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CAHPS Home and Community Based Services Survey Open Through End of October

Danna Casserly

The Office of Long-Term Living (OLTL)'s annual Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS) survey opened on August 1, 2024 and will close at the end of this month. The last day to respond to the survey is October 31, 2024. The CAHPS survey asks people in the Community HealthChoices (CHC) waiver, the OBRA waiver, and the Act 150 program to measure their experiences with HCBS providers, accessing HCBS services, and how well those services meet their needs.  The Office of Long Term Living (OLTL), which administers the three programs subject to the survey, will use responses to help inform measures they take to improve the services participants in these programs receive.

The survey includes questions about getting needed services, communication with providers, case managers, choice of services, medical transportation, personal safety, and community inclusion and empowerment. The survey also includes cognitive screening and demographic questions.  Pennsylvania has also opted to include a set of questions about participants’ experience with employment services, which was optional for states to include in their surveys. PHLP is pleased that OLTL chose to include this important set of questions in its tool.  The survey was developed to be administered by an interviewer in person or by telephone. English and Spanish versions of the instrument are available. 

Press Ganey, an independent, Indiana-based healthcare firm, is conducting the survey. They will call participants to set up a time to take the survey via telephone. Alternatively, participants may call Press Ganey toll free at 1-800-588-1659 (TTY: 711) to take the 30-minute survey.  That number can also be used to make an appointment to take the survey at another convenient time.  Participants are randomly selected to participate in the survey, which will be administered in English or Spanish, with language interpretation available for participants at no cost.  Those who need an interpreter to complete the survey should request one when speaking with Press Ganey.  Those interested in reviewing survey questions ahead of time can download copies of the official survey below:

PHLP encourages participants to complete this survey to the extent they are comfortable doing so. It is a direct way to have participant voices heard regarding the quality of the HCBS services they receive.  It is important to remember that participation in this survey is completely optional for participants and any information provided to Press Ganey will be kept confidential.  Participant answers will not be shared with their providers or Service Coordinators, and those who complete the survey will not be identified in any reports issued about survey findings.

More information about the HCBS CAHPS survey can be found here.