Fee-for-Service (FFS) CAHPS

Overview: The Medicare Fee-for-Service (FFS) CAHPS survey collects information from Medicare beneficiaries enrolled in the FFS program. The survey targets a sample of approximately 275,000 beneficiaries. The questions on the survey relate to the enrollee’s experience of care with Medicare and their FFS provider.

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

Public reporting and policy relevance: The FFS survey results are publicly reported to people with Medicare on the Plan Finder tool at www.medicare.gov.  

For more information, please contact the FFS CAHPS project team at Fee-for-ServiceCAHPSSurvey@cms.hhs.gov.