No. Reports on timeliness of UM decision making may not be at the corporate level. Reports must be at the accreditable-entity level.
FAQ Directory
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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4.15.2016 Organization-level timeliness reports Is a corporate level report acceptable for UM 5, Element G?
4.15.2016 Off-label medication use denials in UM 4H Are denials for “off-label” medication use included in the file review for UM 4, Element H (UM 4F in UM-CR and MBHO)?
4.15.2016 Experimental/investigational procedure denials in UM 4H Are denials of requests for experimental or investigational procedures included in the file review for UM 4, Element H (UM 4F in UM-CR and MBHO)?
4.15.2016 Exchange Benchmarking Data We are looking for external benchmarks for Exchange results. When will they be available?
NCQA collects clinical data for the Quality Rating System (QRS) under contract for CMS, but does not collect or report Exchange data for any other purpose.
Published CMS guidance (https://www.cms.gov/Medicare/Quality-Initiatives-Patient-Assessment-Instruments/QualityInitiativesGenInfo/Downloads/2019-QRS-and-QHP-Enrollee-Survey-Technical-Guidance_FINAL_20181016_508.pdf) states (page 19, Section 8, Quality Rating Information Preview Process), “The proof sheets will include benchmark information for measure results and an associated definition/rationale for any invalid/non-numeric results (e.g., NR).”
You can e-mail the Exchange Operations Support Center Help Desk at CMS_FEPS@cms.hhs.gov or phone 855-267-1515 if you have questions about benchmarks for Exchange QRS data. Reference “Exhange Quality Initiatives (MQI)-QRS” in the subject line.
This applies to the following Programs and Years:
Exchange 20163.25.2016 P4P Overview In the MY 2015 Value Based P4P manual Humana is included in the list of plans participating in Medicare Advantage measurement and reporting, but is not included in the clinical data file layouts. Is Humana participating in P4P Medicare reporting, and should POs be including Humana members in their self-reported rates?
No, Humana will not be participating in P4P Medicare Advantage measurement and reporting, and should not be included in PO data reporting. Self-reporting POs and health plan clinical data file layouts did not include Humana and Humana members should not be included in self-reporting PO or health plan rates.
This applies to the following Programs and Years:
IHA P4P3.15.2016 Review process versus review outcome Does the type of review (i.e., medical necessity, benefit or other) determine if a denial is included in the file-review universe for UM 4, Element H (UM 4F in UM-CR and MBHO)?
No. The outcome (reason for the denial) determines which files are included. If the decision is not made on the basis of medical necessity, but on the basis of a benefit or an administrative limitation, the file is included in the scope of UM 4, Element H (UM 4F in UM-CR and MBHO).
This applies to the following Programs and Years:
UM-CR 2016
3.15.2016
Types of files included in the UM 4–UM 7 file-review universe (excluding UM 4H) Are denials based on benefits (whether or not they underwent a medical necessity review) included in the file review universe for UM 4, Elements C–E, UM 5 Elements A-F, UM 6 and
UM 7?
3.15.2016 Expected Counts in IDSS for IHU, EDU and HPC How should the Expected counts be reported in IDSS for Inpatient Hospital Utilization, Emergency Department Utilization and Hospitalization for Potentially Preventable Complications? Do they need to be rounded?
3.15.2016 Classification of pharmaceutical requests at the point of service How should organizations classify requests for medications dispensed at the point of service?
2.24.2016 Digital Mammography for Breast Cancer Screening Is digital mammography included in the HEDIS® Breast Cancer Screening Measure?
The HEDIS® 2016 Breast Cancer Screening (BCS) measure aligns with the 2009 US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) guidelines. The guideline concluded the evidence was insufficient to assess the additional benefits and harms of digital mammography instead of film mammography for breast cancer screening. NCQA understands mammography practice, coding and technology have evolved over time to include digital mammography, and the current HEDIS measure includes CPT codes that represent either traditional mammography or digital mammography and cannot be delineated through administrative reporting. However, three HCPCS G codes, specific to digital mammography, were inadvertently included in the Mammography Value Set. Because the HEDIS 2016 specifications are frozen, NCQA will allow plans to follow the current measure specification and associated value sets as written.
The measure will be evaluated for HEDIS 2017 and the value-sets will be updated accordingly based on newly released USPSTF Guideline recommendations.
This applies to the following Programs and Years:
HEDIS 20162.19.2016 P4P Value Set Directory The Ambulatory Surgery Option A and Laboratory and Pathology Services value sets each contain 8 codes that begin with “X” (e.g., X1020913) and are labeled as CPT codes. Are these valid codes, and should they be used for P4P reporting?
No. The CPT codes that begin with “X” are not valid and are not required for use in P4P reporting. Organizations can exclude these codes from the value set. If these codes were included in P4P programming, it is expected that there will be no impact; the codes are not valid and will not occur in claims data.
