is a patient experience survey that serves as a national standard for measuring and reporting respondents’ experiences with their health care. NC Medicaid administers the CAHPS surveys to adult and child Medicaid beneficiaries to understand the Medicaid experience and inform improvements in care. The full report and a two-page summary are available on the NC Medicaid Quality Management and Improvement webpage.
This is the first time North Carolina has administered the CAHPS surveys since transitioning to NC Medicaid Managed Care. The survey was administered to beneficiaries of:
- The five Prepaid Health Plans (PHPs) and NC Medicaid Direct,
- PHPs receiving behavioral health services,
- The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI) Tribal Option, and
- Medicaid Direct beneficiaries who have more significant behavioral health needs.
The 2022 report does not include PHP and EBCI Tribal Option-specific results, as many questions received fewer than 100 responses and may not accurately represent members’ experiences of the health plans.
Respondents were contacted for participation in the 2022 CAHPS survey between June 7, 2022, and Oct. 11, 2022, and were asked to think about services received in the past six months when answering all survey questions. Data from the 2022 survey were compared to National Benchmark data from the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA).
CAHPS allows states to include supplemental questions that are fielded with the standard survey questions. For 2022, NC Medicaid decided to devote the supplemental questions to gaining insight into patient experiences with telehealth services and COVID-19 vaccinations.
Key takeaways include:
- Across the NC Medicaid population, a majority of respondents rated all their health care positively. However, racial and ethnic disparities were found as respondents who identified as Hispanic and Other race (Asian, Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander, American Indian or Alaska Native, and Other) reported significantly lower positive ratings for many measures.
- A vast majority of respondents reported positive experiences with telehealth and an absence of technical issues.
- A majority of adult respondents reported receiving at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. The most common reasons for not receiving the vaccine were concerns with long term side effects and the vaccine being developed too quickly.
For more information, visit the NC Medicaid Quality Management and Improvement webpage.
Contact
NC Medicaid Contact Center, 888-245-0179