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Strategic pre-CAHPS communication: Driving member engagement and feedback for 2025

Published Date
Author David Larsen

The 2025 Medicare Advantage Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS) survey is just weeks away from being launched. A widely recognized best practice among Medicare Advantage plans is to use a pre-CAHPS communication strategy to engage members. This strategy has been proven to boost response rates and improve the quality of member feedback.

Maximizing impact with pre-CAHPS communication

Sending pre-CAHPS communication has proven to boost response rates, especially from members who have had positive experiences with their plans. For members who have a valid email address on file, an email can be sent directly. For others, a postcard or letter can be mailed. This proactive communication prepares members for the survey and encourages their participation by highlighting the value of their feedback and how health plans use their feedback to drive changes.

4 essential points for pre-CAHPS communications 

To make this communication most effective, include clear, engaging points:

  1. Express gratitude: Start by thanking the recipient for their membership. Emphasize that their participation helps shape the plan's future.
  2. Announce the survey: Notify members that the 2025 CAHPS survey will be sent soon, either by email or mail, depending on the sample CMS selects. Let them know the survey is being conducted by a vendor chosen by the plan, with support from CMS.
  3. Clarify the purpose of the survey: Explain that the CAHPS survey is designed to measure their experiences with the health plan, healthcare providers, and prescription drug services over the past six months. Make it clear that this survey helps improve their overall healthcare experience.
  4. Encourage participation: Emphasize the value of their feedback in refining and optimizing the member experience. Let them know the plan uses CAHPS survey data to make improvements based on members’ evolving needs and preferences.

How clear instructions and member feedback leads to improvement 

Historically, feedback from CAHPS surveys has led to several positive changes in Medicare Advantage plans. By sharing these improvements with members, you can highlight the impact of their input.

For example:

  • More resources were dedicated to enhancing communication via phone, chat, text messaging, and email, making it easier for members to get the assistance they need.
  • Popular benefits like over-the-counter drug allowances, monthly food allowances, and home delivery pharmacy services were added in response to member feedback.
  • Access to healthcare providers also improved through expanded telehealth services, extended after-hours availability, and a broader network of primary care providers and specialists.
  • The preauthorization process was streamlined with better electronic communication with healthcare providers and the elimination of certain services that no longer require authorization.
  • These improvements show how member feedback directly leads to meaningful changes that benefit everyone.
  • Clear instructions on how to contact the plan for questions or concerns help members feel heard and valued. This boosts engagement and makes them feel more confident and informed about the survey process.

Strengthen your member relationships through proactive communication

Implementing a pre-CAHPS communication strategy is a proven best practice that can help Medicare Advantage plans significantly improve response rates and member engagement. Thanking members for their participation, explaining the survey's importance, and showing how their feedback will improve their experience helps create an informed and motivated group of respondents. Reach out to one of our health plan and member experience experts to learn more.  

About the author

David L. Larsen currently works as Senior Advisor Member Experience at Press Ganey and prior to that he worked as an independent healthcare consultant working with predictive analytics, member engagement, and pharma vendors to improve their offerings and sales approach to managed care plans and working with managed care plans to improve their Medicare Advantage Star Ratings focusing on improvements related to CAHPS, HOS, HEDIS, medication adherence, and member experience measures. David served as the Director of Quality Improvement for SelectHealth in Salt La­ke City, Utah for 32 years and worked for Intermountain Healthcare for 38 years. SelectHealth is a mixed model HMO with more than 950,000 members in Utah, Idaho, and Nevada across all insurance product lines including, Medicare Advantage, manage Medicaid, large, small, and individual commercial plans, and ACA plans. Intermountain Healthcare is an integrated health care delivery system with 23 hospitals and over 1,500 employed physicians. As the Director of Quality Improvement, David had responsibilities for oversight of the Medicare Advantage Stars program for which SelectHealth received a 5 Star rating in 2022, maintaining NCQA accreditation; HEDIS performance measurement and improvement; CAHPS and HOS measurement and improvement, public reporting (transparency), and population health. David has also been responsible for the oversight and development of chronic disease registries, performance measurement and web based reporting systems, quality improvement pay for performance incentives for providers, provider transparency programs, and direct patient improvement interventions related to chronic illnesses including patient adherence monitoring, reminders, and incentive programs.

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