PUBLIC SUBMISSION

As of: June 22, 2010
Received: May 20, 2010
Status: Draft
Category: Health Plan or Association - HP010
Tracking No. 80af0fb2
Comments Due: June 18, 2010
Submission Type: Web

Docket: CMS-2010-0180
Medicare Advantage and Medicare Fee-For-Service Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems Survey (CAHPS) - CMS-R-246

Comment On: CMS-2010-0180-0001
Medicare Advantage and Medicare Fee-For-Service Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems Survey (CAHPS) - CMS-R-246

Document: CMS-2010-0180-DRAFT-0002
AZ


Submitter Information

Name: Dena Rus
Address:

Scottsdale,  AZ,  85260

Organization: SilverScript Insurance Company

General Comment

#1 Proposed questions 5, 6, and 7 on the PDP CAHPS survey are asking if an agent contacted the beneficiary. The survey questions do not ask if the member enrolled in the plan with this agent who made inappropriate contact. As structured now, the proposed new questions could lead to the wrong inference that the member enrolled in a plan represented by the rogue agent. The situation may be that the member was contacted inappropriately by an agent, but ultimately chose to enroll in a different plan of a different plan sponsor.

The questions do not contain any wording that asks whether the insurance agent was acting on behalf of the surveyed member's plan. Therefore, these questions should not be attributable to the plan's scoring. Also of note, many stand-alone PDPs do not have insurance agent relationships.

#2 Proposed question 41 of the PDP CAHPS survey relates to medical conditions conveyed to a beneficiary by his/her physician. It seems this question relates to MA plans, and not standalone PDP plans?