FAQ Directory: Managed Behavioral Healthcare Organization Accreditation

NCQA does not require a Credentialing Committee size, composition or quorum beyond that the committee must include practitioners who participate in the network.
Participating practitioners on the credentialing committee must be from a range of specialties or departments that represent the types of practitioners reviewed by the committee. For example, it would not be sufficient for only primary care practitioners to participate on the committee unless the network has only primary care practitioners.

MBHO 2020

No. The organization must provide documentation of a tracking mechanism—or mechanisms (e.g., checklist or spreadsheet)—that encompass the required provider types

MBHO 2019

Because of the complexities of the workbook formulas, we are unable to change the workbook to accept “NA” in time for 2019 Standards Year surveys. To correctly calculate the notification date scoring, a date must be entered in this field.
NCQA will not require organizations to provide documentation of the decision date and will instruct surveyors to enter the earliest of

1. The written notification date(s), or
2. The verbal notification date(s) (if applicable).

Regardless of the score calculated for decision date,

1. Surveyors will not score 30 files for this factor (although if it is necessary to review 30 files for the notification date, surveyors may need to complete this field, as described above for additional files).
2. Surveyors will score the element NA in IRT.

MBHO 2019

An “NA” score for UM 5, Elements, A, C and E will not affect the review of UM 5, Element G: UM Timeliness Report. However, NCQA still requires organizations to monitor and submit a report of timeliness of decision making and notification of decisions for UM 5, Element G.

MBHO 2019

No. The “Explanation” and the “Related information” sections of UM 5, Elements A, C and E still apply to UM 5, Elements B, D and F, respectively. All applicable information was moved to the relevant elements for HPA 2020.

MBHO 2019

No. The organization is not required to include all these areas in its analysis, but at a minimum, must evaluate rates of unplanned admissions to facilities and emergency room visits to identify areas for improvement.

MBHO 2019

Referencing benefit documents such as the member handbook or Certificate of Coverage by title alone is not specific enough to meet the requirement. Because benefit documents are often large and complex, the organization must direct members to the specific location of the information, either by section title or page number.

The reference must still support the organization’s decision and relate to the reason for the request

MBHO 2019

Factors 7-13 should be scored as “Met” for upheld denials sent to MAXIMUS.

MBHO 2018

Yes. The organization may send a single letter to the member and practitioner that includes the specific reason for the denial, in language that would be easily understood by the member. The letter may also include, in a separate section, additional clinical or technical language directed toward a practitioner.

When NCQA reviews the letter to ascertain if the reason for the denial would be easy for the member to understand, it considers both the written reason and the context of the language and whether the information can be understood in context.
 

MBHO 2019

NCQA considers the implementation date as the date when the delegate can start performing delegated activities. But because the organization and delegate may have mutually agreed on and implemented delegated activities before signing the delegation agreement, NCQA is changing the policy for evidence of the implementation date.

When reviewing a delegation agreement, NCQA will consider the effective date or start date specified in the agreement as the mutually agreed-upon implementation date, for Element A (of the delegation standards), factor 1. This date may be before or after the signature date on the delegation agreement. If the agreement does not contain an effective date/start date, NCQA considers the date when the agreement was signed as the mutually agreed-upon implementation date.

NCQA may also accept other evidence of the implementation date: a letter, meeting minutes or other form of communication between the organization and the delegate that references their agreement on the delegated activity start date.

If an organization references the effective date/start date of the delegation agreement as the implementation date, NCQA will require submitted evidence for all other delegation factors to conform to that date as the implementation date.

The language in the explanation will be updated in a future Policy Update for applicable 2019 publications.

MBHO 2019

QI 6 requires organizations to collect data from all sources of member complaints and appeals, including UM coverage appeals addressed in UM 8–UM 9 and noncoverage appeals addressed in RR 2.
Note: Data collected and analyzed before February 15, 2019, will be accepted as meeting the requirement even if not all types of appeals are included. Data collected and analyzed on or after this date must comply with the requirement stated in the FAQ.
If your organization collected and analyzed data before February 15, 2019, and interpreted the requirement as applying to only one type of appeal, notify the surveyor at the start of the survey so the misinterpretation does not affect scoring.
 

MBHO 2018

No. To keep scoring simple, NCQA set a threshold of 80% or higher for all UM must-pass elements, rather than setting a specific threshold for each element based on its scoring options. If an element does not have an 80% option, the “or higher” applies. Keep in mind that an organization may miss the requirements for a few files and still score 100% on the element. For additional information on file review scoring, refer to the scoring table in each element or to the file review worksheet in the Interactive Review Tool (IRT).

MBHO 2019