Managed Care Review (MC-Review)

Managed Care Review (MC-Review) is an easy-to-use online portal for states to submit Medicaid and CHIP managed care contracts and rate certifications for federal review and approval, as required by managed care regulation at 438.3(a) and 438.7. CMS recently released guidance that discusses CMS's review of Managed Care Contracts and the use of the MC-Review system. As of 2024, MC-Review is available to all states and territories with applicable managed care submissions.

The primary objectives of MC-Review are to:

• Reduce administrative burden for state & CMS workers
• Serve as a transparent recordkeeping system
• Standardize the state submission process to increase predictability and accuracy 
• Improve speed of CMS approvals for managed care contracts & rate certifications

Get started with MC-Review

Here are three simple steps to get started with your submission in MC-Review:

• Step 1 - Create a CMS Identity Management (IDM) account
  • Visit the IDM homepage, click on New User Registration and complete the registration form.
  • Skip to step 2 if you already have an existing IDM account to access other CMS tools.
• Step 2 - Request Managed Care Review State User role
  • Log in to IDM and submit a Role Request for State User account for Managed Care Review (MC-Review). 
• Step 3 - Log in to MC-Review to start submission
  • Once you receive an email confirmation about your role-request approval (usually within 24 hours), log-in to MC-Review using your IDM credentials, and start submission for your state’s contracts and rate certifications, at any time.

A detailed account creation user manual is available here. For assistance in creating your account, please contact MC_Review_HelpDesk@cms.hhs.gov.

MC-Review resources to help with your submissions

• MC-Review training webinar recording
• MC-Review Training Webinar Slide Deck
• MC-Review State User Manual
• MC-Review FAQs
• Policy Guidance:
  • State Guide to CMS Criteria for Medicaid Managed Care Contract Review and Approval 
  • Medicaid Managed Care Rate Development Guide

Benefits of submitting via MC-Review

• States do not need to complete and upload a separate CMS cover sheet; all information will be entered directly in the online submission form.
• States upload all documents directly into the online portal, with no firewall or size restrictions to contend with.
• States spend 25% less time on their submissions compared to using email.
• 90% of states prefer submitting via MC-Review over traditional email-based methods.
• States gain early access to MC-Review to give feedback on their experience before a future date when CMS will require its use on all managed care health plan submissions.

Contact MC-Review 

To get started with MC-Review, please reach out to your CMS contact directly or to the Help Desk at MC_Review_HelpDesk@cms.hhs.gov.