§438.310. Basis, scope, and applicability. — Inbound Citations

(r) In addition to the requirements in paragraph (q) of this section, States must submit PCCM entity contracts to CMS for review and approval to ensure compliance with the provisions of this paragraph (r); § 438.10; and § 438.310(c)(2).

As used in this subpart—

(3) The State must require, through its contracts, that each PCCM entity described in § 438.310(c)(2) establish and implement an ongoing comprehensive quality assessment and performance improvement program for the services it furnishes to its enrollees which incorporates, at a minimum, paragraphs (b)(2) and (3) of this section and the performance measures identified by the State per paragraph (c) of this section.

(a) Each State contracting with an MCO, PIHP, or PAHP as defined in § 438.2 or with a PCCM entity as described in § 438.310(c)(2) must draft and implement a written quality strategy for assessing and improving the quality of health care and services furnished by the MCO, PIHP, PAHP or PCCM entity.

(c) The EQRO and its subcontractors must be independent from the State Medicaid agency and from the MCOs, PIHPs, PAHPs, or PCCM entities (described in § 438.310(c)(2)) that they review. To qualify as “independent”—

(1) If a State agency, department, university, or other State entity:

(i) May not have Medicaid purchasing or managed care licensing authority; and

(ii) Must be governed by a Board or similar body the majority of whose members are not government employees.

(2) An EQRO may not:

(i) Review any MCO, PIHP, PAHP, or PCCM entity (described in § 438.310(c)(2)), or a competitor operating in the State, over which the EQRO exerts control or which exerts control over the EQRO (as used in this paragraph, “control” has the meaning given the term in 48 CFR 19.101) through—

(A) Stock ownership;

(B) Stock options and convertible debentures;

(C) Voting trusts;

(D) Common management, including interlocking management; and

(ii) Deliver any health care services to Medicaid beneficiaries;

(iii) Conduct, on the State's behalf, ongoing Medicaid managed care program operations related to oversight of the quality of MCO, PIHP, PAHP, or PCCM entity (described in § 438.310(c)(2)) services that it will review as an EQRO, except for the related activities specified in § 438.358;

(iv) Review any MCO, PIHP, PAHP or PCCM entity (described in § 438.310(c)(2)) for which it is conducting or has conducted an accreditation review within the previous 3 years; or

(v) Have a present, or known future, direct or indirect financial relationship with an MCO, PIHP, PAHP, or PCCM entity (described in § 438.310(c)(2)) that it will review as an EQRO.

(2) For each PCCM entity (described in § 438.310(c)(2)), the EQR-related activities in paragraphs (b)(1)(ii) and (iii) of this section may be performed.

(d) States will not be held out of compliance with the following requirements of this subpart prior to the dates established at §§ 438.3(v), 438.10(j), 438.16(f), 438.68(h), 438.206(d), 438.207(g), 438.310(d), 438.505(a)(2), 438.602(j), and 438.608(f) of this chapter, so long as they comply with the corresponding standard(s) of this subpart, edition revised as of July 9, 2024. States will not be held out of compliance with the requirement at § 457.1207 to post comparative summary results of enrollee experience surveys by managed care plan annually on State websites, nor the requirement for States to evaluate annual enrollee experience survey results as part of the State's annual analysis of network adequacy as described at § 457.1230(b), so long as they comply with the corresponding standard(s) of this subpart, 2 years after July 9, 2024.