Making FY19 The “Year of Data Quality” for Medicaid
MITRE’s Rebecca Bruno shares perspectives on CMS efforts to achieve Medicaid data quality to improve its oversight functions and provide data to the public that can be used effectively by researchers and stakeholders.
For a program that provides health insurance to more than 67 million Americans[1]—including low-income children and parents, elderly individuals, individuals with disabilities, and adults without dependent children—having complete, accurate and useable data about the Medicaid program is crucial. The issue of states and health data will be front and center at AcademyHealth’s upcoming Health Data Policy and Strategy Orientation (September 26-27), which will feature a session on “The Role of States in the Data Ecosystem.”
A similar theme was highlighted in August at this year’s Medicaid Enterprise Systems Conference (MESC) by Julie Boughn, Director of the Data Systems Group (DSG) within the Centers for Medicaid and CHIP Services (CMCS) at CMS. At the MESC, Boughn declared this the “Year of Data Quality” and emphasized the CMS priority to improve the quality and utility of data captured by the Transformed Medicaid Statistical Information System (T-MSIS) over the next year. She expressed hope that at next year’s MESC she will be talking about all the positive ways T-MSIS has been used that will have a real impact on beneficiary health and wellness, for example with maternal and child health.
In this post, MITRE’s Rebecca Bruno highlights the efforts of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to enhance Medicaid data quality, improve its oversight functions, and provide data that can be used effectively by researchers and stakeholders.
[1] Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services; May 2018 Medicaid & CHIP: Application, Eligibility Determinations and Enrollment Report, July 1, 2018.
Related resources:
- Medicaid Enterprise Systems Conference
- CMS State Health Official Letter (SHO #18-008) that outlines CMS’ approach to T-MSIS data
- CMS Administrator Seema Verma announcement of initiatives to strengthen Medicaid program integrity efforts