For several years, NCQA has maintained as a business goal to expand the number of states that recognize or “deem” NCQA standards in their oversight of commercial and Medicaid plans. Through deeming, a state determines that an accreditation organization’s standards are equivalent to all or some of the state’s regulatory requirements, thereby allowing a plan accredited or certified by an approved organization to receive “credit” for the deemed areas. States recognizing standards can use the information obtained from the accreditation survey to streamline health plan monitoring and oversight.