Virginia and the District of Columbia recently started requiring Medicaid-participating health plans to conform to National Committee for Quality Assurance standards and measures. The agreement reflects the growing emphasis among state Medicaid programs on measuring and improving clinical quality. It requires that all Virginia managed care plans must hold NCQA accreditation or come forward for review by the end of the year. Additionally, the District of Columbia Department of Health will require its Medicaid plans to report on 41 HEDIS measures, including those that assess cancer, diabetes and asthma care.

“This is a huge step toward expanding our quality improvement efforts by measuring performance on a richer set of standards,” says Gregg A. Pane, D.C. Department of Health director. “We believe this ultimately leads to improved care for all Medicaid beneficiaries in the district.”

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