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CAHPS Home and Community Based Services Survey

Additional Resources

Overview

The CAHPS Home and Community-Based Services Survey (HCBS CAHPS) is the first cross-disability survey of home and community-based service beneficiary’s experience receiving long-term services and supports. It is designed to facilitate comparisons across the hundreds of state Medicaid HCBS programs throughout the country that target different adults with disabilities, e.g., including frail elderly, individuals with physical disabilities, persons with developmental or intellectual disabilities, those with acquired brain injury and persons with severe mental illness. The HCBS CAHPS Survey is available for voluntary use in HCBS programs as part of quality assurance and improvement activities and public reporting. 

About the survey

The HCBS CAHPS Survey is a questionnaire with a maximum of 69 core items developed for measuring beneficiary experience with the Medicaid home and community-based services and supports delivered by providers. Core questions cover topics such as: getting needed services, communication with providers, case managers, choice of services, medical transportation, and personal safety, as well as community inclusion and empowerment. The survey also includes 3 cognitive screening questions, 9 questions to identify the relevant HCBS services to be asked about, and 15 demographic questions. A 21-item module on experience with employment services is offered as a separate supplement. The survey was developed to be administered by an interviewer in person or by telephone. English and Spanish versions of the instrument are available.

The HCBS CAHPS Survey was developed by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services for voluntary use by state Medicaid programs, including both fee-for-service HCBS programs as well as managed long-term services and supports (MLTSS) programs. States with adequate sample sizes may consider using survey metrics in value-based purchasing initiatives. Among other metrics, the survey items support scale measures (or composites). Composites provide information on HCBS staff reliability, communication with HCBS staff, getting help from case managers, choice of services, personal safety, adequacy of medical transportation, and community inclusion and empowerment. 

Download the Survey

Download Technical Assistance Materials

Additional Information

Questions or requests for technical assistance related to the HCBS CAHPS Survey can be directed to HCBS-CAHPS@cms.hhs.gov.

For more information about the Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS) surveys, a program of the U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, please visit this site.