A couple of weeks ago, CMS released additional IT guidance that is far too long and probably too technical and wonky for most of us. But since the title is “Medicaid Information Technology Architecture Guidance – Draft Eligibility and Enrollment Supplement, Version 3.0,” it immediately caught my eye. I’ve been on the lookout for the final eligibility and enrollment performance indicators to be released and was hopeful this new IT guidance might include them.

The two appendices that were released detail a wide range of Medicaid-related business processes, which actually are quite interesting. But when I searched on the word “performance” and discovered that it appears 258 times in the 215-page Appendix C and another 139 times in the 536-page Appendix D, I was sure I was in trouble. I’m still digesting over 750 pages of new regulations (to be fair, that’s the double-spaced, large print version).

There’s some very interesting stuff in this guidance but, quite frankly, I was relieved to learn that CMS still plans to release the more straightforward eligibility and enrollment performance indicators that were previewed in a Request for Information (RFI) back in January. Since states need to build these measures into their systems, we hope to see it soon. But for now, we don’t have to add this to our reading list! If you disagree, be sure to share your “Cliffs Notes” with us!

[This blog is part of a Tech Tuesday blog series highlighting the important IT issues involved in making the benefits of the Affordable Care Act easier to access for consumers.]