Submit your comments in the 2021 IHA Public Comment Period
The IHA Public Comment Period is now open through October 29. This is your opportunity to voice feedback on general program updates and the draft MY 2022 measure set and measure specifications. You can also share any comments related to the IHA performance measurement programs. Program updates include IHA alignment with HEDIS on new race and ethnicity stratifications for select measures, the future of testing Depression Patient-Reported Outcome Measures (PROMs), and IHA efforts to support industry alignment on advancing primary care.
Ready to get started? Find more details and instructions on how to submit your comments on IHA.org, including:
We look forward to hearing from you. The deadline to submit comments is October 29, 2021 at 5:00pm PDT.
Register for IHA’s Stakeholders’ Conference
Our annual Stakeholders’ Conference is less than a month away. Register today to hear from our line-up of speakers, including a discussion on health equity with Lavonna Martin and Gilbert Salinas from Contra Costa Health Services. Plus, we’ll announce Excellence in Healthcare winners — and talk about performance variation across California regions. Visit our event website to register and see the full list of speakers.
Easily find and share the latest IHA program information. Visit the News & Events section of the IHA website for past issues of our newsletter.
in other news
AMP Commercial ACO Program restructuring
Based on the Program Governance Committee (FKA Governance Committee) recommendations, IHA will be restructuring the AMP Commercial ACO Program starting in measurement year (MY) 2021. In the new structure, we will focus more on gleaning insights based on ACO performance and characteristics across California. We’ll continue to collect health plan data and report ACO results through the publicly available Cost and Quality Atlas. We’ll move away from producing AMP ACO Program downloads and reports for our participants. This means that provider organizations will no longer need to submit data or pay program fees. This change does not affect MY 2020 AMP Commercial ACO results, scheduled for release on 10/15/2021.
MY 2021 PAS Registration for providers opens tomorrow (Tues. Oct 12)
The Patient Assessment Survey (PAS) registration period for provider organizations (POs) will be open October 12 through October 22. In order for POs to receive MY 2021 AMP Patient Experience domain results, you must sign up with Purchaser Business Group on Health (PBGH) during this period. POs can use the CSS portal link to access an internal registration menu. At the start of the registration period, you will receive an email from PBGH with further instructions to download the MY 2021 PAS registration packet via the portal link. For questions related to PAS registration, please reach out to Valerie Kong (vkong@pbgh.org) and/or Jeff Burkeen (jburkeen@cssresearch.org).
NCQA Public Comment on HEDIS measures open through October 21
NCQA has opened an ad hoc Public Comment until October 21 to gather feedback on potential changes to two HEDIS measures used in the AMP Program:
Colorectal Cancer Screening (COL): NCQA has proposed adding ages 45-49 years to COL to match current screening guidelines. COL is used across AMP product lines.
Frequency of Selected Procedures (FSP): NCQA has proposed retiring FSP from HEDIS and seeks feedback from the public on the measure’s current use and value. FSP is an “info only” measure in AMP Commercial HMO and AMP Medi-Cal Managed Care only and is not included in AMP incentive design, public recognition awards, or public reporting.
Because the AMP technical specifications align with HEDIS updates wherever possible, IHA encourages AMP participants to weigh in on these potential changes. Click here to learn more and submit comments.
Introducing Anna Lee Amarnath
We are excited to announce that Anna Lee Amarnath, MD, MPH, has joined IHA as General Manager for the AMP Program. Anna Lee joins us from the California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS), where she worked as Medical Program Consultant, Chief Medical Quality and Oversight, Managed Care. She brings to IHA an extensive understanding of Medi-Cal as well as experience managing quality metrics, health policy, population health, and program development. She also has deep experience with quality and health equity data, analytics, and reporting.
As AMP General Manager, she is responsible for the program’s strategy, execution, and growth. She’ll also oversee our new Encounter Data Governance Entity (EDGE) program and IHA’s recently awarded partnership with Onpoint Health Data supporting the State of California’s Healthcare Payments Database (HPD), overseen by the Department of Health Care Access and Information. She will also lead IHA’s Health Equity initiatives including its new Health Equity Advisory Committee of the Board.
In the pipeline
Final MY 2020 AMP results are coming soon
Final MY 2020 AMP results for all programs are almost ready! More information and access to final results will be available on the AMP Analytics Portal in the coming weeks. Stay tuned for an email notifying you of the final results.
Confirm MY 2021 participation starting November 9
It’s almost time for you to confirm your participation in the AMP program for the upcoming MY 2021! During the Participation Confirmation Period, you’ll be asked to make updates and confirm health plan contracts, organizational profiles, and more within the AMP Analytics Portal.
POs and health plans will receive a Pre-Participation Confirmation Survey on Monday, October 25 to be completed by Friday, November 5. Completing this survey is key to a successful Participation Confirmation Period for your organization and ensures the proper set up for all your information in the AMP Analytics Portal. The survey will include instructions on how to complete it. If you have any issues accessing the survey, please reach out to amp@iha.org.
Participation Confirmation kicks off on November 9. Please join our webinars for more information on how to successfully complete this process.
Health Plan Participation Confirmation Process Webinar*
