This measure comes from the annual Child Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers & Systems (CAHPS) survey, which is a questionnaire developed jointly by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) and the National Committee for Quality Assurance.

The survey draws as potential respondents the child members of Vermont Medicaid who were continuously enrolled in the plan for at least 6 months, with no more than one enrollment gap of 45 days or less. From this sample frame, a random sample of 1,650 cases is drawn. 

The red dotted line in the graph above represents the national average of "top box" scores for all State Medicaid plans that submitted their results to the CAHPS database. Approximately 2/3 of states submit their annual CAHPS survey results to the national database.  It is entered onto the graph as a comparison to Vermont’s top box scores (e.g. usually or always responses).

The data in the graph above represents the % of surveyed child Vermont Medicaid members who responded "usually" or "always" when asked if they could get care when needed through their health care provider and from specialists. Vermont Medicaid monitors this as an important indicator of access to needed care. Vermont Medicaid has been conducting this survey, following nationally certified protocol, annually since 2014. During that time period, our performance on this measure has mainly remained steady and above the national average for other Medicaid health plans. Our rate dropped below the national "top box" average in 2021, but rebounded in 2022.

Last updated:  03/2023