U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Comprehensive Diabetes Care: Hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) Poor Control (>9.0%): Ages 18 to 75

DOMAIN: Chronic Conditions

Among diabetic patients, a Hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) level greater than 9.0% indicates poor control of diabetes. Poor control of diabetes is a risk factor for complications, including renal failure, blindness, and neurologic damage.

Explore the percentage of adults with Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes who had their HbA1c in poor control in each state. Lower rates are better on this measure.

The purple dashed line represents the median, or middle, of all values reported.

This measure reports state performance on the percentage of adults ages 18 to 75 with Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes who had HbA1c in poor control (>9.0%) during the measurement year.

This measure aligns with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s 6|18 Initiative focus on providing appropriate diabetes care. The 6|18 Initiative focuses on six common and costly health conditions or health behaviors and highlights evidence-based interventions that can prevent or control those conditions. For information on how to drive improvement on this measure, visit: www.cdc.gov/sixeighteen.  

States voluntarily report on Comprehensive Diabetes Care: Hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) Poor Control (>9.0%) (HPC-AD) as part of the Core Set of Adult Health Care Quality Measures. These data show performance rates for states that voluntarily reported the measure using Adult Core Set measure specifications.

The included populations and calculation methods for Adult Core Set measures can vary by state. For example, some states include populations in certain programs, such as beneficiaries covered by Medicaid, but exclude beneficiaries in other programs, such as those dually eligible for Medicare and Medicaid. In addition, states may include beneficiaries in some delivery systems, but exclude other delivery systems. For example, a state may include beneficiaries who are enrolled in managed care, but exclude beneficiaries who are covered on a fee-for-service (FFS) basis. States can also choose to calculate this measure using the administrative or hybrid method. This variation in populations and calculation methods can affect measure performance and comparisons between states.

Source: Mathematica analysis of Medicaid and CHIP Program System (MACPro) reports for the Adult Core Set Federal Fiscal Year (FFY) 2020 reporting cycle as of June 18, 2021; see 2020 Child and Adult Health Care Quality Measures. For more information on the Comprehensive Diabetes Care: Hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) Poor Control (HPC-AD) measure, visit Adult Health Care Quality Measures.

Notes:

The term “states” includes the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. The following states did not report data to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) for this measure: AK, AL, AR, AZ, CO, IL, KY, ME, MI, MN, MO, MT, NC, NE, NY, OK, PR, SC, SD, TX, and WY.

The following state reported the measure to CMS, but did not use Adult Core Set specifications to calculate the measure: AR. CMS did not include the rate for this state.

The Adult Core Set specifications include guidance for calculating this measure using the administrative method or the hybrid method. The hybrid method uses a combination of administrative and medical records data to identify services included in the numerator or to determine exclusions from the denominator based on diagnoses or other criteria. Unless otherwise specified, administrative data sources are the state’s Medicaid Management Information System (MMIS) and/or data submitted by managed care plans; medical record data sources are paper and/or electronic health records. This measure is also specified for calculation using electronic health records. For states that used administrative data only, higher rates on this measure, representing lower performance, may be the result of incomplete information about hemoglobin A1c tests in administrative data.

Unless otherwise specified:

  • States used Adult Core Set specifications, based on National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) 2020 specifications. The following state used NCQA 2019 specifications: OR.
  • Denominators are assumed to be the measure-eligible population for states using the administrative method; states using the hybrid method often reported the sample size for the medical chart review rather than the measure-eligible population. Some states reported exclusions from the denominator, as noted in the state-specific comments.
  • The measurement period for this measure was January 2019 to December 2019. CT reported data for CY 2018.
  • Rates displayed reflect state reporting for Medicaid enrollees ages 18 to 64 (16 states) or ages 18 to 75 (15 states).

ACO = Accountable Care Organization; AHRQ = Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality; CCO = Coordinated Care Organization; CHIP = Children’s Health Insurance Program; CMS = Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services; CMO = Care Management Organization; CY = Calendar Year; ED = Emergency Department; EHR = Electronic Health Record; EQRO = External Quality Review Organization; FFS = Fee for Service; FFY = Federal Fiscal Year; HCBS = Home- and Community-Based Services; HEDIS = Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set; HMO = Health Maintenance Organization; ICD = International Classification of Diseases; LOINC = Logical Observation Identifiers Names and Codes; MACPro = Medicaid and CHIP Program System; MCO = Managed Care Organization; MMIS = Medicaid Management Information System; NCQA = National Committee for Quality Assurance; NR = Not Reported; PCCM = Primary Care Case Management; PCP = Primary Care Practitioner.