Methodology & limitations

Completeness and composite are different axes — this page defines both, and the caveat that keeps selective-reporting risk from becoming an accusation.

Completeness

The Core Set universe is the 57 unique measures in the CMS file (program + abbreviation), not the 139 rate definitions underneath them. Denominator is always the full set: 27 Child Core Set + 30 Adult Core Set = 57. A measure counts as reported when the state has at least one numeric official rate for that abbreviation. Completeness is reported ÷ 57, shown as a percent. Child and adult coverage are also shown separately — a state may fully report one program and thinly report the other.

Composite

The y-axis uses the same domain-equal band-position composite as the State Core Set Scorecard: each reported rate is placed in the national inter-quartile band (0 = bottom quartile, 1 = top), direction-flipped when lower is better, collapsed measure → domain → state with domains weighted equally. It summarizes performance among measures the state did report — it does not impute missing measures.

Median-split quadrants

National medians of completeness and composite partition the plane into four quadrants (completeness median 91.2%, composite median 0.49). Labels come from the precomputed bundle so wording stays neutral and consistent:

Higher composite · thinner reporting — higher composite than the median on thinner-than-median reporting; worth investigating, never an accusation.
Higher composite · broader reporting
Lower composite · thinner reporting
Lower composite · broader reporting

Caveat (in full)

Low completeness does not imply bad faith. A state may omit a Core Set measure because it is not applicable to its Medicaid/CHIP population, because the measure was not collected, or because of reporting codes such as NA / NR / DS — not because a rate was hidden. Treat the selective-reporting-risk quadrant as worth investigating alongside the State Core Set Scorecard, never as an accusation.

Provenance

Source: CMS 2024 Child & Adult Health Care Quality Measures (Medicaid/CHIP Core Sets); Mathematica analysis of the QMR system as of 2025-04-28
As of: 2025-04-28
Core Set year: 2024
Methodology: v1.0.0
Generated: 2026-07-16T19:45:19Z
Universe: 57 measures (27 child · 30 adult)

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