[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 188 (Wednesday, September 28, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 60050-60051]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-24986]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services


Medicaid Program: Money Follows the Person Rebalancing 
Demonstration Program

AGENCY: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), HHS.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: This notice creates an expansion to an existing award under 
the Money Follows the Person

[[Page 60051]]

Demonstration grant. The program supports the movement of Medicaid 
beneficiaries with disabling and chronic conditions from institutions 
into the community. The award expands already funded tasks related to 
quality technical assistance provided to State grantees.

DATES: Effective Date: The program expansion is effective on the date 
of award (before September 30, 2011 through April 15, 2013).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Anita Yuskauskas, (410) 786-0268.
Arun Natarajan, (410) 786-7455.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background

    The need for additional funds is the result of an increase in the 
number of Money Follows the Person (MFP) State Grantees through the 
Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Affordable Care Act) (Pub. 
L. 111-148, enacted on March 23, 2010). Fifteen additional States 
received new MFP funds in January, 2011 under the Affordable Care Act. 
The increase in the number of States and programs resulting from the 
Affordable Care Act place more demand on the need for technical 
assistance to States developing and implementing quality improvement 
strategies, particularly given the complexity and vulnerability of the 
populations being served in MFP and the Congress' commitment to the 
Grant Program's success. The expansion was not calculated in the 
original National Quality Enterprise (NQE) budget because at the time 
of the original award, the Affordable Care Act money was not included 
in CMS' budget allocation.
    The additional resources are necessary to assure the success of the 
individual placements, specifically, by facilitating sufficient quality 
mechanisms to address the unique needs of the populations with 
disabling and chronic conditions. These are the most vulnerable 
populations and a lack of quality and oversight mechanisms in place, 
may place individuals at risk.

II. Provisions of the Notice

    We solicited a proposal from Thomson Reuters Healthcare to expand 
the National Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) Quality 
Enterprise beyond the grant's present scope. The expansion was created 
by section 2403 of the Affordable Care Act, which amended section 6071 
of the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005, the Money Follows the Person 
Rebalancing Demonstration. The provision expanded previous legislation 
to support State and CMS efforts to improve quality in a ``rebalanced'' 
long-term support system, and to demonstrate the ongoing benefits from 
and need for an effective HCBS QI Enterprise. The grant offered $1.2 
million over 2 years through a program expansion supplement.
    We requested that the Thomson Reuters Healthcare submit an 
abbreviated application addressing the expansion of the existing grant. 
The Grantee provided an updated quality technical assistance model and 
work plan focused on the following four major goals:
     Development of a process demonstrating consistency between 
the Grantee and CMS, and across all Grantee staff and subcontractors 
for providing technical assistance (Project Management, 1.1).
     The provision of technical assistance to states related to 
quality in home and community-based services programs (Technical 
Assistance, 2.1b).
     The provision of technical assistance to CMS staff related 
to the oversight of quality in HCBS programs (Technical Assistance, 
2.1c).
     The ongoing development and maintenance of a national HCBS 
quality web-based technical assistance site and quality TA manuscripts 
(Technical Assistance, 2.1d and e).
    As part of the application, based on the four major goals listed 
above, the Grantee submitted a 3 page project narrative describing the 
activities, and an accompanying budget revision, related to Grant 
1LICMS030329/01, entitled ``The National HCBS Quality 
Enterprise: Assisting States to Achieve Enhanced Quality in a 
Rebalanced Environment''.
    The documents included the following:
     Cover Letter--The letter included the current project 
director's name and a brief summary of the proposed project, submitted 
and signed by the authorized representative for this grant.
     SF-424a (Budget Information--Non Construction Programs)--
The applicant provided the total costs for the remainder of the project 
for $1.2 million, with a break out of those costs in Section B ``Budget 
Categories'' of the SF-424a form. The costs proposed were for the 
additional costs only (not the cumulative total costs of the entire 
grant).
     Detailed Budget Narrative--The applicant provided a 
detailed breakdown of the aggregate numbers for the budget recorded on 
the Standard Form 424a ``Budget Information--Non Constructions 
Programs,'' including allocations for each major set of activities or 
proposed tasks. The proposed budget justification clearly described 
each cost element in the related budget category.
     Project Narrative--The project narrative (approximately 3 
pages in length) provided a concise and complete description of the 
proposed project. It contained the information necessary for CMS to 
fully understand the additional work of the project. It covered all 
aspects of the project requirements (see criteria for writing the 
project narrative--four major goals).

    Authority: Section 6071 Deficit Reduction Act of 2005.

    Dated: September 20, 2011.
Daniel F. Kane,
Chief Grants Management Officer, Office of Acquisition and Grants 
Management, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
[FR Doc. 2011-24986 Filed 9-27-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4120-01-P