An official website of the United States government
Here’s how you know
Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock () or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) authorizes the creation of Health Insurance Exchanges (also known as Health Insurance Marketplaces) to help individuals and small employers’ shop for, select, and enroll in high quality, affordable private health plans.
The Marketplace Quality Initiatives (MQIs) includes four programs established by the PPACA which requires the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) to develop quality data collection and reporting tools. The Marketplace Quality Rating System (QRS), QHP Enrollee Experience Survey (QHP Survey), Quality Improvement Strategy (QIS), and patient safety standards are Qualified Health Plan (QHP) quality-related certification requirements across all Marketplaces.
Scroll below to “Program Overview” for a description of each program.
The Quality Rating System (QRS) is a 5-star rating system used to rate QHPs based on relative quality and price. The goals of the QRS are to provide comparable and useful information to consumers, facilitate oversight of QHPs, and provide actionable information to QHPs to improve quality and performance.
The QHP Enrollee Experience Survey assesses consumer experience with QHPs offered through the Exchanges. The QHP Enrollee Survey aims to provide comparable and useful information to consumers about the quality of health care services and enrollee experience with QHPs offered through the Exchanges.
A Quality Improvement Strategy (QIS) is a payment structure that provides increased reimbursement or other incentives to improve health outcomes, prevent hospital readmissions, improve patient safety and reduce medical errors, implement wellness and health promotion activities, and/or reduce health and health care disparities.
QHPs are required to contract with certain hospitals that use patient safety evaluation systems and implement comprehensive hospital discharge programs. QHPs are also required to contract with health care providers who implement health care quality improvement mechanisms.
QHP issuers and Exchanges with questions regarding the QRS, QIS, or the QHP Enrollee Survey should contact the MSD
CMS_FEPS@cms.hhs.gov or 1-855-CMS-1515 (1-855-267-1515)
Sign up to get the latest information about your choice of CMS topics. You can decide how often to receive updates.
A federal government website managed and paid for by the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
7500 Security Boulevard, Baltimore, MD 21244
