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ACO REACH CAHPS PY 2024 Survey Vendor Authorization Deadline is in one week, on Friday, August 2, 2024
Other AnnouncementsPosted July 26, 2024

This announcement serves as a reminder that the deadline for REACH ACOs to authorize their approved ACO REACH CAHPS survey vendors is Friday, August 2, 2024. Vendors can access their website "Survey Vendor Authorization Report" to see the list of the REACH ACOs who have authorized them.

Please note: CMS requires REACH ACOs and their survey vendors to have a formal contract and executed HIPAA Business Associate Agreement (BAA). These materials do not need to be uploaded to the ACO REACH CAHPS website.

To assist REACH ACOs in completing their authorization tasks, four "How To" documents are posted under the Quick Links box on the ACO REACH CAHPS website. These documents contain step-by-step instructions and website screenshots. Please note that although the screenshots are from the PY 2022 GPDC CAHPS website, the directions remain the same.

Please contact the ACO REACH CAHPS Survey Coordination Team at acoreachcahps@rti.org or call toll-free 1-833-870-0486 if you have any questions.

ACO REACH CAHPS Survey QAP with Survey Materials Due by Friday, August 2, 2024
Other AnnouncementsPosted July 19, 2024

All ACO REACH CAHPS Survey vendors with contracted REACH ACO clients for PY 2024 must submit an updated Quality Assurance Plan (QAP) with completed templates of all mail and telephone survey materials by Friday, August 2, 2024. The updated QAP should include:

Templates of the formatted Standards/New Entrants mail questionnaire, English and Spanish versions. Survey vendors who have High Needs REACH ACO clients must also include copies of the formatted High Needs mail questionnaire. Include dummy sample data and make sure you do not provide survey(s) with a real beneficiary's name.
Screenshots of the programmed Standards/New Entrants telephone instrument, English and Spanish versions. Survey vendors who have High Needs REACH ACO clients must also include screenshots of the programmed High Needs telephone instrument. Include dummy sample data and make sure you do not provide survey(s) with a real beneficiary's name.
1. Note: You may submit a secure link and credentials for the ACO REACH CAHPS Survey Coordination Team to test the CATI program in lieu of submitting screenshots.
2. Returning vendors may submit a reduced set of screenshots or CATI programming that reflects only changes made since the previous performance year.
Thank You/Reminder postcard
First mailout cover letters and outgoing envelope
Second mailout cover letters and outgoing envelope
Facility outgoing envelope
Business reply envelope
A crosswalk between internal status codes and ACO REACH CAHPS final status codes, if not included in your approved QAP.
Your helpdesk voicemail greeting and email auto-reply text, if not included in your approved QAP.
All changes to staffing and/or protocols that have occurred since your QAP was approved.
1. Note: If you have made key staffing changes, including subcontractors, please also update your online ACO REACH CAHPS Vendor Application form.
A clean copy of your approved Quality Assurance Plan. All tracked changes from the initial QAP submission should be accepted. Only revisions made since the previously approved QAP should be tracked.

For more details about required survey materials, please refer to the online Model QAP Outline linked here: https://acoreachcahps.org/Portals/0/Vendors/ACOREACHCAHPSModelQAPOutline.pdf.

To ensure prompt review and acceptance of your QAP, please submit a Word version (not a .pdf or other format) of your QAP online at the "Submit Quality Assurance Plan" link located under the "Vendors" tab once you are logged into the private side of the website.

Vendors with questions should contact the ACO REACH CAHPS Survey Coordination Team via e-mail at acoreachcahps@rti.org or call 1-833-870-0486.

ACO REACH CAHPS PY 2024 Survey Vendor Authorization Deadline is Friday, August 2, 2024
Other AnnouncementsPosted July 19, 2024

This announcement serves as a reminder that the deadline for REACH ACOs to authorize their approved ACO REACH CAHPS survey vendors is Friday, August 2, 2024. Vendors can access their website "Survey Vendor Authorization Report" to see the list of the REACH ACOs who have authorized them.

To assist REACH ACOs and survey vendors in completing their authorization tasks, we have provided four "How To" documents located under the Quick Links box on the ACO REACH CAHPS website. These documents contain step-by-step instructions and website screenshots. Please note that although the screenshots are from the PY 2022 GPDC CAHPS website, the directions remain the same.

Please contact the ACO REACH CAHPS Survey Coordination Team at acoreachcahps@rti.org or call toll-free 1-833-870-0486 if you have any questions.

ACO REACH CAHPS Contacting Protocol for REACH ACOs Beneficiaries with Healthcare Decisionmaker Powers of Attorney on File
Other AnnouncementsPosted July 9, 2024

CMS encourages REACH ACOs who have beneficiaries’ Healthcare Decisionmaker Power of Attorney (POA) on file to share the POA name and available contact information with their contracted ACO REACH CAHPS vendor for survey purposes.

When REACH ACOs share such information, they must share POA contact information for every beneficiary who has a healthcare decisionmaker POA. This means that ACOs cannot share POA information for selected beneficiaries.

To implement the use of POA information, survey vendors must follow these protocols:

Add the POA name and contact information to the sample file provided by the Survey Coordination Team.
Keep careful track of this information since it will require vendors to add extra fields to the sample file that is provided by the Survey Coordination Team.
Create a sample flag or indicator to easily identify sample cases with POAs.
If a POA address is not known, mail letters and postcards to the beneficiary’s address.
- In the address blocks on the envelopes, letters and postcards, display the beneficiary's name followed by "Care of [POA’S FULL NAME] or "c/o [POA’S FULL NAME]."
If the POA’s address is known, mail letters and postcards to the POA.
- Address the envelopes, letters and postcards to the POA followed by “In Care of [BENEFICIARY’S FULL NAME]” or “In c/o [BENEFICIARY’S FULL NAME].”
When there is a known healthcare POA, indicate this in the Telephone Survey call notes, so the interviewer is aware that they can and should attempt to conduct a proxy interview with the POA.
If the POA’s phone number is not known, call the beneficiary’s telephone number.
- In the contacting process, if you determine that the beneficiary cannot do the survey, attempt to speak with the POA or call the POA at a different telephone number. Be familiar and knowledgeable with the proxy introductory scripts and informed consent screens so that this interview can proceed smoothly by proxy.
If the POA’s phone number is known, call the POA. Be familiar and knowledgeable with the proxy introductory scripts and informed consent screens so that this interview can proceed smoothly

Please contact the Survey Coordination Team at acoreachcahps@rti.org or call toll-free 1-833-870-0486 if you have any questions.

Updated ACO REACH CAHPS Telephone Scripts Have Been Posted
Survey MaterialsPosted July 8, 2024

CMS has decided to remove from the currently-posted ACO REACH CAHPS telephone scripts, the statement that says survey participation will not affect the beneficiary's Medicare benefits. Accordingly, vendors are directed to make the following revisions to three questions, INTRO1, INTRO2, and PROXY_INTRO2, in the ACO REACH CAHPS Standard/New Entrants Telephone Script and the High Needs Telephone Script, in English and Spanish. The changes in an English language script are shown in the screenshots below.

Survey vendors must include these revisions in all CATI materials in their QAP submission due on August 2, 2024.

Returning survey vendors: Please be sure to incorporate both these changes and the changes from PY2023 that were contained in the files emailed on April 2, 2024.

INTRO1

INTRO2

PROXY_INTRO2

Note: The policy that Medicare benefits are unaffected by survey participation is not changing.

Please contact the Survey Coordination Team at acoreachcahps@rti.org or call toll-free 1-833-870-0486 if you have any questions.

RTI International will be closed Thursday, July 4, 2024
Other AnnouncementsPosted June 24, 2024

RTI International will be closed Thursday, July 4, 2024, for the Independence Day holiday. The ACO REACH CAHPS Survey Coordination Team will respond to email and telephone technical assistance inquiries beginning on Friday, July 5, 2024.

Please contact the ACO REACH CAHPS Coordination Team at acoreachccahps@rti.org or by calling the toll-free number if you have any questions.

Fully Approved Vendors for PY 2024 ACO REACH CAHPS and REACH ACO Registration and Vendor Authorization Information
Other AnnouncementsPosted June 7, 2024

The names and contact information of all survey vendors who are now fully approved for ACO REACH CAHPS survey vendor authorization have been posted on the ACO REACH CAHPS website. That list is available here: https://acoreachcahps.org/General-Information/Approved-Survey-Vendors.

CMS has also provided ACOs with this list and has informed ACOs that they must register and authorize their contracted survey vendors by August 2, 2024. The information on registration and vendor authorization that CMS provided to ACOs is below.

Survey vendors can access their website “Survey Vendor Authorization Report” to see the list of the ACOs who have authorized them.

Please contact the Survey Coordination Team at acoreachcahps@rti.org or call toll-free 1-833-870-0486 if you have any questions.

CMS has provided the following information to ACOs:

ACO Registration: All ACOs are required to have a survey administrator registered for their ACO.

ACOs who will use the same Survey Administrator that they had in PY 2023 do not need to register again.
New ACOs or ACOs who want to change a Survey Administrator must do so by August 2, 2024.

Vendor Authorization: All ACOs need to authorize a vendor for PY 2024, even if they want to use the same vendor from PY 2023. This must also be completed by August 2, 2024.

Helpful ACO registration links:

To begin registering as the Survey Administrator:

https://acoreachcahps.org/ACOs/Step-One-Register-as-the-Survey-Administrator

To see step-by-step instructions for registering as the Survey Administrator: https://acoreachcahps.org/Portals/0/Docs/HowToRegisterAsSurveyAdm.pdf

Helpful vendor authorization links:

List of CAHPS vendors approved for the PY 2024 ACO REACH CAHPS: https://acoreachcahps.org/General-Information/Approved-Survey-Vendors

https://4innovation.cms.gov/secure/knowledge-management/view/679

To authorize a vendor:

https://acoreachcahps.org/ACOs/Vendor-Authorization/Start-an-Authorization

To see step-by-step instructions for authorizing a vendor:

https://acoreachcahps.org/Portals/0/Docs/HowToAuthorizeASurveyVendor.pdf

ACOs with questions should contact the ACO REACH CAHPS Survey Coordination Team at acoreachcahps@rti.org.

ACO REACH CAHPS Updated High Needs Mail Questionnaire Posted
Survey MaterialsPosted May 24, 2024

This email serves to inform survey vendors that we have posted an updated version of the ACO REACH CAHPS High Needs mail questionnaire (English) to correct an error. The details of the update are below. Please discard the previously posted version and use the current version. We thank our vendors for helping us spot this error.

The updated version of the High Needs mail questionnaire (English) fixes the question numbers. On the top left column on page 6, Q57 was not numbered, as shown in the screenshot below.

Question 57

This has been corrected. The High Needs mail questionnaire (English) now includes a question number for all 60 questions.

Please contact the ACO REACH CAHPS Survey Coordination Team at acoreachcahps@rti.org or call toll-free 1-833-870-0486 if you have any questions.

Sincerely,

ACO REACH CAHPS Survey Coordination Team

RTI International will be closed Monday, May 27, 2024
Other AnnouncementsPosted May 21, 2024

RTI International will be closed Monday, May 27, 2024, for the Memorial Day holiday. The ACO REACH CAHPS Survey Coordination Team will respond to email and telephone technical assistance inquiries beginning on Tuesday, May 28, 2024.

Please contact the ACO REACH CAHPS Coordination Team at acoreachccahps@rti.org or by calling the toll-free number if you have any questions.

Post-Training Questions and Answers Summary Posted to ACO REACH CAHPS Website
Training InformationPosted May 7, 2024

Questions asked by participants during the 2024 Update to ACO REACH CAHPS Survey Vendor Webinar Training have been assembled in a summary document. Additionally, suggestions made by participants in the training evaluation from both the 2024 Introduction and 2024 Update trainings have been assembled in the document. CMS’ answers to questions and comments have been provided in the document. This summary document has been posted on the ACO REACH CAHPS website, under the Training Materials tab: https://acoreachcahps.org/Training/Training-Materials

Please contact the Coordination Team at acoreachcahps@rti.org or call toll-free 1-833-870-0486 if you have any questions.

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