Ad-Hoc HEDIS® Public Comment Period Is Now Open
October 13, 2020 · NCQA Communications
NCQA’s ad-hoc public comment period is open and ready for your input!
Public comment is an opportunity for health plans, purchasers, consumers and other stakeholders to weigh in on the relevance, scientific soundness and feasibility of new or revised measures for HEDIS. In order to be responsive to the need for quick analysis and updates, NCQA proposes two changes that will affect HEDIS MY 2021.
NCQA seeks comments on the following:
- Retire two Health Plan Descriptive Information measures.
- Remove various combination rates in the Childhood Immunization Status measure.
About HEDIS and Public Comment
HEDIS comprises measures of clinical quality and patient experience that are based on published scientific evidence. When new evidence becomes available, NCQA reviews HEDIS measures to determine whether changes may be needed. NCQA convenes multi-stakeholder advisory groups—including independent scientists, clinicians, consumers and purchasers—to ensure that measures meet and balance the high standards of relevance, scientific soundness and feasibility.
An important part of developing and updating HEDIS is hearing from the public. NCQA reviews every comment received during public comment and discusses results with stakeholder advisors.
NCQA’s HEDIS measures do not constitute clinical practice guidelines, nor should they be used to determine insurance or coverage.
Proposed Measures for Retirement
Health Plan Descriptive Information Measures: Enrollment by State (EBS) evaluates the number of members enrolled in a health plan, separated by state; Total Membership (TLM) evaluates the total number of members enrolled in a health plan throughout the year.
Rationale: Stakeholders have indicated that both measures are of limited use for health plans. The Enrollment by Product Line (ENP) measure may be a more useful alternative for assessing health plan membership.
Proposed Changes to Existing Measure
Childhood Immunization Status (CIS) – Combination Rates: This measure assesses whether children have received 10 recommended vaccines by their second birthday. Ten separate rates evaluate receipt of each type of vaccine; 9 rates evaluate receipt of various combinations of vaccines. NCQA proposes to remove all combination rates except for the rate that assesses receipt of all recommended vaccines.
Rationale: Stakeholders have indicated that most combination rates may no longer be useful and may increase reporting burden.
How to Participate in Public Comment
The ad-hoc public comment period begins at 9:00 AM (ET) on October 13 and ends at 11:59 PM (ET) on November 3. Visit https://my.ncqa.org/ to submit comments. For details on the proposed changes, visit the NCQA website.
