Most or Moderately Effective Contraceptive Methods (All Women)

The All Women Most or Moderately Effective Contraceptive Methods measure can be used to identify people at risk of unintended pregnancy who receive a most or moderately effective method of contraception. This measure is considered an intermediate outcome measure because it represents a decision made at the end of a clinical encounter about the type of contraception a person will use.

This measure was CBE endorsed at the state, health plan, facility, and clinician group level (CBE #2903). Measure performance results can inform quality improvement initiatives by identifying and monitoring gaps in the provision of most and moderately effective contraceptive methods. Specifically, performance rates can help health care providers learn about their patient population, identify best practices in care, and track quality improvement progress, acting as a roadmap for enhancing the quality of care and patient satisfaction. In addition, many states report this measure to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Child and Adult Core Set program to drive improvement in the quality of contraceptive care provided to Medicaid beneficiaries.

The All Women Most or Moderately Effective Contraceptive Methods measure does not have a benchmark. Some people will make an informed decision to choose a lower-efficacy method or no method of contraception when providers offer them the full range of methods and there are no logistical or financial barriers to access. For the same reason, it is not appropriate to use the Contraceptive Care measures in a pay-for-performance context as these measures are designed to support quality improvement.

Starting federal fiscal year (FFY) 2024, reporting of the Child Core Set, which includes OPA’s contraceptive care measures, is mandatory for all states. States should not interpret this mandatory reporting as a desire to reach higher rates of contraceptive provision, but rather as an aim to capture all contraceptive provision rates. Higher rates of contraceptive provision are not associated with higher quality of contraceptive care provided to patients because these rates do not necessarily reflect patient preferences or goals.

Measure performance rates can be used to help assess if there is room for improvement in provision of most or moderately effective contraceptive methods.