An effective methodology for surveying a Medicaid population: the 1996 Oregon Health Plan client satisfaction survey

There are many barriers to measuring client satisfaction for a Medicaid population. This vulnerable group is poor, often undereducated, and highly mobile, making both telephone surveys and mail-return surveys difficult to administer successfully. The Oregon Health Plan (OHP), a Medicaid managed care delivery system, has developed a client satisfaction survey and approach that yielded a 63% response rate. Readability, satisfaction indicators reflective of a Medicaid population, and survey administration are all identified as essential to an adequate response rate. The data from the 1996 Oregon Health Plan Client Satisfaction Survey are being used in the OHP's analysis and evaluation program and its ongoing quality improvement process.