Original Medicare CAHPS

Overview: The Original Medicare CAHPS survey collects information from Medicare beneficiaries enrolled in the Original Medicare program. The survey targets a sample of over 200,000 beneficiaries. The questions on the survey relate to the enrollee’s experience of care with Medicare and their Original Medicare providers.

About the survey: The Original Medicare Survey is administered biennially to a subset of Medicare beneficiaries enrolled in Original Medicare. It uses a mixed mode data collection protocol consisting of an invitation to complete a web survey, up to two mailed surveys to non-respondents to the web survey, and telephone follow-up of non-respondents to the mail survey. The sample for the survey covers all 50 U.S. states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. The questions on the survey are largely the same as those on the Medicare Advantage CAHPS survey and focus on topics such as communication, coordination of care, experiences getting needed health care, experiences with personal doctors and specialists, and customer service.

How the data are used: The Original Medicare CAHPS survey results are publicly reported on the Medicare Plan Finder tool at www.medicare.gov. Original Medicare CAHPS results can be compared with Medicare Advantage CAHPS results on Medicare Plan Finder. 

For more information, please contact the Original Medicare CAHPS project team at MP-CAHPS@cms.hhs.gov.