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.
Organizations coming through the WHP accreditation process for the first time and that wants to earn AWPR status must submit audited measures with the ISS Survey Tool submission. Organizations with current AWPR status must submit measures on April 15 to maintain the AWPR status. Organizations that do not submit performance measures with their Survey Tool can apply for an upgrade to AWPR status at the next annual submission date (the April 15 following receipt of accreditation status).
In response to USPSTF recommendations, NCQA has scheduled the CCS measure for reevaluation in 2012. The appropriate staff and panels will review updates and other relevant guidelines and will evaluate potential changes to the measure. Proposed changes, if any, will be posted for Public Comment in February 2013 and, pending final approval by the NCQA Committee on Performance Measurement, will be included in HEDIS 2014.
Data from the MTM program may be used only if the organization can distinguish a member's discharge medications from the member's current medications. The reconciliation must have occurred on or within 30 days of discharge by a prescribing practitioner, clinical pharmacist or registered nurse to meet the intent of the measure.
If an organization does not qualify for automatic Accreditation for its Exchange product line, NCQA will survey those elements that it will administer differently using NCQAs existing add-on survey process. The survey will only consist of the off-site portion of the survey process and will not include a file review.
The Exchange Add-on accreditation status is valid until your existing NCQA accredited product expires. Once this occurs, you must bring your Exchange product through the Renewal Evaluation Option which would include submission of HEDIS and CAHPS results starting in 2015.
The application will be available by the end of September 2012 and can be submitted anytime; however, NCQA will not begin Exchange Add-on surveys until after January 1, 2013. Note that applications will only be accepted through December 31, 2013, as the Exchange Add-on Survey is a temporary strategy to help plans receive accreditation to qualify for Exchanges.
Once you submit your application, NCQA will determine if your organization is eligible for automatic accreditation. If you apply before February 1, 2013 and NCQA determines your organization is eligible for automatic accreditation then NCQA will award the accreditation status in the first quarter of 2013. If you apply after February 1, 2013 and NCQA determines your organization is not eligible for automatic accreditation then NCQA will award the accreditation status about two months after you apply.
If upon review of your application, NCQA determines that your organization is eligible for automatic accreditation, NCQA staff will contact you to schedule a date to start your Exchange Add-on survey and issue an ISS tool to you to complete and submit on the start date. If your organization achieves accreditation then the status will be awarded about three months after the start of the survey.
Note that NCQA posts accreditation status updates on its Web site once a month on the 15th of each month for statuses effective as of the end of the previous month.
The Exchange Add-on Survey evaluates plans on a subset of standards and elements listed in Section 7 of the NCQA HPA Exchange Add-on Survey Application. For an organization that will administer its Exchange product line in the same manner as it administers existing NCQA-Accredited product lines, NCQA will award Accreditation to the Exchange product line without conducting a formal survey. An organization qualifies for automatic Accreditation if it attests that it will administer 70% or more of the elements listed in Section 7 in the same manner.
The Exchanges Add-on Survey accreditation status is valid until your existing accredited products accreditation status expires.
For example:
You have Commercial HMO accreditation, which expires in January 2015.
You bring in your Exchange HMO for accreditation now, through the Exchanges Add-on Survey.
Your accreditation status for the Exchange product line is valid until your Commercial HMO expires in January 2015.
The Exchange Add-on Survey is a streamlined version of the regular Add-on Survey:
Plans do not submit HEDIS/CAHPS
Since HEDIS/CAHPS are not submitted, plans are capped at Accredited status.
NCQA reviews documentation of standards only when the organization manages functions differently from key elements. (The Application defines which standards are required and how many functions are permitted to be performed differently).
No file review for the Exchange product line.
