HHCAHPS Version Crosswalk Guide
Per CMS, the revised HHCAHPS survey goes into effect starting with the April 2026 sample month, marking the first major update since the survey's original implementation.
With significant changes made to the HHCAHPS survey and the composite quality measures, SHP is pleased to provide home health agencies with a comprehensive side-by-side comparison of the current and new HHCAHPS survey versions. Items that have been added, removed, and changed are clearly indicated with color coding for easy reference.
We recommend printing copies for your staff to facilitate a smooth transition to the revised HHCAHPS survey.
This crosswalk guide is an essential resource for anyone working with HHCAHPS and will help your team understand the survey changes, identify areas of focus, and develop quality improvement strategies to optimize your scores.
Summary of key changes in the revised HHCAHPS survey include:
- Questions Added (3 new questions):
- How often did you feel that home health staff from the agency cared about you as a person?
- Did home health staff from this agency provide your family or friends with information or instructions about your care as much as you wanted?
- How often have the services you received from this agency helped you take care of your health?
- Questions Removed (8 questions eliminated):
- Was one of your home health providers from this agency a nurse?
- Was one of your home health providers from this agency a physical, occupational, or speech therapist?
- Was one of your home health providers from this agency a home health or personal care aide?
- When you first started getting home health care from this agency, did someone from the agency tell you what care and services you would get?
- When you started getting home health care from this agency, did someone from the agency ask to see all the prescription and over-the-counter medicines you were taking?
- Did you and a home health provider from this agency talk about pain?
- When you contacted this agency's office, how long did it take for you to get the help or advice you needed?
- In the last 2 months of care, did you have any problems with the care you got through this agency?
- Impact on Quality Measures:
- The three composite measures will be temporarily removed from public reporting and star ratings
- Care Compare will not display updated composite scores until the October 2027 refresh
- HHVBP Model will adjust measure weights, with Overall Rating and Willingness to Recommend each increasing from 6% to 10% of the total performance score
- Survey Structure Changes:
- Total questions reduced from 35 to 25 (including demographic questions)
- Consolidation of six medication management questions into two comprehensive questions
- Updated demographic categories including new race/ethnicity options