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HHCAHPS Preview Reports with Star Ratings Available
folder_openInformation for Home Health Agenciescalendar_todayPosted March 21, 2024

The purpose of this announcement is to alert home health agencies (HHAs) that Preview Reports reflecting results from the Home Health Care CAHPS (HHCAHPS) Survey from October 2022 through September 2023 (Q4,2022-Q3,2023) are now available on https://homehealthcahps.org via the "Survey Preview Report” link under the “For HHAs” tab. HHA users must be logged into the website to view their report. These same data will be updated on Medicare’s compare tool on https://www.medicare.gov/care-compare/ in April 2024.   

The Preview Reports present the publicly reported results, which also include star ratings for those agencies with data for 40 or more patient surveys in the 4-quarter reporting period.

For more information about the Preview Reports, please refer to this document on the HHCAHPS website: Understanding the HHCAHPS Survey Preview Reports

For more information about HHCAHPS star ratings, including Frequently Asked Questions, please click here: Star Ratings Information

If HHA users need assistance accessing their Report, please contact the HHCAHPS Survey Coordination Team via email at hhcahps@rti.org or call toll-free at (866) 354-0985.

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CY23 Qtr. 4 Data Submission Deadline Reminder
folder_openData Submissionscalendar_todayPosted March 21, 2024

The next data submission deadline is Thursday, April 18, 2024. We are now approximately 4 weeks away from the deadline for submitting HHCAHPS Survey data for Quarter 4 of calendar year 2023 (CY23,Q4).

We thank those HHCAHPS vendors who have already begun submitting CY23, Q4 data for their HHA clients. If you have not submitted any data for Quarter 4, we encourage you to begin submitting your files as soon as possible.

Important Points to Remember:

  • For each sample month an HHA has no eligible patients, please remember to request an email from them documenting that they had no eligible patients, so that you can submit a 0-eligible file for that month.
  • Please remember to submit a DNR for any HHAs that do not send you a file.
  • Data files must pass both the initial validation checks and the secondary validation checks.
  • To ensure that files can be accepted by the deadline at 11:59 PM Eastern Time on April 18, 2024, you must submit all your Quarter 4 files on or before Wednesday, April 17, 2024.
  • Since CMS will not accept any files after the data submission deadline, make sure you check your data submission reports to verify that all your submitted files were accepted. And, correct and re-submit any files before the data submission deadline.
  • You must still submit an XML data file for an HHA even if their monthly patient information file does not have any patients eligible to be sampled.
  • Check your Vendor Authorization Report to make sure that each HHA client has authorized your organization to submit data on their behalf.

Please feel free to contact us via email or through the toll-free number if you have any questions or need help with data submissions.

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Deadline for Filing a Request for an Exemption from Participating in the HHCAHPS Survey for the CY 2025 APU: Final Reminder
folder_openInformation for Home Health Agenciescalendar_todayPosted March 15, 2024

This is a final reminder to all Medicare-certified home health agencies (HHAs) that the deadline for submitting the CY 2025 APU exemption request is 11:59 PM Eastern Time on Sunday, March 31, 2024.

As announced in the Home Health Prospective Payment System (HH PPS) Rate Update Final Rule for Calendar Year 2024 that was published in the Federal Register on November 13, 2023, Medicare-certified HHAs that served 59 or fewer unduplicated patients between April 1, 2022 and March 31, 2023 who met survey eligibility criteria can request a PER for the CY 2025 APU.

HHAs can access the online PER form on HHCAHPS website at the following link:
Participation Exemption Request (PER) Form

For more information about the HHCAHPS Survey, contact the HHCAHPS Survey Coordination Team via email at hhcahps@rti.org or call toll-free at (866) 354-0985.

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Prepare NOW for the start of the Calendar Year 2026 Annual Payment Update (APU)
folder_openInformation for Home Health Agenciescalendar_todayPosted February 22, 2024

The calendar year (CY) 2026 annual payment update (APU) data collection requirement for HHCAHPS Survey participation begins with the April 2024 sample month. Medicare-certified home health agencies (HHAs) that are not yet participating in HHCAHPS and served 60 or more survey-eligible patients between April 1, 2023-March 31, 2024 should register as soon as possible on this website at the following link: https://homehealthcahps.org/For-HHAs/Register-for-Login-Credentials, and then register the agency’s CCN(s) via the “Register CCNs” link in the For HHAs menu tab after logged in.

HHAs should contract with an HHCAHPS vendor listed on this website beginning with the April 2024 sample month. Once HHAs have contracted with a vendor, they must complete the online vendor authorization form for that vendor on this website. For more information on these start-up activities, please refer to the following documents:

The HHA Responsibilities document will be updated early April 2024 to reference the CY 2026 APU participation period.

Please contact the HHCAHPS Survey Coordination Team if you have any questions at hhcahps@rti.org or telephone (866) 354-0985.

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Deadline for Filing a Request for an Exemption from Participating in the HHCAHPS Survey for the CY 2025 APU
folder_openInformation for Home Health Agenciescalendar_todayPosted February 8, 2024

This is a reminder to all Medicare-certified home health agencies (HHAs) seeking an exemption from participating in the HHCAHPS Survey for the calendar year (CY) 2025 annual payment update (APU) period to submit a Participation Exemption Request (PER) form on the HHCAHPS website.

The deadline for submitting the CY 2025 APU exemption request is 11:59 PM Eastern Time March 31, 2024.

As announced in the Home Health Prospective Payment System (HH PPS) Rate Update Final Rule for Calendar Year 2024 that was published in the Federal Register on November13, 2023, Medicare-certified HHAs that served 59 or fewer unduplicated patients between April 1, 2022 and March 31, 2023 who met survey eligibility criteria can request a PER for the CY 2025 APU.

HHAs can access the online PER form on HHCAHPS website at the following link:
Participation Exemption Request (PER) Form

For more information about the HHCAHPS Survey, contact the HHCAHPS Survey Coordination Team via email at hhcahps@rti.org or call toll-free at (866) 354-0985.

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2024 HHCAHPS Survey Training Materials Have Been Posted
folder_openOther Announcementscalendar_todayPosted January 24, 2024

The agenda and slides for the self-paced 2024 Introduction to the Home Health Care CAHPS (HHCAHPS) Survey training and the HHCAHPS Survey Vendor Update training are now posted under the “Training” tab of the HHCAHPS website. As a reminder, all organizations must register to access the Introduction to HHCAHPS Survey training certification and/or to attend the Update training, at this link: https://homehealthcahps.org/Training/Registration-Form

In addition, we have posted the following materials on the HHCAHPS website:

  • HHCAHPS Protocols and Guidelines Manual, v. 16.0 (accessed via the Protocols and Guidelines link under the “Survey Materials” tab);
  • HHCAHPS Website User and Data Submission Manual, v.12.0 (accessed via the Data Submission Resources link under the “Data Submission” tab); and
  • Regular and scannable versions of mail surveys in all languages, with updated year on the cover.
  • Updated Vietnamese mail questionnaires (standard and scannable versions) and telephone script (regular version), with minor corrections made to Q21 and Q34:
    • Q21 in the optical scan version of the questionnaire was changed to align with Q21 in the standard version of the questionnaire
    • Q34 in the standard version of the questionnaire was changed to align with Q34 in the optical scan version of the questionnaire
    • Q21 in the regular telephone script was changed to align with Q21 of the proxy telephone script

For more information, contact the HHCAHPS Survey Coordination Team via e-mail at hhcahps@rti.org or call toll-free at (866) 354-0985.

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Public Reporting Results Refreshed on Care Compare; Archived Publicly Reported Data Available on HHCAHPS Website
folder_openPublic Reportingcalendar_todayPosted January 17, 2024

Home Health Care CAHPS (HHCAHPS) Survey results based on responses from patients who received home health care from Medicare-certified home health agencies (HHAs) from July 2022 through June 2023 are now reported on Medicare’s compare tool at https://www.medicare.gov/care-compare/. HHCAHPS Survey results are updated each calendar year quarter.

These data are also available on the HHCAHPS website through the “Archived Publicly Reported Data” link under the “General Information” tab.  On this webpage, you can access

  • HHA-level data,
  • state and national averages,
  • star ratings cut points, and
  • patient mix adjustment coefficients for the linearized data used to construct the star ratings.

As a reminder, information on how the star ratings were constructed is provided in these Technical Notes.  

Click here for more information about how the data were analyzed and for the patient-mix adjustment factors that were used to statistically adjust the results that are currently being publicly reported on CMS’ Compare website.

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CY2023 Quarter 3 Data Submission Deadline Reminder: One Week Left
folder_openData Submissionscalendar_todayPosted January 11, 2024

The next data submission deadline is Thursday, January 18, 2024. We are now one week away from the deadline for submitting HHCAHPS Survey data for Quarter 3 of calendar year 2023 (CY23, Q3).

We thank those HHCAHPS vendors who have already begun submitting CY23,Q3 data for their HHA clients. If you have not submitted any data for Quarter 3, we encourage you to begin submitting your files as soon as possible.

Important Points to Remember:

  • Due to the HHCAHPS Survey reordered response options for the race question (Q31) starting with the CY23,Q3 survey data, it is strongly recommended that HHCAHPS Survey vendors complete additional quality control (QC) checks on Q31 data before submitting. In particular, vendors should focus their attention on comparing the counts of their CY23,Q3 race response categories against those data from previous quarters to ensure that their survey systems are accurately capturing the reordered race responses. For additional information, see the announcement posted on October 24, 2023.
  • For each sample month an HHA has no eligible patients, please remember to request an email from them documenting that they had no eligible patients or have them submit a blank monthly patient information file, so that you can submit a 0-eligible file for that month.
  • Please remember to submit a DNR for any HHAs that do not send you a file.
  • Data files must pass both the initial and the secondary validation checks.
  • To ensure that files can be accepted by the deadline at 11:59 PM Eastern Time on January 18, 2024, you must submit all of your Quarter 3 files on or before Wednesday, January 17, 2024.
  • Since CMS will not accept any files after the data submission deadline, make sure you check your data submission reports to verify that all of your submitted files were accepted.  And, correct and re-submit all files before the data submission deadline.
  • You must still submit an XML data file for an HHA even if their monthly patient information file does not have any patients eligible to be sampled.
  • Check your Vendor Authorization Report to make sure that each HHA client has authorized your organization to submit data on their behalf.

Please feel free to contact us via email or through the toll-free number if you have any questions or need help with data submissions.

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RTI International will be closed January 15, 2024
folder_openOther Announcementscalendar_todayPosted January 9, 2024

RTI International will be closed Monday, January 15, 2024, for the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. The HHCAHPS Survey Coordination Team will respond to email and telephone technical assistance inquiries on Tuesday, January 16, 2024.

Please contact the HHCAHPS Coordination Team at hhcahps@rti.org or by calling the toll-free number if you have any questions.

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CY2023 Qtr. 3 Data Submission Deadline Reminder
folder_openData Submissionscalendar_todayPosted January 4, 2024

The next data submission deadline is Thursday, January 18, 2024. We are now approximately 2 weeks away from the deadline for submitting HHCAHPS Survey data for Quarter 3 of calendar year 2023 (CY23,Q3).

We thank those HHCAHPS vendors who have already begun submitting CY23,Q3 data for their HHA clients. If you have not submitted any data for Quarter 3, we encourage you to begin submitting your files as soon as possible.

Important Points to Remember:

  • Due to the HHCAHPS Survey reordered response options for the race question (Q31) starting with the CY23,Q3 survey data, it is strongly recommended that HHCAHPS Survey vendors complete additional quality control (QC) checks on Q31 data before submitting. In particular, vendors should focus their attention on comparing the counts of their CY23,Q3 race response categories against those data from previous quarters to ensure that their survey systems are accurately capturing the reordered race responses. For additional information, see the announcement posted on October 24, 2023.
  • For each sample month an HHA has no eligible patients, please remember to request an email from them documenting that they had no eligible patients or have them submit a blank monthly patient information file, so that you can submit a 0-eligible file for that month.
  • Please remember to submit a DNR for any HHAs that do not send you a file.
  • Data files must pass both the initial and the secondary validation checks.
  • To ensure that files can be accepted by the deadline at 11:59 PM Eastern Time on January 18, 2024, you must submit all of your Quarter 3 files on or before Wednesday, January 17, 2024.
  • Since CMS will not accept any files after the data submission deadline, make sure you check your data submission reports to verify that all of your submitted files were accepted.  And, correct and re-submit all files before the data submission deadline.
  • You must still submit an XML data file for an HHA even if their monthly patient information file does not have any patients eligible to be sampled.
  • Check your Vendor Authorization Report to make sure that each HHA client has authorized your organization to submit data on their behalf.

Please feel free to contact us via email or through the toll-free number if you have any questions or need help with data submissions.

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