CAHPS®/Member Experience

Patient and family engagement in healthcare is essential for improved health outcomes and positive member experience. Engagement is established with effective communication, mutual respect, and individualized care planning.

Techniques to achieve engagement with individual patients and family members will vary depending on cultural and ethnic backgrounds, belief systems, and socioeconomic determinants that influence everyday life. Healthcare providers are in a unique position to work with our HUSKY Health members to increase opportunities of health and wellness through engaging and positive member experiences. Patient outcomes improve when patients and providers work together. Below you will find information on how HUSKY Health member experiences with providers are measured, as well as resources to maximize engagement during office visits.

Important

Please take the time to review the information below regarding the rights and responsibilities of your HUSKY Health patients. When an entire practice works in support of patient rights, while also holding members accountable for their responsibilities, the partnership you form gives patients a more active role in their healthcare.

Call HUSKY Health Provider Engagement Services at 1.800.440.5071 for any questions or help building more effective patient relationships.

CAHPS®

The Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS®) Health Plan Survey is a tool for collecting standardized information on enrollees’ experiences with their health plan and their services.

For more CAHPS® information, visit the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality CAHPS® website.

Resources

For assistance on improving Provider Communication CAHPS® scores, download the ALERT Flyer.

For valuable resources on how to improve health equity, visit the HUSKY Health, Attaining Health Equity web page.

View the CAHPS® Ambulatory Care Improvement Guide: Practical Strategies for Improving Patient Experience.

FAQs

  • How often did your personal doctor listen carefully to you?
  • How often did your personal doctor explain things in a way that is easy to understand?
  • How often did your personal doctor show respect for what you had to say?
  • How often did your personal doctor spend enough time with you?
  • CHNCT participates annually in the CAHPS® Health Plan Survey
  • The survey is typically available January - May
  • A random sample of adult members and head of households for children in the HUSKY Health program
  • The survey is available in English and Spanish, and can be completed via mail, e-mail, or telephone
  • Results allow CHNCT to identify areas of improvement related to the care HUSKY Health members receive from network providers and specialists
  • DSS also receives the annual survey results to assess HUSKY Health program satisfaction, and to request corrective action plans as needed

CAHPS® Results

Please review the latest CAHPS® results for HUSKY Health Adult and Child members, along with tips to improve HUSKY members’ experience.

For HUSKY Adult CAHPS® results for CY 2023, click here.

For HUSKY Child CAHPS® results for CY 2023, click here.

Consumer Protection

We know that the health and wellness of your patients is your top priority. Patients have more access to medical information than ever before and part of the provider role is to help them best understand, assess, and apply that information. The result is patients who are empowered to take a greater role in their health. Patient outcomes improve when patients and providers work together. Effective partnerships are formed when all parties involved have an understanding of their rights and responsibilities.

Member Rights

You have the right to...

  • Be treated with respect, dignity, and regard for your privacy
  • Get care, or information about your care, in a timely manner
  • Choose or change your provider
  • Get help with making an appointment with a provider
  • Take an active part in planning your care and making treatment decisions
  • Get complete and understandable information about your treatment options, regardless of cost or benefit coverage. Have the chance to talk about those choices with your provider
  • Get complete and understandable information on any financial programs that might affect the care that you get from your provider
  • Refuse treatment, except when that treatment is required by law
  • Get a second opinion
  • Get translation services
  • Request and review your medical records with your provider
  • Make an advance directive
  • Confidently exercise your rights
  • Receive services regardless of race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, age, cultural and ethnic background, or status as a HUSKY Health recipient
  • Make a complaint, grievance, and/or appeal
  • Be free from retaliation
  • Learn about your medical benefits and how to use them
  • Correct or change your Protected Health Information and control how it is used
  • Contact your provider to advocate for medical services
  • File an appeal if the authorization of goods or services is partially or fully denied, suspended, reduced or terminated

Please call if you have questions about these rights or would like to make a complaint because you feel your rights have been violated. Our number is 1.800.859.9889.

Member Responsibilities

You have the responsibility to...

  • Give your providers and HUSKY the information they need to better serve you
  • Choose a Primary Care Provider (PCP)
  • Get regular checkups
  • Follow the plan of care that you made with your providers
  • Discuss your care with your PCP before seeing a specialist, unless it is an emergency, pregnancy-related, or for family planning
  • Keep your appointments, or let your provider know at least 24 hours in advance if you need to cancel or reschedule
  • Respect the dignity and privacy of others
  • Carry your HUSKY Health cards
  • Notify HUSKY Health and DSS if there are changes to your address, phone number, household members, demographic information, or income

Resources (webpages and documents)

The following information is available to support and assist practices with upholding member rights and guiding members to understand their responsibilities:

Documents and webpages in support of members using their benefits:

Links and webpages in support of members choosing and accessing PCPs and specialists:

Educational resources to support member knowledge of health conditions and treatment plans:

Community Health Network of Connecticut, Inc.®’s Intensive Care Management (ICM) program supports members with complex health issues to access the care they need and follow through on care plans:

HUSKY Health maintains policies that give members the opportunity to choose how and when to share their information:

This portion of the HUSKY Health website is managed by Community Health Network of Connecticut, Inc.®, the State of Connecticut’s Medical Administrative Services Organization (ASO) for the HUSKY Health program. For the general HUSKY Health website gateway, please visit portal.ct.gov/husky. HUSKY Health includes Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program, and is administered by the Connecticut Department of Social Services (DSS).

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