Strategies for Using Vital Records to Measure Quality of Care in Medicaid and Chip Programs

This technical assistance (TA) brief discusses strategies for accessing vital records for quality measurement and improvement efforts related to maternal and infant health care in Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). The brief also gives guidance and describes resources available to states for linking vital records and Medicaid/CHIP data to increase states’ capacity to report two measures in the Core Set of children’s health care quality measures: low birth weight rate and Cesarean section rate. These measures are specified using vital records data, although linkage to Medicaid/CHIP administrative data is often necessary to identify women covered by Medicaid or CHIP. Building states’ capacity to use vital records is a high priority for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) as part of its efforts to improve the health of mothers and infants covered by Medicaid or CHIP. Background