ICH CAHPS Announcements

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Announcements

Reminder: Deadline for Submitting an Updated 2025 ICH CAHPS Quality Assurance Plan is May 31, 2025
Other AnnouncementsPosted May 23, 2025

This is a friendly reminder that the deadline for ICH CAHPS Survey vendors to submit the annual Quality Assurance Plan (QAP) is 5:00 PM Eastern Time on May 31, 2025.

The QAP must describe how the survey vendor will implement, comply with, and provide oversight of all survey and data processing activities associated with the ICH CAHPS Survey. To ensure prompt review and acceptance of your Update QAP, please follow the procedures listed below:

Locate the version of your most recently approved QAP; that is, the version that was accepted by CMS and the Coordination Team in 2024 (or later if edits were made and submitted after the May 2024 review process).
Make a copy of that version and accept all tracked changes, creating a clean copy of your QAP.
Make all 2025 updates to your clean copy using track changes, so that your document reflects only the changes made since your most recently approved QAP.
Make sure to include updates to your QAP if your organization has had changes in ICH CAHPS Survey personnel, changes to protocols or procedures, and/or changes in approved survey mode(s).
Make sure your QAP follows the format shown in the Model QAP posted on the ICH CAHPS website. Also make sure that you provide information for every topic included in the Model QAP.
Before submitting your annual QAP, check it carefully to make sure that it reflects all ICH CAHPS Survey protocols disseminated via announcements posted on the ICH CAHPS website and/or described in the latest version of the Survey Administration and Specifications Manual.
Vendors should submit for review a copy of all survey materials (envelope, prenotification letter, cover letters 1 and 2, mail surveys, telephone scripts) for each language the survey is being administered in.
As a reminder, starting with the 2025 QAP Submission and if not already, vendors must begin including the following per the Model QAP (revised in February 2025):
- Requested details on subcontractor oversight activities the vendor conducts for all aspects of the survey process; and
- A work plan for each of the vendor’s approved modes of data collection.
Submit your QAP online via the ICH CAHPS website by accessing the Submit Quality Assurance Plan option under the “For Vendors” menu on the grey bar at the top of the website’s home page (https://ichcahps.org/).

The QAP must be updated and submitted annually on or before May 31 of each year and any time the vendor has a change in ICH CAHPS personnel, capabilities, or systems that are used to administer the ICH CAHPS Survey. Remember that you must also update your online ICH CAHPS Vendor Application Form if you have been approved to add/drop survey modes, changed key personnel and/or subcontractors, and/or have changed your business name or location.

Please contact the ICH CAHPS Coordination Team at 1-866-245-8083 or via email at ichcahps@rti.org if you have any questions about the QAP update process or deadline.

RTI International will be closed May 26, 2025 for the Memorial Day Holiday
Other AnnouncementsPosted May 21, 2025

RTI International will be closed on Monday, May 26, 2025 for the Memorial Day holiday. The ICH CAHPS Coordination Team will respond to email and telephone technical assistance inquiries that are received on that date as soon as possible after RTI re-opens on Tuesday, May 27, 2025.

Please contact the Coordination Team via email at ichcahps@rti.org or call 1-866-245-8083 if you have any questions.

Deadline for Submitting an Updated 2025 ICH CAHPS Quality Assurance Plan
Other AnnouncementsPosted May 1, 2025

This is a friendly reminder that the deadline for ICH CAHPS Survey vendors to submit the annual Quality Assurance Plan (QAP) is 5:00 PM Eastern Time on May 31, 2025.

The QAP must describe how the survey vendor will implement, comply with, and provide oversight of all survey and data processing activities associated with the ICH CAHPS Survey. To ensure prompt review and acceptance of your Annual QAP, please follow the procedures listed below:

Locate the version of your most recently approved QAP; that is, the version that was accepted by CMS and the Coordination Team in 2024 (or later if edits were made and submitted after the 2024 review process).
Make a copy of that version and accept all tracked changes, creating a clean copy of your QAP.
Make all 2025 updates to your clean copy using track changes, so that your document reflects only the changes made since your most recently approved QAP.
Make sure to include updates to your QAP if your organization has had changes in ICH CAHPS Survey personnel, changes to protocols or procedures, and/or changes in approved survey mode(s).
Make sure your QAP follows the format shown in the Model QAP posted on the ICH CAHPS website. Also make sure that you provide information for every topic included in the Model QAP.
Before submitting your annual QAP, check it carefully to make sure that it reflects all ICH CAHPS Survey protocols disseminated via announcements posted on the ICH CAHPS website and/or described in the latest version of the Survey Administration and Specifications Manual.
Vendors should submit for review a copy of all survey materials (envelope, prenotification letter, cover letters 1 and 2, mail surveys, telephone scripts) for each language the survey is being administered in. As a reminder, starting with the 2025 QAP Submission and if not already, vendors must begin including the following per the Model QAP (revised in February 2025):
- Requested details on subcontractor oversight activities the vendor conducts for all aspects of the survey process; and
- A work plan for each of the vendor’s approved modes of data collection.
Submit your QAP online via the ICH CAHPS website by accessing the Submit Quality Assurance Plan option under the “For Vendors” menu on the grey bar at the top of the website’s home page (https://ichcahps.org/).

Please contact the ICH CAHPS Coordination Team at 1-866-245-8083 or via email at ichcahps@rti.org if you have any questions about the QAP update process or deadline.

Patient-Mix Coefficients, Star Ratings, and Average State and National Scores for the ICH CAHPS Survey Results Publicly Reported in April 2025
Information for Dialysis FacilitiesPosted April 24, 2025

The ICH CAHPS Survey results that are currently posted on Care Compare on the Medicare.gov website (https://www.medicare.gov/care-compare/) are based on ICH CAHPS Survey data from the 2023 ICH CAHPS Fall and 2024 ICH CAHPS Spring Surveys.

Patient-Mix Coefficients and Star Ratings for the 2025 April Refresh

The results shown are statistically adjusted for both data collection mode and for patient-mix. Information about the adjustments made to the survey results and the coefficients used to adjust the results can be found here. Information presented in this document will allow ICH facilities to approximate the effect of patient-mix adjustment on their ICH CAHPS Survey results that were posted on Care Compare in April 2025. This document also includes additional information on the clustering method used to create ICH CAHPS Star Ratings (Appendix A).

Please note that in previous versions of this document, there was an erroneous variable (Difficulty concentrating, remembering, or making decisions) in the list of patient-mix adjusters on Page 3. This variable has never been included in the patient-mix adjustment and has never been included in the formula on Page 4 or in the tables of coefficients.

Average State and National Scores for the 2025 April Refresh

In addition, you can click here to see the state and national averages for the three ICH CAHPS composite measures and the three global ratings based on the combined data from these two survey periods. The average response rate for each state and the overall response rate are also provided in this document.

Please contact the ICH CAHPS Coordination Team at 1–866–245–8083 or via email at ichcahps@rti.org if you have any questions.

February 28, 2025 is the deadline for submitting Facility Non-Participation Forms and Vendor Facility Closing Attestation Forms for the 2025 ICH CAHPS Spring Survey
Facility Participation RequirementsPosted February 27, 2025

This is a reminder that the deadline for submitting 2025 Facility Non-Participation Forms AND the Vendor Facility Closing Attestation Forms for the 2025 ICH CAHPS Spring Survey is 5:00 PM Eastern Time on February 28, 2025.

2025 Facility Non-Participation Form – Submitted by ICH Facility Survey Administrators

ICH facilities that determine that they are not required to administer the 2025 ICH CAHPS Surveys and those that choose not to administer the surveys must complete and submit the 2025 Facility Non-Participation Form on the website. For more information on this form and how to determine if a facility should submit it, please refer to the email message sent to in-center hemodialysis (ICH) facilities on January 6, 2025 and posted under the Quick Links menu on the ICH CAHPS website’s home page.

To access this form, ICH Facility Survey Administrators should log into the website using their user credentials and choose “Facility Non-Participation Form” under the For Facilities menu.

Vendor Facility Closing Attestation Form – Submitted by Approved Survey Vendors

Survey vendors must notify the Coordination Team of any authorized ICH facilities who have closed or will be closing before the 2025 Spring Survey data collection period by completing and submitting the online Vendor Facility Closing Attestation Form.

Vendors can access the Vendor Facility Closing Attestation Form by logging into the website and choosing “Vendor Facility Closing Attestation” form, which is under the For Vendors tab at the top of the website’s home page. Once a Vendor Facility Closing Attestation Form is submitted by a survey vendor, an email will be sent to both the currently authorized vendor and the facility’s Survey Administrator to notify the facility that the vendor has submitted the form on the facility’s behalf. If a facility or vendor receives this email and feels that the form has been submitted in error, they should contact the Coordination Team immediately.

If a vendor learns that a facility has closed or will be closing after this deadline and will not participate in the 2025 Spring Survey, both the vendor and the facility should contact the Coordination Team immediately for guidance on next steps.

Please contact the ICH CAHPS Coordination Team at 1-866-245-8083 or via email at ichcahps@rti.org if you have any questions or need more information about the Facility Non-Participation Form or the Vendor Facility Closing Attestation Form.

Deadline for Authorizing a Survey Vendor for the 2025 ICH CAHPS Spring Survey is February 28, 2025
Facility Participation RequirementsPosted February 27, 2025

This is a reminder that all in-center hemodialysis (ICH) facilities that are administering the ICH CAHPS Survey for the first time or are switching to a different ICH CAHPS Survey vendor to administer the 2025 ICH CAHPS Spring Survey must update their vendor authorization on the ICH CAHPS website by 5:00 PM Eastern Time on Tuesday, February 28, 2025. Please note you must update the online vendor authorization only if the following applies.

Your facility is participating in the ICH CAHPS Survey for the first time during the 2025 Spring Survey; OR
Your facility is switching to a different survey vendor to administer the 2025 Spring Survey; OR
Your facility entered the 2024 Fall Survey as the last survey period for which the vendor would administer the survey when you originally submitted the vendor authorization form.

If your organization will continue to use the same ICH CAHPS Survey vendor that was used to administer the 2024 ICH CAHPS Fall Survey, you do not need to update the online vendor authorization form.

If any of the above statements apply to your facility, you must update the online vendor authorization form for the 2025 ICH CAHPS Spring Survey on the ICH CAHPS website by the February 28, 2025 deadline. Please note that you must have a formal written contract with an approved ICH CAHPS Survey vendor before authorizing that vendor on the website.

ICH facilities that served 30 or more survey-eligible patients in calendar year 2024 must administer both the 2025 ICH CAHPS Spring and Fall Surveys to be compliant with the CMS quality reporting requirements. If the online vendor authorization form is not updated by the deadline, a sample will not be provided to a survey vendor, which means the 2025 Spring Survey cannot be administered.

The steps for authorizing a vendor on the ICH CAHPS website are as follows:

Log in to the ICH CAHPS website here
From your personal dashboard, click “Authorize a Vendor.” The system will then take you to the Authorize a Vendor page.
From the “Select Action” drop-down list on the Authorize a Vendor page:
- If authorizing a vendor for the first time on the website: Select the “Select a vendor for the first time” option.
- If changing/switching to a different vendor: Select the “Switch to a different vendor” option.
Select the name of your survey vendor from the vendor drop-down list.
Select the Beginning Survey Period for your new vendor. In this instance, you would select "2025 Spring Survey."
Do not enter an end date for your survey vendor unless you know that you will not be using this vendor for the 2025 Fall Survey.
Select the CCN(s) of the ICH facility (or facilities) to which the authorization applies.
Click the “Submit” button.

Please note the following:

No changes to vendor authorizations will be accepted for the 2025 Spring Survey after 5:00 PM Eastern Time on February 28, 2025.
If a facility has closed or will be closing and knows it will not be participating in the 2025 Spring Survey, please request that your survey vendor submit a Vendor Facility Closing Attestation Form on the ICH CAHPS website by this February 28, 2025 deadline. This will ensure that a sample file will not be provided to the vendor for the upcoming survey period. Vendors are encouraged to confirm with their facility contacts prior to this deadline that the facility is open and operating as expected.

Please contact the ICH CAHPS Coordination Team at 1–866–245–8083 or via email at ichcahps@rti.org if you have any questions.

Only One Week before the Deadline to submit the ICH CAHPS Vendor Facility Closing Attestation Form for the 2025 Spring Survey
Facility Participation RequirementsPosted February 21, 2025

This is a reminder that survey vendors must notify the Coordination Team of any authorized ICH facilities who have closed or will be closing before the 2025 Spring Survey data collection period by completing and submitting the online Vendor Facility Closing Attestation Form as soon as possible after learning of such closure(s), and no later than 5:00 PM Eastern Time on February 28, 2025.

Please contact the ICH CAHPS Coordination Team at 1-866-245-8083 or via email at ichcahps@rti.org if you have any questions or need more information about the Vendor Facility Closing Attestation Form.

Reminder: The 2025 ICH CAHPS Survey Facility Non-Participation Form Deadline is February 28, 2025
Facility Participation RequirementsPosted February 21, 2025

Please note that the deadline for submitting the 2025 Facility Non-Participation Form for the ICH CAHPS Survey is 5:00 PM Eastern Time on February 28, 2025. To access this form, login to the website using your user credentials and choose “Facility Non-Participation Form” under the For Facilities menu.

As noted in an email message sent to in-center hemodialysis (ICH) facilities on January 6, 2025 and posted under the Quick Links menu on the ICH CAHPS website’s home page, all ICH facilities must determine whether they will be required to administer the ICH CAHPS Surveys in calendar year 2025 by counting the number of survey-eligible patients they served in 2024.

ICH facilities should please note the following:

The Facility Non-Participation Form is an annual form that is valid only for the year in which it was submitted. ICH facilities that submitted the Facility Non-Participation Form in 2024 must submit the 2025 Facility Non-Participation Form if they do not plan to administer the 2025 ICH CAHPS Spring and Fall Surveys.
Submission of the Facility Non-Participation Form only alerts the ICH CAHPS Coordination Team that the facility does not wish for a sample file to be provided to their authorized vendor for the current calendar year; it does not affect compliance, which is determined on an annual basis by the ESRD Quality Incentive Program (QIP) team.
Once the Facility Non-Participation Form is submitted, any existing vendor authorization for the submitted CCN(s) is removed from the ICH CAHPS website. This means that if at any point in the future the submitted CCN(s) wishes to participate in the ICH CAHPS Surveys, the designated ICH CAHPS Facility Survey Administrator will need to authorize a survey vendor for the CCN(s).
Facilities certified after December 31, 2024 are not required to complete and submit the online Facility Non-Participation Form, unless they are currently registered with an authorized vendor on the ICH CAHPS website.

Please contact the ICH CAHPS Coordination Team at 1-866-245-8083 or via email at ichcahps@rti.org if you have any questions or need more information about the Facility Non-Participation Form.

Only One Week before the Deadline to Authorize a Survey Vendor for the 2025 ICH CAHPS Spring Survey
Facility Participation RequirementsPosted February 21, 2025

This is a reminder that all in-center hemodialysis (ICH) facilities that are administering the ICH CAHPS Survey for the first time or are switching to a different ICH CAHPS Survey vendor to administer the 2025 ICH CAHPS Spring Survey must update their vendor authorization on the ICH CAHPS website by 5:00 PM Eastern Time on February 28, 2025. Please note you must update the online vendor authorization only if the following applies:

Your facility is participating in the ICH CAHPS Survey for the first time during the 2025 Spring Survey; OR
Your facility is switching to a different survey vendor to administer the 2025 ICH CAHPS Spring Survey; OR
Your facility entered the 2024 Fall Survey as the last survey period for which the vendor would administer the survey when you originally submitted the vendor authorization form.

If your organization will continue to use the same ICH CAHPS Survey vendor that was used to administer the 2024 ICH CAHPS Fall Survey, you do not need to update the online vendor authorization form.

The steps for authorizing a vendor on the ICH CAHPS website are as follows:

Log in to the ICH CAHPS website here.
From your personal dashboard, click “Authorize a Vendor.” The system will then take you to the Authorize a Vendor page.
From the “Select Action” drop-down list on the Authorize a Vendor page:
- If authorizing a vendor for the first time on the website: Select the “Select a vendor for the first time” option.
- If changing/switching to a different vendor: Select the “Switch to a different vendor” option.
Select the name of your survey vendor from the vendor drop-down list.
Select the Beginning Survey Period for your new vendor. In this instance, you would select "2025 Spring Survey."
Do not enter an end date for your survey vendor unless you know that you will not be using this vendor for the 2025 Fall Survey.
Select the CCN(s) of the ICH facility (or facilities) to which the authorization applies.
Click the “Submit” button.

Please note the following:

No changes to vendor authorizations will be accepted for the 2025 Spring Survey after 5:00 PM Eastern Time on February 28, 2025.
If a facility has closed or will be closing and knows it will not be participating in the 2025 Spring Survey, please request that your survey vendor submit a Vendor Facility Closing Attestation Form on the ICH CAHPS website by this February 28, 2025 deadline. This will ensure that a sample file will not be provided to the vendor for the upcoming survey period. Vendors are encouraged to confirm with their facility contacts prior to this deadline that the facility is open and operating as expected.

Please contact the ICH CAHPS Coordination Team at 1–866–245–8083 or via email at ichcahps@rti.org if you have any questions.

Training Materials for the 2025 ICH CAHPS Survey Vendor Update Training Session are Available
Training InformationPosted February 7, 2025

The training materials that will be used during the ICH CAHPS Survey Vendor Update Training Session that will be held from 2:00 to 3:30 PM ET on February 12, 2025, are available on the ICH CAHPS website at the following link:

Training Materials (ichcahps.org)

An email message containing instructions for connecting to the training session via Zoom is being sent to all registered attendees starting on February 5, 2025. Please contact the ICH CAHPS Coordination Team at ichcahps@rti.org if anyone registered for your organization does not receive this email message by COB Monday, February 10, 2025.

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