Each year, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) sends the Health Outcomes Survey (HOS) to select Medicare members.
This anonymous survey allows you to share your thoughts about your health and how it affects your daily life. Your feedback is shared with health plan providers like HealthPartners to help them understand what works and where they can improve. Here’s what you need to know.
What is the Health Outcomes Survey?
The HOS is a Medicare survey that looks at how your physical and mental health changes over time and how you feel now. It focuses on how you feel and function in daily life, as well as how satisfied you are with your health care coverage. By comparing responses from the same members over time, CMS can see whether people’s health is improving, staying the same, or changing.
Who is asked to take the survey?
Each year, Medicare randomly selects members to take HOS. The selection is not based on your health.
If you are chosen, you will be asked to recall conversations you have had with your doctor about topics such as physical activity, fall risk factors and prevention, bladder control, and more. Approximately two years later, you may receive the survey again to check for any changes.
The survey arrives by mail in a white envelope starting in July. You can complete it yourself or get help from someone you trust, such as a family member, friend, attorney-in-fact, or interpreter.
What is the Modified Health Outcomes Survey (HOS-M)?
The Health Outcomes Survey Modified (HOS-M) is a version of the HOS for Medicare members who are enrolled in Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) organizations. This version of the survey focuses on how these members are doing in everyday life, such as getting around, taking care of themselves, and completing daily tasks. Conducting the survey helps ensure that the experiences of Medicare members with more complex health needs are fully understood and accounted for. HOS-M results can also affect how plan programs are reviewed and paid for, making member input especially valuable.
5 benefits of completing the Health Outcomes Survey
1. Your feedback helps improve your care
From better clinics and preventive care programs to tools that make it easier to manage your health, your responses to HOS help us continue investing in what matters most to you. Your answers also guide us in how we work with your doctors and clinics to help you get the care you need when you need it.
2. Sharing your experiences helps members like you
Taking the survey not only helps you, but also guides us to support others. It helps us determine the best ways to expand appointment options, communicate clearly, reduce wait times, and improve access for everyone.
3. An opportunity to reflect on your health
Taking the HOS gives you time to think about your health over the past year and share your experience. You may be asked to think about conversations you have had with your doctor, nurse, or other health care provider, including topics such as:
- Staying active and healthy as you age
- Mental health and emotional well-being
- Physical activity and exercise.
- Fall prevention and balance.
- bladder control
There is no right or wrong answer, just your honest experience. If you’ve had difficulty walking, dressing, or bathing, it’s okay to share. Your responses help improve support for members like you.
4. Your input helps shape health programs and support.
Your answers help health plan providers understand what members need most. Feedback is used to improve care programs, wellness services, and additional support services for the management of health conditions. By sharing your experience, you help ensure that member voices guide care decisions and shape services that best support people throughout their health journey.
5. Your responses are private and secure.
The HOS goes through an external survey group to protect its identity. This way you can say what you think and be sure that your responses are private.
How Medicare uses the Health Outcomes Survey
Medicare uses this survey to understand how care affects your health and independence. Your feedback is shared with health insurance companies like HealthPartners to help them improve their programs for everyone.
Is the Health Outcomes Survey confidential?
Yes. Your answers will not affect your membership or benefits. They simply help improve the care you receive.
CAHPS vs. Health Outcomes Survey: What’s the Difference?
The Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS) and HOS are important Medicare surveys, but they focus on different things.
- CAHPS focuses on your experience with care. Ask about things like how easy it is to get appointments, how well the doctors communicate, and how helpful Member Services has been.
- HOS focuses on your health. It looks at your physical and mental health and how it changes over time, including how health conditions affect your daily activities and quality of life.
Together, they give insurance plans a clearer picture of what is working and whether improvements are needed. When you conduct one or both surveys, you help Medicare and health plans improve care, support better health outcomes, and make sure member voices really matter.
Please participate if Medicare sends you a survey.
If you are one of our members chosen to participate in the Health Outcomes Survey, we hope you will participate. It helps us better support members like you and really makes a difference.
