Home and Community-Based Services New Measure Development

In addition to current HCBS quality measures, including the Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS CAHPS®) Survey, Functional Assessment Standardized Items, and Long Term Services and Supports (LTSS),  CMS supports the development of new Medicaid-focused HCBS quality measures. 

CMS aims to develop meaningful, outcomes-based measures without causing undue burden or duplication. To the extent possible, CMS supports the development of measures that can be used for multiple populations and takes into consideration preferences of key quality measurement stakeholders, including HCBS participants, state Medicaid agencies, health plans, and providers.

HCBS Measures Public Comment

Prior to the release of new measures, draft measure specifications and measure testing results for measures under development are made available for public comment.  

The public comment postings are maintained by the CMS Measures Management System and available to the public via the Current Public Comment Opportunities page. Public comment summaries are also available via the Summaries of Past Public Comments page.

HCBS Measures Technical Expert Panel

To support HCBS quality measure development efforts, the HCBS measures technical expert panel was formed in 2020 to provide input on activities related to a diverse list of HCBS quality measures and to identify strategies to help advance the CMS vision of high-quality, efficient, person-focused care that optimizes the benefits associated with the use and exchange of standardized data collection.

The composition of the technical expert panel and meeting summaries are maintained by the CMS Measures Management System. The technical expert panel materials are available to the public via the CMS Technical Expert Panel Current Panels page.