Medicaid Statistical Information System (MSIS): a data source for quality reporting for Medicaid and the Children's...

Section 401 of the Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2009 (CHIPRA) requires the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to identify and publish healthcare quality measures for children enrolled in the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) or Medicaid. CHIPRA also requires core measures to identify disparities by race and ethnicity, among other factors. State Medicaid and CHIP programs are currently facing significant budgetary pressures that are likely to increase with eligibility expansions and programmatic changes resulting from the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). To limit the burden on states and increase the likelihood of states' voluntarily reporting on core pediatric quality measures, HHS may consider utilizing existing data sources. This article examines the feasibility of utilizing Medicaid Statistical Information System (MSIS) data to identify and analyze the core children's healthcare quality measures required by CHIPRA. Five key themes related to the feasibility of using MSIS as a data source for quality measures are identified: states have significant experience with data collection, performance measurement, and quality oversight for children in Medicaid and CHIP; CHIPRA provisions related to reporting of quality measures will be implemented at a time when states are facing major fiscal constraints; MSIS provides potential opportunities as it offers a rich source of data, but the difficulties in obtaining clean data should not be underestimated; MSIS has limitations; and states, the federal government, providers, and enrollees benefit from standardization in data and quality measurement.