Behavioral Health/Health and Recovery Plan (HARP)

Value Based Payment Quality Measure Set
Measurement Year 2020

  • Measure Set is also available in Portable Document Format (PDF)

January 30, 2020                     NYS Medicaid Value Based Payment


INTRODUCTION

The Measurement Year (MY) 2020 Behavioral Health/Health and Recovery Plan (HARP) Quality Measure Set was created in collaboration with the Behavioral Health/HARP Clinical Advisory Group (CAG), as well as the New York State (NYS) Value Based Payment (VBP) Workgroup. The goal of this measure set is to align with measures sets put forth in the Delivery System Reform Incentive Payment (DSRIP) Program, for the Quality Assurance Reporting Requirements (QARR), and the Merit–based Incentive Payment System (MIPS), where applicable. The Behavioral Health/HARP measure set was designed to encourage providers to meet high standards of patient–centered clinical care and coordination across multiple care settings for the Behavioral Health/HARP population.

MEASURE SELECTION AND FEASIBILITY

During the spring and summer of 2019, the Behavioral Health/HARP CAG reconvened and made recommendations to the State on quality measures, data collection, data reporting, and support required for providers to be successful in a VBP environment.

Beginning in June of 2017, the State initiated regular meetings of the VBP Measure Support Task Force. The goal of the Task Force is to make recommendations to the State to support and inform during the Annual Measure Review Cycle. Members of the Task Force include professionals from various Managed Care Organizations (MCOs), VBP Pilot Contractors, Clinical Subject Matter Experts, and State Agencies, along with other professionals who have experience in quality measurement and health information technology. The Task Force provides feedback to the Department of Health (DOH) on quality measure feasibility, reporting, and calculation.

Upon receiving the CAG recommendations and Task Force feedback, the State defined a final list of measures for inclusion for MY2020. For MY2020, 3 measures have been removed and 3 measures have been added, culminating in a total of 38 Category 1 and 2 Behavioral Health/HARP Quality Measures.

MEASURE CLASSIFICATION

Each measure has been designated by the State as Category 1, 2, or 3 with associated recommendations for implementation and testing for future use in VBP Arrangements. The measures below are classified by category based on an assessment of reliability, validity, and feasibility, and according to suggested method of use (either Pay for Reporting (P4R) or Pay for Performance (P4P)).

    Categorizing and Prioritizing Quality Measures

CATEGORY 1
Approved quality measures that are deemed to be clinically relevant, reliable, valid, and feasible.

CATEGORY 2
Measures that are clinically relevant, valid, and reliable, but where the feasibility could be problematic. These measures were investigated during the 2017 & 2019 pilot programs.

CATEGORY 3
Measures that are insufficiently relevant, valid, reliable and/or feasible.

Category 1

Category 1 quality measures as identified by the CAGs and accepted and deemed reportable by the State are to be reported by VBP Contractors to the MCOs. These measures are also intended to be used to determine the amount of shared savings for which VBP contractors are eligible.1 At least one Category 1 P4P measure must be included in a VBP contract.

The State classified each Category 1 measure as either P4P or P4R:

  • P4P measures are intended to be used in the determination of shared savings amounts for which VBP Contractors are eligible. Measures can be included in both the determination of the target budget and in the calculation of shared savings for VBP Contractors.
  • P4R measures are intended to be used by the Managed Care Organizations (MCOs) to incentivize VBP Contractors for reporting data to monitor quality of care delivered to members under the VBP contract. Incentives for reporting will be based on timeliness, accuracy, and completeness of data. Measures can be reclassified from P4R to P4P through annual CAG and State review or as determined by the MCO and VBP Contractor.

Not all Category 1 measures will be reportable for the measurement year, as reporting on some of these measures will be phased in over the next few years. Please refer to the Value Based Payment Reporting Requirements Technical Specifications Manual (MY2020) for details as to which measures must be reported for the measurement year. This manual will be updated annually each fall, in line with the release of the final VBP measure set for the subsequent year.

Categories 2 and 3

Category 2 measures have been accepted by the State based on agreement of clinical importance, validity, and reliability, but flagged as presenting concerns regarding implementation feasibility. Some of these measures have been further investigated in the VBP Pilots. The State required that VBP Pilots select and report a minimum of one Category 2 measure per VBP Arrangement for MY2019 (or have a State and Plan approved alternative). VBP Pilot participants will be expected to share meaningful feedback on the feasibility of Category 2 measures when the CAGs reconvene. The State has discussed measure testing approaches, data collection, and reporting requirements with VBP Pilots as a part of the Measure Support Task Force.

Measures designated as Category 3 were identified as unfeasible at this time or as presenting additional concerns including accuracy or reliability when applied to the attributed member population for an arrangement, therefore Category 3 measures are not included in the measure set.

MY2020 BEHAVIORAL HEALTH/HARP QUALITY MEASURE SET

The measures and State–determined classifications provided on the following pages are recommendations for MY2020. Note that measure classification is a State recommendation and implementation is to be determined between the MCO and VBP Contractor.

Measure sets and classifications are considered dynamic and will be reviewed annually. Updates will include measure additions, deletions, recategorizations, and/or reclassifications from P4R to P4P or vice versa, based on experience with measure implementation in the prior year. During 2020, the CAGs and the VBP Workgroup will re–evaluate measures and provide recommendations for MY 2020. Please see Appendix A for a full list of these changes.

Note: Additional changes may have been made to the names for some of the measures presented below to ensure alignment with the naming conventions used by the official measure steward. There have not been any changes to the measure specifications associated with these name changes.

Category 1

The table below displays the Category 1 MY2020 Behavioral Health/HARP Quality Measure Set, arranged alphabetically, and includes measure title, measure steward, the National Quality Forum (NQF) number and/or other measure identifier (where applicable), and State–recommended classification for measure use. The measure set is redlined to highlight changes made between MY2019 and MY2020. Additions are made in red text, while deletions are made red text with a strikethrough. Between the MY2019 and MY2020 Behavioral Health/HARP measure sets; 3 measures have been added, and 3 measures have been removed.

Measure Measure Steward Measure Identifier Classification
Adherence to Antipsychotic Medications for Individuals with Schizophrenia Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) NQF 1879 P4P
Asthma Medication Ratio National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) NQF 1800 P4P
Breast Cancer Screening NCQA NQF 2372 P4P
Cervical Cancer Screening NCQA NQF 0032 P4P
Chlamydia Screening in Women NCQA NQF 0033 P4P
Colorectal Cancer Screening NCQA NQF 0034 P4P
Completion of Home and Community Based Services Annual Needs Assessment NYS   P4P
Comprehensive Diabetes Care: Eye Exam (retinal) Performed NCQA NQF 0055 P4P
Comprehensive Diabetes Care: Hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) Poor Control (>9.0%) NCQA NQF 0059 P4P
Comprehensive Diabetes Care: Medical Attention for Nephropathy NCQA NQF 0062 P4P
Continuity of Care from Inpatient Detox to Lower Level of Care NYS P4P
Continuity of Care from Inpatient Rehabilitation for Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse or Dependence Treatment to Lower Level of Care NYS P4P
Controlling High Blood Pressure NCQA NQF 0018 P4P
Diabetes Screening for People with Schizophrenia or Bipolar Disorder Who Are Using Antipsychotic Medications NCQA NQF 1932 P4P
Employed, Seeking Employment or Enrolled in a Formal Education Program NYS P4R
Follow–Up After Emergency Department Visit for Alcohol and Other Drug Dependence NCQA NQF 2605 P4P
Follow–Up After Emergency Department Visit for Mental Illness NCQA NQF 2605 P4P
Follow–Up After High–Intensity Care for Substance Use Disorder NCQA   P4P
Follow–Up After Hospitalization for Mental Illness NCQA NQF 0576 P4P
Initiation of Pharmacotherapy upon New Episode of Opioid Dependence NYS P4P
Medication Management for People with Asthma NCQA NQF 1799 P4P
No Arrests in the Past Year NYS P4R
Percentage of Members Enrolled in a Health Home NYS P4R
Pharmacotherapy for Opioid Use Disorder NCQA NQF 3175 P4P
Potentially Preventable Mental Health Related Readmission Rate 30 Days NYS P4P
Preventive Care and Screening: Body Mass Index (BMI) Screening and Follow–Up Plan CMS NQF 0421 P4R
Preventive Care and Screening: Influenza Immunization (AMA PCPI) American Medical Association Physician Consortium for Performance Improvement NQF 0041 P4R
Preventive Care and Screening: Tobacco Use: Screening and Cessation Intervention AMA PCPI NQF 0028 P4R
Stable Housing Status NYS P4R
Statin Therapy for Patients with Cardiovascular Disease NCQA P4R
Use of Pharmacotherapy for Alcohol Abuse or Dependence NYS P4R
Use of Spirometry Testing in the Assessment and Diagnosis of COPD NCQA NQF 0577 P4R

Category 2

The table below displays the Category 2 MY 2020 HARP Quality Measure Set and includes measure title, measure steward, and the NQF number and/or other measure identifier (where applicable). All Category 2 measures are classified as P4R in MY 2020. The measure set is redlined to highlight changes made between MY 2019 and MY 2020. There are no changes to the Category 2 HARP measure set for 2020.

Measure Measure Steward Measure Identifier
Adherence to Mood Stabilizers for Individuals with Bipolar I Disorder CMS NQF 1880
Asthma Action Plan American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (AAAAI)
Asthma: Assessment of Asthma Control – Ambulatory Care Setting AAAAI
Asthma: Spirometry Evaluation AAAAI
Continuing Engagement in Treatment Alcohol and Other Drug Dependence NYS
Initiation of Pharmacotherapy upon New Episode of Alcohol Abuse or Dependence NYS
Mental Health Engagement in Care 30 Days NYS
Percentage of HARP Enrolled Members Who Received Personalized Recovery Oriented Services (PROS) or Home and Community Based Services (HCBS) NYS
Use of Opioid Dependence Pharmacotherapy NYS

Appendix A


The table below identifies the changes to the Category 1 and Category 2 measures for the MY2020 Behavioral Health/HARP Quality Measure Set.

Category 1 Measure Changes from 2019 to 2020

Measure Name Change Rationale for Change
Completion of Home and Community Based Services Annual Needs Assessment Added Recommended CAG
Continuity of Care from Inpatient Detox to Lower Level of Care Removed Measure removed and replaced
Continuity of Care from Inpatient Rehabilitation for Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse or Dependence Treatment to Lower Level of Care Removed Measure removed and replaced
Follow–Up After High–Intensity Care for Substance Use Disorder Added NCQA measure specifications now being used
Pharmacotherapy for Opioid Use Disorder Added NCQA measure specifications now being used

Category 2 Measure Changes from 2019 to 2020

Measure Name Change Rationale for Change
Initiation of Pharmacotherapy upon New Episode of Alcohol Abuse or Dependence Removed Recommended CAG

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1. New York State Department of Health, Medicaid Redesign Team, A Path Toward Value Based Payment: Annual Update, September 2019. (Link)  1