Assessing Care Integration for Dual-Eligible Beneficiaries: A Review of Quality Measures Chosen by States in the Financial Align

As part of the federal Financial Alignment Initiative, states have the opportunity to test care models for dual-eligibles that integrate acute care, behavioral health and mental health services, and long-term services and supports, with the goals of enhancing access to services, improving care quality, containing costs, and reducing administrative barriers. One of the challenges in designing these demonstrations is choosing and applying measures that accurately track changes in quality over time—essential for the rapid identification of effective innovations. This brief reviews the quality measures chosen by eight demonstration states as of December 2013.