US · guidance
CMS Pub. 100-16, ch. 4, § 110.2.4
Online Provider Directory Requirements
MAOs must post a provider directory for all products offered by service areas or by
general geographic area. The provision of accurate provider information and ensuring
adequate access to covered services are essential protections for enrollees. Accurate
provider directories are critical to helping enrollees make educated decisions about their
MA plan choices.
The following formats for the online provider directory are acceptable:
• A searchable “master” provider directory that represents the complete network
for the MAO;
• Individual provider directories by plan product and/or service area (e.g.,
mirroring those that will be printed for the MAO membership); and
• A search engine. If an MAO uses only a search engine on its website, it must meet
all the requirements for the model Directory.
MAOs must also provide the option on their websites for users to request a hard copy
provider directory, as applicable. MAOs are expected to mail the requested hard copy
directory within three (3) business days of the request.
History
(Rev. 121, Issued: 04-22-16, Effective: 04-22-16, Implementation: 04-22-16)
Provenance
- Source
- cms.gov
- Retrieved
- 2026-08-25
- Edition
- iom-2026-08-25
- Content hash
6bd74d6a730cdc7e2247d8eb5f1e0ff85c9cf8afa9841eddc6d6c78390a80d05
The link goes to the issuing authority’s own document — the one we read to produce this record. Where a source publishes whole titles rather than sections, your browser may need a moment to jump to the provision.
Unofficial copy of government-published law, reproduced from official sources with full provenance. Not an official publication; verify against official sources before relying on it in a filing. Records in the 'guidance' corpus, and only that corpus, are sub-regulatory (interpretive guidelines, survey procedures) and are not binding law. Validity bounds follow each jurisdiction's declared temporalBasis.