Grants and Demonstrations
The ACA provides funding opportunities to transform how health care is delivered, expand access to care and support healthcare workforce training.
Grant Announcements
Faculty Development in General, Pediatric, and Public Health Dentistry and Dental Hygiene, §5303. Announced December 22, 2011. Funding is available to accredited dental or dental hygiene schools, not-for-profit hospitals, and public or not for profit entities. This funding opportunity will increase access to oral care with emphasis on training, recruitment and retention of a diverse and cultural competent dental work force. Grants will be awarded to entities that 1) plan, develop, and operate a program for the training of oral health care providers who plan to teach in general, pediatric, public health dentistry, or dental hygiene; 2) provide traineeships and fellowships to dentists who plan to teach or are teaching in general, pediatric, or public health dentistry; and 3) meet the costs of projects to establish, maintain, or improve dental faculty development programs in primary care. $3M total for 6 awards is available for a 5 year project period.
Applications are due February 9, 2012.
The announcement can be viewed at: HRSA
Guidance
1/4/12 HHS published the final rule regarding the initial core set of health care quality measures for Medicaid-eligible adults, as required by §2701 of the ACA, for voluntary use by State programs administered under title XIX of the Social Security Act, health insurance issuers and managed care entities that enter into contracts with Medicaid, and providers of items and services under these programs.
Read the final rule on Adult Health Quality Measures at:
http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2012-01-04/pdf/2011-33756.pdf
12/30/11 CMS issued an informational bulletin and a set of frequently asked questions which provided guidance on the implementation of §6411(a) of the ACA, Expansion of the Recovery Audit Contractor (RAC) Program to Medicaid.
Read the bulletin at: http://www.medicaid.gov/Federal-Policy-Guidance/CIB-12-30-2011.pdf
Read the FAQ's at: FAQ's
12/23/11 CMS issued an informational bulletin which provided guidance on the implementation of §6401 of the ACA, Provider Screening and Other Enrollment Requirements under Medicare, Medicaid, and CHIP.
Read the bulletin at:
http://www.medicaid.gov/Federal-Policy-Guidance/downloads/CIB-12-23-11.pdf
Prior guidance can be viewed at: www.healthcare.gov
News
1/3/12 CMS announced the selection of 73 individuals from 27 States and the District of Columbia for the Innovation Advisors Program, funded under §3021 of the ACA. The list includes 5 individuals affiliated with the following organizations in Massachusetts: Massachusetts General Hospital, Hebrew SeniorLife, The General Hospital Corporation, Masonic Health System of Massachusetts and Boston Medical Center.
The initiative, launched by the CMS Innovation Center in October 2011, is designed to engage healthcare professionals to drive delivery system reform by improving patient care and reducing costs. Each Innovation Advisor's home organization will receive a stipend of up to $20,000 which will support an individual's activities while serving as an Innovation Advisor. Advisors will also be expected to support the Innovation Center in testing new models of care delivery, to form partnerships with local organizations, and to improve their own health systems so their communities will have better health and better care at a lower cost.
In the first year 200 fellowships of $20,000 each are available to eligible applicants including clinicians, allied health professionals, and health administrators.
More information about the Innovation Advisors Program, including a fact sheet and a complete list of participants and their home organization, can be found at:
http://innovations.cms.gov/initiatives/innovation-advisors/index.html
EOHHS News
1/10/12 MassHealth's draft Demonstration Proposal on Integrating Medicare and Medicaid for Dual Eligible Individuals is available for public comment. Under this proposed Demonstration authorized under ACA§ 2602, MassHealth and CMS will use combined Medicare and Medicaid funding to contract with integrated care organizations to provide integrated, comprehensive care, including MassHealth and Medicare benefits, plus diversionary behavioral health benefits and additional long term services and supports.
The draft Demonstration Proposal is posted at www.mass.gov/masshealth/duals under "Related Information" and on Comm-PASS (www.comm-pass.com). Comments may be sent to: duals@state.ma.us, or mailed to:
Executive Office of Health and Human Services
Attn: Lisa Wong
One Ashburton Place, Rm. 1109
Boston, MA 02108
*Written comments must be received by EOHHS by 5 pm, January 10, 2012.
Upcoming Events
Three R's Workgroup (Reinsurance, Risk Adjustment and Risk Corridors) Stakeholder Meeting
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
10 AM - 12 PM
Room 1-E, Division of Insurance
1000 Washington Street, Boston, MA
If any interested persons are unable to attend the meetings in person, they can participate in the session by calling the number below.
Dial 1-877-820-7831
Pass Code 371767# (please make sure to press # after the number)
Money Follows the Person (MFP) Working Group
Thursday, February 2, 2012 from 2 PM - 3:30 PM
Saxe Conference Room
Worcester Public Library
3 Salem Square
Worcester, MA
Please contact MFP@state.ma.us to attend the MFP meetings and to request reasonable accommodations.
More information on MFP can be found at: Money Follows the Person
