Consumer Assessment of Health Plans Study (CAHPS)

RAND / AHRQ
10/01/97 - 04/28/02

Pamela Farley Short, Center for Health Care and Policy Research and Department of Health Policy and Administration
Dennis P. Scanlon, Department of Health Policy and Administration
Robert J. Weech-Maldonado, Department of Health Policy and Administration
Diane S. Brannon, Department of Health Policy and Administration

RAND, Harvard Medical School, and the Research Triangle Institute (RTI) collaborated on the development and evaluation of any easy-to-use kit of survey and report tools that provide reliable and valid information to help consumers and group purchasers make informed decisions when choosing from among health plans. Penn State subcontracted with RAND in this effort. The kit, developed in the first phase of a 5-year project supported by the Agency for Health Care Research and Quality (AHCPR), contains a set of questionnaire surveys that ask consumers about their experience with their health plans, sample formats of reporting results to consumers, and a handbook to help sponsors implement the survey and produce the reports. The Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA) is using CAHPS to assist Medicare beneficiaries in choosing among Medicare managed care plans. In the second phase of the study, the CAHPS consortium worked with a small number of public and private employers, community-wide purchasing groups, and state Medicaid programs to test, evaluate, and refine the surveys, handbooks, and consumer reports that were developed in the first phase.

Related Publications

Brown, J.A., S.E. Nederend, R.D. Hays, P.F. Short and D.O. Farley (1999). "Special Issues in Assessing Care of Medicaid Recipients." Medical Care. 37(3 Supp):MS79-88. |Abstract|

Carman, K.L., P.F. Short, D.O. Farley, J.A. Schnaier, D.B. Elliott and P.M. Gallagher (1999). "Epilogue: Early Lessons from CAHPS Demonstrations and Evaluations." Medical Care. 37(3 Supp):MS97-105. |Abstract|

Farley, D.O., M.N. Elliot, P.F. Short, P. Damiano, D.E. Kanouse and R.D. Hays (2002). "Effect of CAHPS Performance Information on Health Plan Choices by Iowa Medicaid Beneficiaries." Medical Care Research and Review. 59(3):319-336. |Abstract|

Farley, D.O., P.F. Short, M.N. Elliot, D.E. Kanouse, J.A. Brown and R.D. Hays (2002). "Effects of CAHPS Health Plan Performance Information on Plan Choices by New Jersey Medicaid Beneficiaries." Health Services Research. 37(4):985-1007. |Abstract|

Morales, L.S., M.N. Elliot, R.J. Weech-Maldonado, K. Spritzer and R.D. Hays (2001). "Differences in CAHPS Adult Survey Ratings and Reports by Race and Ethnicity: An Analysis of the National CAHPS Benchmarking Data 1.0." Health Services Research. 36(3):595-618. |Full Text|

Scanlon, D.P., C. Darby, E.S. Rolph and H.E. Doty (2001). "Use of Performance Information for Quality Improvement." Health Services Research. 36(3):619-641. |Abstract|

Scanlon, D.P., E.S. Rolph, C. Darby and H.E. Doty (2000). "Are Managed Care Plans Organizing for Quality?." Medical Care Research and Review. 57(Suppl 2):9-32. |Abstract|

Schoenbaum, M., M. Spranca, M.N. Elliot, J. Bhattacharya and P.F. Short 2001. "Health Plan Choice and Information about Out-of-Pocket Costs: An Experimental Analysis." Inquiry. 38(1):35-48. |Abstract|

Short, P.F., L. McCormack, J. Hibbard, J.A. Shaul, L. Harris-Kojetin, M.H. Fox, P. Damiano, J.D. Uhrig and P.D. Cleary (2002). "Similarities and Differences in Choosing Health Plans." Medical Care. 40:289-302. |Abstract|

Spranca, M., D.E. Kanouse, M.N. Elliot, P.F. Short, D.O. Farley and R.D. Hays (2000). "Do Consumer Reports of Health Plan Quality Affect Health Plan Selection?." Health Services Research. 35(5 Pt 1):933-947. |Abstract|

Weech-Maldonado, R.J., B.O. Weidmer, L.S. Morales and R.D. Hays (2001). "Cross-Cultural Adaptation of Survey Instruments: The CAHPS Experience." Seventh Conference on Health Survey Research Methods. Hyattsville, MD: DHHS. |Full Text|

Weech-Maldonado, R.J., L.S. Morales, M.N. Elliot, K. Spritzer, G. Marshall and R.D. Hays (2003). "Race/Ethnicity, Language, and Patients' Assessments of Care in Medicaid Managed Care." Health Services Research. 38(3):789-808.

Weech-Maldonado, R.J., L.S. Morales, K. Spritzer, M.N. Elliot and R.D. Hays (2001). "Racial and Ethnic Differences in Parents' Assessments of Pediatric Care in Medicaid Managed Care." Health Services Research. 36(3):575-594. |Abstract|