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Here are some of the most frequently asked questions about NCQA’s various programs. If you don’t see what you are looking for in one of the entries below, you can  ask a question through My NCQA.

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9.30.2015 QRS and Off-Market Commercial HEDIS Submission Should Off-Marketplace plans include their membership in QRS and in Marketplace accreditation?

No. Off-Marketplace plans should include its membership in its commercial HEDIS submission and in its commercial product line when submitting for health plan accreditation.

Exchange 2016

9.15.2015 Specificity of the Vendor Acknowledgment If an organization contracts with a vendor to meet NCQA requirements (e.g., MEM 1, MEM 2), how specific does the written vendor acknowledgment have to be?

If the vendor performs all functions (i.e., MEM 1: Health Appraisals), the written acknowledgment must state that the vendor performs all functions. If the vendor does not perform all functions, the acknowledgment must explicitly state the responsibilities of the vendor and those retained by the organization.

9.15.2015 Documentation requirements for file review when delegating to a certified CVO What documentation must an NCQA-Certified CVO provide to an organization for an accreditation survey file review?

The organization and the CVO determine the documentation methods for reporting information. Acceptable methods include a checklist, the actual documents and access to electronic credentialing files. When an organization delegates to a certified CVO, NCQA reviews the organization’s credentialing files to assess timeliness and ascertain whether the credentialing decision was made within the specified time limits (i.e., 180 calendar days from verification).

CVO 2013

9.15.2015 Acceptable Documents for Policies and Procedures Many scopes of review in the standards require policies and procedures. How does NCQA define “policies and procedures” and what are acceptable documents?

Policies and procedures are official documents that describe business rules and a course of actions, and the methods for carrying out the actions. Simply put, policies and procedures specify how an organization performs the requirement under review—the organization’s “documented process.”
Usually, NCQA expects the organization to present only the components of the policies and procedures that demonstrate it meets the requirement. Depending on the element, this may include, but is not limited to, a program description, operating guidelines or process flowchart. 

 

HIP 2013

8.15.2015 Automatic credit for file review elements delegated to an NCQA-Accredited/Certified entity How is an organization scored for file review elements if the delegation agreement is signed just before survey submission?

The organization receives automatic credit for files selected from the NCQA Accredited/Certified delegate if the agreement is signed before survey submission and if all automatic credit requirements are met, as described in the delegation appendix, unless delegation is with an NCQA-Certified CVO. In that case, the organization receives automatic credit for verification, but files are reviewed for timeliness.

8.15.2015 Printed directory requirement in QI 12 Are printed directories required for QI 12, Elements A and B?

No. Printed directories are not required for Elements A and B; however, if there is a printed directory, it must reference the quality information required by the elements.

8.14.2015 General Guidelines Are members with a hospice benefit excluded from Medicare HEDIS reporting?

Yes. For Medicare reporting, exclude members who elect to use the hospice benefit (i.e., use hospice service) any time during the measurement year. These members must be removed prior to determining the measure’s eligible population and drawing the sample for hybrid measures.

HEDIS 2016

8.14.2015 General Guidelines Given the addition of the “Numerator events by supplemental data” data element, how will the reported rate be calculated?

The reported rate calculation is the sum of all numerator events by administrative data, medical record data and supplemental data, divided by the eligible population for administrative measures, or by the denominator for hybrid measures (i.e., reported rate = numerator events by administrative data + numerator events by medical record data + numerator events by supplemental data / eligible population or denominator).

HEDIS 2016

8.14.2015 General Guidelines For measures that require multiple events to meet criteria (e.g., CIS), how are the data classified if some events come from an administrative or medical record data source and some come from a supplemental database?

If any data is found in a supplemental data source, it is considered a supplemental data hit because the member would not be compliant for the measure/indicator without the data source.

HEDIS 2016

8.14.2015 General Guidelines Will the “Numerator events by supplemental data” data element be collected for all measures in Volume 2?

No. For HEDIS 2016 reporting, this new requirement was added to only the Effectiveness of Care (EOC) and EOC-like measures. “EOC-like measures” refers to the Utilization measures that have the same structure as and follow the same guidelines as the measures in the EOC domain (i.e., Frequency of Ongoing Prenatal Care, Well-Child Visits in the First 15 Months of Life, Well-Child visits in the Third, Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Years of Life, Adolescent Well-Care Visits). While supplemental data may be used for other measures, NCQA is not currently collecting this data element for other measures at this time.

HEDIS 2016

7.16.2015 General Guidelines Where can customers find additional information about Electronic Clinical Data Systems (ECDS) and the Utilization of the PHQ-9 to Monitor Depression Symptoms for Adolescents and Adults (DMS) measure for HEDIS 2016?

Customers can find additional information about these topics (including FAQs specific to this data source and the DMS measure) at the following link, http://ncqa.org/ECDS.

HEDIS 2016

7.15.2015 MA Deeming and the Medicare product line NCQA recently released a memo informing interested parties that it no longer offers the MA Deeming program. Can organizations with a Medicare product line still come through NCQA Accreditation?

Yes. Organizations with a Medicare product line can come through the NCQA Health Plan Accreditation process.