U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Frequently Asked Questions

Frequently Asked Questions are used to provide additional information and/or statutory guidance not found in State Medicaid Director Letters, State Health Official Letters, or CMCS Informational Bulletins. The different sets of FAQs as originally released can be accessed below.

Showing 31 to 40 of 135 results

What should I do if I am experiencing connectivity issues, freezing, or slowness within MACPro?

Please provide the following information to the Help Desk:

  • Who is your Internet Service Provider (ISP) and IP address?
  • What is your location?
  • What component were you using (Quality Measures, Health Homes SPA, etc.)?
  • What is the exact time the problem occurred?
  • What exactly happened?
  • What screen were you on?
  • If an error message displayed, please provide a screenshot.
  • Did the problem resolve itself? Was a page refresh or application reboot required?

FAQ ID:92821

SHARE URL

What does a CMS EIDM Approver need to do if the user requesting access to MACPro is not on a list of users who should have access?

The CMS EIDM Approver would need to contact the Business Owner Point of Contact (POC) for the Medicaid and CHIP Programs that are in MACPro to request verification of the user requesting access. The Business Owner POC may need to get in touch with the relevant Medicaid/CHIP State Agency directly to verify that the user requesting access is valid.

FAQ ID:92826

SHARE URL

How do I change my password? / How do I reset my password if I forgot it?

As MACPro and the Enterprise Identity Management Portal (EIDM) are integrated, your EIDM credentials are what you use to log into MACPro. To reset your password for MACPro, go to the link https://portal.cms.gov  and click the blue link that says "Forgot Password" under the blue log in button on the right side of the screen. You must answer your challenge questions to be able to reset your password. If you are not sure of your challenge questions, please contact the MACPro Help Desk at macpro_helpdesk@cms.hhs.gov.

FAQ ID:92831

SHARE URL

What are the Implementation Guides for?

Implementation guides are documents that provide specific information on how to complete and review a specific section of MACPro as a State or CMS User.

FAQ ID:92836

SHARE URL

I received an unexpected error message, what should I do?

Take a screenshot (Ctrl+PrtScn [PC]) of the message you see and send an email to the MACPro Help Desk atMACPro_HelpDesk@cms.hhs.gov. (MACPro underscore Help Desk). Two ways to avoid unexpected error messages are:

  1. Never use the browser back and forth arrows to navigate through MACPro; and
  2. Do not remain inactive on MACPro for more than sixty minutes.
  3. Always log out when exiting MACPro or EIDM.
  4. If you are clicking a bookmarked link to access either MACPro or EIDM, try manually typing the link or copying and pasting the link.
  5. Try refreshing your screen or clearing your cache. You can clear your cache in your browser's Options. (If you need guidance on clearing your cache, please contact the MACPro Help Desk at MACPro_HelpDesk@cms.hhs.gov.)

FAQ ID:92841

SHARE URL

How should states account for the cost of the Health Insurance Providers Fee in their actuarially sound capitation rates?

States and their actuaries have flexibility in incorporating the Health Insurance Providers Fee into the state's managed care capitation rates. This fee is not unlike other taxes and fees that actuaries regularly reflect in developing capitation rates as part of the nonbenefit portion of the rate. CMS believes that the Health Insurance Providers Fee is therefore a reasonable business cost to health plans that is appropriate for consideration as part of the non-benefit component of the rate, just as are other taxes and fees.

Supplemental Links:

FAQ ID:91126

SHARE URL

What methodologies are acceptable to account for the Health Insurance Providers Fee in capitation rates? Can states make retroactive adjustments to the capitation rates once the actual assessments on the health plans are known?

States have the flexibility to account for the Health Insurance Providers Fee on a prospective or retroactive basis. In the event that a prospective calculation results in a capitation rate that is too high or too low, the capitation rate may be adjusted after the actual tax assessment is known. States may also account for the fee prospectively by withholding such amounts until the health plan's actual fee is known. The capitation payment, net the amount of the withhold, must remain actuarially sound and the state can only claim Federal Financial Participation (FFP) on the actual expenditures paid from the withhold to reimburse the health plans for the fee.

States may account for the Health Insurance Providers Fee as an aggregated retroactive adjustment to the rates for the contract year once a health plan's liability is known. CMS anticipates that states would move to a prospective calculation as states and health plans obtain more experience with the fee.

Supplemental Links:

FAQ ID:91141

SHARE URL

Can the Health Insurance Providers Fee be paid to health plans as a separate payment after the plans' fee liability is known?

No. There is no Federal Financial Participation (FFP) available for Health Insurance Providers Fee payments made outside of actuarially sound capitation rates, per the requirements of section 1903(m)(2)(A(iii) of the Social Security Act and implementing regulations at 42 CFR 438.6(c)(2). Therefore, any payment for the fee-whether on a prospective or retrospective basis-must be incorporated in the health plan capitation rates and reflected in the payment term under the contract.

Supplemental Links:

FAQ ID:91151

SHARE URL

Are there any limitations around the use of the data year (e.g., 2013) or the fee year (e.g., 2014) as the base for any adjustment to the capitation rates to account for the Health Insurance Providers Fee?

There are reasonable ways to account for the Health Insurance Providers Fee as an adjustment to the states' capitation rates under either approach. In either approach, the amount of the fee should be incorporated as an adjustment to the capitation rates and the resulting payments should be consistent with the actual or estimated amount of the fee.

Supplemental Links:

FAQ ID:91161

SHARE URL

If the 2014 capitation rates are being adjusted to reimburse health plans for the Health Insurance Providers Fee due in 2014, should the adjustment be applied to every population?

No. Since the fee due in 2014 is based on the health plan's 2013 book of business, the adjustment should only apply to the capitation rates for populations that the state covered under the managed care contract in 2013. For example, states that chose to expand Medicaid eligibility starting January 1, 2014, should not adjust the capitation rates for the new adult eligibility group to account for the fee due in 2014, because they were not covered by the managed care plans in 2013. In future years, the Health Insurance Providers Fee will continue to be based on the book of business for the immediately preceding year, so this concept will apply in calculating the fee if any new populations are added to a state's managed care program.

Supplemental Links:

FAQ ID:91181

SHARE URL
Results per page