Percentage of contested noncompliance citations resolved in favor of the provider via Internal Dispute Resolution (IDR).

 The variance in this curve is driven by a low sample size rather than systemic changes in compliance. With few requests submitted, the outcome of any single dispute has a disproportionate impact on the overall rate. Under the newly implemented technical assistance (TA) structure, programs now receive guidance for low- and medium-risk first time noncompliances that previously triggered citations. While we may see a temporary increase in variance requests if providers fail to leverage this assistance, our long-term goal is for TA to deepen the understanding of health and safety rules, ultimately reducing total noncompliance over time.