[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 135 (Monday, July 15, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 42099-42101]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-16871]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration


Announcement of Requirements and Registration for the ``Stay 
Covered Challenge'' and the ``Churn Marketing Research Methodology 
Development Challenge''

    Authority: 15 U.S.C. 3719.
AGENCY: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, HHS.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration 
(SAMHSA), an operating division of the U.S. Department of Health and 
Human Services, is announcing a new opportunity for individuals and 
organizations to help solve a critical problem in today's health 
environment. Specifically, there are high levels of involuntary breaks 
in health insurance coverage among the non-elderly population in the 
United States. These breaks are referred to as ``churning''--when 
people transition from one source of insurance coverage to another when 
eligibility for assistance changes. Churning makes programs more 
complicated and costly to administer and can interrupt continuity of 
care, create gaps in coverage, reduce health plans' incentive to invest 
in their members' long-term wellness, and interfere with the accurate 
and comprehensive measurement of health care quality.
    According to a study by the Urban Institute, a total of 29.4 
million people will have their eligibility status change each year 
beginning in 2014 \1\. This challenge aligns with SAMHSA's mission to 
reduce the impact of mental and substance use disorders on America's 
communities. SAMHSA recognizes that enrollment in health insurance 
plays a significant role in fulfilling this mission, from preventive 
health care to behavioral health treatment and recovery. The National 
Survey on Drug Use and Health estimates that of the individuals 
currently uninsured and expected to be covered under the Affordable 
Care Act, 11 million will have a behavioral health need. The literature 
on the causes of breaks in coverage (i.e., income, housing volatility), 
and the high prevalence of behavioral health conditions among the 
uninsured, points to an interrelationship between behavioral health 
symptoms and difficulties complying with administrative requirements in 
applying for and maintaining continuous coverage.
    Additionally, churning has a significant amount of administrative 
as well as health costs, and there is a disproportionate impact of this 
problem among individuals with behavioral health disorders. Therefore, 
SAMHSA is announcing two challenge projects to help develop innovative 
solutions to the barriers to developing a communications strategy 
targeting individuals who experience churn.
    The statutory authority for this challenge competition is section 
105 of the America Creating Opportunities to Meaningfully Promote 
Excellence in Technology, Education, and Science Reauthorization Act of 
2010 (COMPETES Act).

DATES: Challenge submissions accepted until August 31, 2013.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kevin J. Malone, 1 Choke Cherry Road, 
Room 8-1014, Rockville, MD 20857, Office: 240.276.2239, Email: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Subject of Challenge Competitions

    SAMHSA is interested in identifying individuals from a marketing 
perspective who experience churn, and in developing innovative 
strategies for targeting them. SAMHSA has access to relatively good 
data on the individuals who are covered by Medicaid, based on 
disability, and the providers and community-based organizations that 
serve them. However, SAMHSA has very little capacity to identify the 
individuals among the uninsured who were disenrolled but remain 
eligible.
    SAMHSA's strategy is to use the following two challenges to 
strengthen communication with individuals in both phases of the process 
(prior to losing coverage, and once an individual has been 
disenrolled), thereby reducing incidences of churn and minimizing the 
period between coverage if it does happen.
    1. The ``Stay Covered Challenge'' calls for the development of a 
marketing/outreach campaign designed for use by

[[Page 42100]]

providers and community-based organizations in targeting individuals in 
Medicaid due to disability. For example, competitors should consider 
developing marketing materials communicating the importance of 
maintaining eligibility by responding to communications from the 
Medicaid agency, and by communicating to the agency about housing 
changes or other changes of circumstance that might impact program 
eligibility. The materials submitted as a part of the challenge 
competition will be evaluated as to how useful they would be in (1) 
targeting individuals experiencing or at risk of churn; and (2) 
fostering the use of the materials by the full range of providers and 
community-based organizations serving Medicaid populations with 
behavioral health needs.
    2. As there is very limited data available on the recently 
disenrolled but eligible population, the ``Churn Marketing Research 
Methodology Development Challenge'' asks competitors to develop a 
research methodology on how to identify actionable marketing data on 
this group. The challenge will not involve the development of 
communications materials targeting these individuals. This challenge 
tasks researchers with developing a methodology for identifying the 
marketing communications profile of uninsured individuals who have been 
disenrolled from coverage affordability programs but remain eligible 
for enrollment.
    SAMHSA asks that applicants consider the following components in 
their methodology for identifying this
    target population:
     Thorough description of data set and data collection 
protocols, rationale for database selection, and limitations of the 
data set
     Sample selection criteria accurately meets criteria
     Analytic design plan includes: selecting sample based on 
criteria and running descriptive statistical tests on the data
     Description of the variables (level of measurement of 
each) and description of variable measurement (is the method reliable 
and valid)
     Differences in Medicaid and Health Exchange Enrollment 
policies across states, including eligibility criteria and 
administrative requirements
     Differences between individuals experiencing churn for 
different reasons (e.g. criminal justice involvement vs. relocation).

``Stay Covered Challenge''

    Eligibility Rules for Participating in the Competition: To be 
eligible to win a prize under this challenge, an individual or entity
    1. Shall have registered to participate in the competition under 
the rules promulgated by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services 
Administration (SAMHSA);
    2. Shall have complied with all the requirements under this 
section;
    3. In the case of a private entity, shall be incorporated in and 
maintain a primary place of business in the United States, and in the 
case of an individual, whether participating singly or in a group, must 
be a citizen or permanent resident of the United States; and
    4. May not be a federal entity or federal employee acting within 
the scope of their employment;
    5. May not be an HHS employee working on their application or 
submission during assigned duty hours;
    6. May not be an employee of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health 
Services Administration;
    7. Federal grantees may not use federal funds to develop COMPETES 
Act challenge applications unless consistent with the purpose of their 
grant award; and
    8. Federal contractors may not use federal funds from a contract to 
develop COMPETES Act challenge applications or to fund efforts in 
support of a COMPETES Act challenge submission.
    An individual or entity will not be deemed ineligible because the 
individual or entity used federal facilities or consulted with federal 
employees during a competition if the facilities and employees are made 
available to all individuals and entities participating in the 
competition on an equitable basis.
    Registered participants will be required to agree to assume any and 
all risks and waive claims against the Federal Government and its 
related entities, except in the case of willful misconduct, for any 
injury, death, damage, or loss of property, revenue, or profits, 
whether direct, indirect, or consequential, arising from their 
participation in a competition, whether the injury, death, damage, or 
loss arises through negligence or otherwise.
    All participants are required to provide written consent to the 
rules upon or before submitting an entry.
    Registration Process for Participants: To register for this 
challenge participants should:
     Access the www.challenge.gov Web site and search for the 
``Stay Covered Challenge.''
    [cir] A registration link for the challenge can be found on the 
landing page under the challenge description.

Amount of Prize for the ``Stay Covered Challenge''

     Total: $50,000 in prizes
     First Place: $30,000
     Second Place: $15,000
     Third Place: $5,000
    Awards may be subject to federal income taxes and HHS will comply 
with IRS withholding and reporting requirements, where applicable.
    Basis Upon Which Winners Will Be Selected: The judging panel will 
make selections based upon the following criteria (100 points total):
    1. Consideration of Medicaid and Health Exchange Enrollment 
processes in each state, including current mechanisms states and health 
plans use to communicate with enrollees regarding recertification (25 
points).
    2. Development of (1) Messages encouraging providers and community 
based organizations to reach out to persons experiencing or at risk of 
churn, and (2) messages for use by providers and CBOs in reaching out 
to persons experiencing or at risk of churn, on those eligible for 
Medicaid due to disability (25 points).
    3. Demonstration of creative and innovative uses of multiple 
platforms of media, including but not limited to social media, mobile/
smart phones, television, radio, and other traditional forms of 
outreach (25 points).
    4. Demonstration of the potential to improve the health status of 
individuals with behavioral health needs which will be measured by the 
likelihood of increased coverage among this population as the result of 
these efforts. (25 points).
    Additional Information: Ownership of intellectual property is 
determined by the following:
    [ssquf] Each entrant retains title and full ownership of their 
submission. Entrants reserve all intellectual property rights not 
expressly granted under the challenge agreement.
    [ssquf] By participating in the challenge, each entrant agrees to 
sponsor and administrate a limited, non-exclusive, royalty free, 
worldwide, license and right to reproduce, publically perform, 
publically display, and use the submission without limitation, for 
advertising and promotional purposes relating to the challenge.

``Churn Marketing Research Methodology Development Challenge''

    Eligibility Rules for Participating in the Competition: To be 
eligible to win a prize under this challenge, an individual or entity
    (1) Shall have registered to participate in the competition under 
the rules

[[Page 42101]]

promulgated by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services 
Administration (SAMHSA);
    (2) Shall have complied with all the requirements under this 
section;
    (3) In the case of a private entity, shall be incorporated in and 
maintain a primary place of business in the United States, and in the 
case of an individual, whether participating singly or in a group, must 
be a citizen or permanent resident of the United States; and
    (4) May not be a federal entity or federal employee acting within 
the scope of their employment
    (5) May not be an HHS employee working on their application or 
submission during assigned duty hours;
    (6) May not be an employee of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health 
Services Administration;
    (7) Federal grantees may not use federal funds to develop COMPETES 
Act challenge applications unless consistent with the purpose of their 
grant award; and
    (8) Federal contractors may not use federal funds from a contract 
to develop COMPETES Act challenge applications or to fund efforts in 
support of a COMPETES Act challenge submission.
    An individual or entity will not be deemed ineligible because the 
individual or entity used federal facilities or consulted with federal 
employees during a competition if the facilities and employees are made 
available to all individuals and entities participating in the 
competition on an equitable basis.
    Registered participants will be required to agree to assume any and 
all risks and waive claims against the Federal Government and its 
related entities, except in the case of willful misconduct, for any 
injury, death, damage, or loss of property, revenue, or profits, 
whether direct, indirect, or consequential, arising from their 
participation in a competition, whether the injury, death, damage, or 
loss arises through negligence or otherwise.
    All participants are required to provide written consent to the 
rules upon or before submitting an entry.
    Registration Process for Participants: To register for this 
challenge participants should: Access the www.challenge.gov Web site 
and search for the ``Churn Marketing Research Methodology Development 
Challenge.''
    [cir] A registration link for the challenge can be found on the 
landing page under the challenge description.

Amount of Prize for the ``Churn Marketing Research Methodology 
Development Challenge''

     Total: $50,000 in prizes
     First Place: $30,000
     Second Place: $15,000
     Third Place: $5,000
    Awards may be subject to federal income taxes and HHS will comply 
with IRS withholding and reporting requirements, where applicable.
    Basis Upon Which Winner Will Be Selected: Applications should be no 
longer than 10 pages and include the following (100 points total):
    1. Understanding the problem, including references from the 
available literature (20 points).
    2. Description of the data, methods of analysis, characteristics of 
the population (60 points).
    a. Data sets to be used and the applicant's access to the data--(10 
points).
    b. Methods of defining the population of interest--``churners''--
(20 points)
    c. Methods of defining the demographic, psychographic, and economic 
characteristics-- (15 points)
    d. Table shells (may be presented in an Appendix)--(15 points)
    3. Personnel qualifications, including data analysis and technical 
resources available (resume may be presented in an Appendix)--(20 
points)
    Additional Information: Ownership of intellectual property is 
determined by the following:
    [ssquf] Each entrant retains title and full ownership of their 
submission. Entrants reserve all intellectual property rights not 
expressly granted under the challenge agreement.
    [ssquf] By participating in the challenge, each entrant agrees to 
sponsor and administrate a limited, non-exclusive, royalty free, 
worldwide, license and right to reproduce, publically perform, 
publically display, and use the submission without limitation, for 
advertising and promotional purposes relating to the challenge.
    Source:

    \1\ Buettgens, M., Nichols, A., & Dorn, S. (2012). Churning 
Under the ACA and State Policy Options for Mitigation. Prepared for 
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Timely Analysis of Immediate Health 
Policy Issues, http://www.urban.org/UploadedPDF/412587-Churning-Under-the-ACA-and-State-Policy-Options-for-Mitigation.pdf.


Cathy J. Friedman,
Public Health Analyst, SAMHSA.
[FR Doc. 2013-16871 Filed 7-12-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4162-20-P