For CM 7, Element E, organizations must verify the license of clinical staff only in states where they provide services to patients.
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.
Non-file Review Annual Evaluation
If a survey submission date is on or after July 1, 2025, the organization is assessed against the 2025 Standards and Guidelines, and is expected to hold delegate(s) to 2025 requirements.
File Review Annual Audit
If a credentialing file audit (CR 9, Element C, factor 2 in HPA/MBHO; CR 3, Element C, factor 2 in CRPN) is scheduled to occur before July 1, 2025, the organization should continue the routine scheduled annual delegation audits for credentialing and recredentialing files, and audit the files against the 2024 credentialing verification time limits.
If a credentialing file audit is scheduled to occur on or after July 1, 2025, credentialing files processed by the organization’s delegate(s) before July 1, 2025, are assessed against 2024 verification time limits; files processed by the organization’s delegate(s) on or after July 1, 2025, are assessed against 2025 verification time limits.
For Medicare, organizations may obtain exclusion information from any of the NCQA acceptable sources. |
NCQA will remove the RAND table from the Guidelines for Calculations and Sampling with the release of the HEDIS MY 2025 Technical Update on March 31, 2025. Future releases of the HEDIS Volume 2: Technical Specifications for Health Plans publication will not contain a RAND table.
Beginning MY 2025, NCQA will use an alternative timeline and approach to distribute RAND numbers for HEDIS reporting. This information will be released in the NCQA store for purchasers of HEDIS Volume 2 in the November before production of systematic samples for hybrid reporting (e.g., November 2025, for MY 2025).
Organizations participating in NCQA’s Measure Certification program will receive separate guidance on how NCQA will accommodate this change for certification of systematic sampling logic.
No. Verification of sanctions and exclusions are not product line–specific requirements. For each practitioner in the scope of credentialing, the organization must verify Medicare and Medicaid sanctions regardless of the product line for which practitioners are contracted.
Example: During a new-patient office visit, the patient reports receiving a colonoscopy in the previous year to their primary care provider. During the discussion, the provider documents the details (when and where the procedure occurred, findings) in the office visit progress notes in the patient’s EHR.
This example represents the intent behind the HEDIS guidelines because:
HEDIS Volume 2 provides guidance in several places:
Yes. For Initial Surveys scheduled on or between July 1, 2024, and June 30, 2026, the organization may submit a detailed implementation plan that includes a timeline as evidence for applicable factors.
Implementation plans may be submitted for Initial Surveys for the following requirements until June 30, 2026:
HE 2, Element A.
HE 2, Element D.
HE 2, Element E.
HE 2, Element G.
HE Plus 3, Element C.
HE Plus 5, Element B.
HE Plus 5, Element E.
For commercial, Medicare and Medicaid organizations to be able to calculate an average rating for QI 3, Element B, they must receive a Health Plan Ratings scoresheet. Only organizations that have complete data receive a rating and scoresheet. Therefore, organizations that do not receive an HPR scoresheet will be scored NA in QI 3, Elements B and C.
The organization must demonstrate that it meets the requirements in QI 3, Element A, and will not be eligible for NA for that element.
Similarly, if an Exchange organization either does not report QRS data to CMS or receives NR for the Exchange product line because it does not have a valid rate for any required QRS measure in Element D, it must demonstrate data exchange in QI 3, Element A.