In December 2015, MACPAC replied to a letter from the chairman and ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee requesting the Commission’s views on data gaps in Medicaid and the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). The letter also asked how state reporting requirements might be streamlined to reduce redundancies and provide usable information that will help states and the federal government oversee Medicaid and CHIP efficiently, transparently, and accountably.
MACPAC’s response—which drew on a large body of Commission work dating from 2011 on the need for improvements in data collection and transparency, including reports to Congress, comments on HHS reports, and a forthcoming report to Congress on Disproportionate Share Hospital payments—supported the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ efforts to modernize its data collection systems and strengthen quality measurement. However, the Commission noted that adequate staffing, funding, and support at both the federal and state levels will be critical to ensuring that the best possible information is collected on Medicaid and CHIP.
The Commission also called for provider-level reporting on Medicaid supplemental payments, to ensure that state payment methods and rates comply with statutory requirements for efficiency, economy, quality, and access, and safeguard against unnecessary service utilization.