Psychometric properties of the CAHPS (TM) 1.0 survey measures

OBJECTIVES. Consumer surveys are being used increasingly to assess the qual ify of care provided by health plans, physician groups, and clinicians. The purpose of the Consumer Assessment of Health Plans Study (CAHPS(TM)) is to develop an integrated and standardized set of surveys designed to collect reliable and valid information about health plan performance from consumers . This article reports psychometric results for the CAHPS(TM) 1.0 survey it ems in samples of individuals with Medicaid or private health insurance cov erage. METHODS, Reliability estimates for CAMPS(TM) 1.0 measures were estimated in a sample of 5,878 persons on Medicaid and 11,393 persons with private heal th insurance. Correlations of the CAHPS(TM) global rating of the health pla n with willingness to recommend the plan and intention to re-enroll were es timated in a sample of 313 persons on Medicaid. The association of the rati ng of the health plan with ratings using a 5-point Excellent-to-Poor respon se scale also was investigated in the latter sample and in a sample of 539 persons with private health insurance. RESULTS. The CAHPS(TM) measures appeared to have good reliability, particul arly at the health-plan level. Responses from 300 consumers per health plan tend to yield estimates that are reliable enough for health plan compariso ns, especially among the privately insured. The global health plan rating w as significantly correlated with consumers' willingness to recommend the pl an to family and friends and to their intention to re-enroll in the plan if given a choice. CONCLUSIONS. The CAHPS(TM) 1.0 survey instrument appears to have excellent psychometric properties.