This paper examines how one state, Oregon, created benefits information to help people choose a Medicaid health maintenance organization (HMO) in an attempt to involve people more actively in choosing their health plan in a system that requires HMO enrollment, except in unusual circumstances. Using the Consumer Assessment of Health Plans Survey™ (CAHPS™), a survey examining the experiences people have with their health plan which was created by Harvard, RAND, and the Research Triangle Institute (RTI), the State of Oregon implemented the CAHPS™ survey and reported the findings to Medicaid beneficiaries in the state's benefits booklet. We performed multiple key informant interviews with representatives from providers, advocates, and the Medicaid program in Oregon about their experiences with the CAHPS™ survey implementation, report development, use, and experience with the beneficiaries. This session will discuss 1) how the Medicaid program worked with the Medicaid HMOs and why; 2) what issues came up with the CAHPS™ survey and what decisions did the Medicaid program and the Medicaid HMOs make and why; and 3) the booklet the Medicaid program and the Medicaid HMOs created and the issues and decisions made regarding it. Findings from Oregon's experiences may help other states interested in using CAHPS™ to find out about consumers' health experiences and present them in a meaningful way.
Learning Objectives: From this session, the participant will be able to describe how a Medicaid agency can work with health plans to create a benefits booklet containing both benefits information and data from a survey asking Medicaid beneficiaries about their experiences with their health plan
Keywords: Medicaid, Reporting
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: Oregon Medical Assistance Program
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
Health Care Financin Administration
Harvard
RAND
Research Triangle Institute
I have a significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.
Relationship: Harvard, RAND, and RTI received a grant from the Agency for Healthcare
Research and Quality and the Health Care Financing Administration to create the
CAHPS survey and reporting tool kit. As part of the evaluation, we performed a process
evaluation of