[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 229 (Friday, November 28, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 70871-70873]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-28217]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services

[CMS-7034-N]


Health Insurance Marketplace, Medicare, Medicaid, and Children's 
Health Insurance Programs; Meeting of the Advisory Panel on Outreach 
and Education (APOE), December 15, 2014

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

ACTION: Notice of meeting.

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SUMMARY: This notice announces a meeting of the Advisory Panel on 
Outreach and Education (APOE) (the Panel) in accordance with the 
Federal Advisory Committee Act. The Panel advises and makes 
recommendations to the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and 
Human Services and the Administrator of the Centers for Medicare & 
Medicaid Services on opportunities to enhance the effectiveness of 
consumer education strategies concerning the Health

[[Page 70872]]

Insurance Marketplace, Medicare, Medicaid, and the Children's Health 
Insurance Program (CHIP). This meeting is open to the public.

DATES: Meeting Date: Monday, December 15, 2014, 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. 
eastern standard time (e.s.t.).
    Deadline for Meeting Registration, Presentations and Comments: 
Monday, December 1, 2014, 5:00 p.m., e.s.t.
    Deadline for Requesting Special Accommodations: Monday, December 1, 
2014, 5:00 p.m., e.s.t.

ADDRESSES: Meeting Location: U.S. Department of Health and Human 
Services, Hubert H. Humphrey Building, 200 Independence Avenue SW., 
Room 738 G, Conference Room, Washington, DC 20201.
    Presentations and Written Comments: Kirsten Knutson, Acting 
Designated Federal Official (DFO), Division of Forum and Conference 
Development, Office of Communications, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid 
Services, 7500 Security Boulevard, Mailstop S1-13-05, Baltimore, MD 
21244-1850 or contact Ms. Knutson via email at 
[email protected].
    Registration: The meeting is open to the public, but attendance is 
limited to the space available. Persons wishing to attend this meeting 
must register at the Web site https://www.regonline.com/apoedec2014meeting or by contacting the DFO at the address listed in 
the ADDRESSES section of this notice or by telephone at number listed 
in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of this notice, by the 
date listed in the DATES section of this notice. Individuals requiring 
sign language interpretation or other special accommodations should 
contact the DFO at the address listed in the ADDRESSES section of this 
notice by the date listed in the DATES section of this notice.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kirsten Knutson, (410) 786-5886. 
Additional information about the APOE is available on the Internet at: 
http://www.cms.gov/Regulations-and-Guidance/Guidance/FACA/APOE.html
    Press inquiries are handled through the CMS Press Office at (202) 
690-6145.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In accordance with section 10(a) of the 
Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA), this notice announces a meeting 
of the Advisory Panel on Outreach and Education (APOE) (the Panel). 
Section 9(a)(2) of the Federal Advisory Committee Act authorizes the 
Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (the 
Secretary) to establish an advisory panel if the Secretary determines 
that the panel is ``in the public interest in connection with the 
performance of duties imposed . . . by law.'' Such duties are imposed 
by section 1804 of the Social Security Act (the Act), requiring the 
Secretary to provide informational materials to Medicare beneficiaries 
about the Medicare program, and section 1851(d) of the Act, requiring 
the Secretary to provide for ``activities . . . to broadly disseminate 
information to [M]edicare beneficiaries . . . on the coverage options 
provided under [Medicare Advantage] in order to promote an active, 
informed selection among such options.''
    The Panel is also authorized by section 1114(f) of the Act (42 
U.S.C. 1314(f)) and section 222 of the Public Health Service Act (42 
U.S.C. 217a). The Secretary signed the charter establishing this Panel 
on January 21, 1999 (64 FR 7899, February 17, 1999) and approved the 
renewal of the charter on December 18, 2012 (78 FR 32661, May, 31, 
2013).
    The Affordable Care Act (Patient Protection and Affordable Care 
Act, Pub. L. 111-148 and Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act 
of 2010, Pub. L. 111-152) enacted a number of changes to Medicare as 
well as to Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), 
and also expanded the availability of other options for health care 
coverage. In order to effectively implement and administer these 
changes, we must provide information to Medicare, Medicaid, and CHIP 
consumers, providers and other stakeholders pursuant to education and 
outreach programs regarding how these programs will change and the 
expanded range of health coverage options available. The Advisory Panel 
on Outreach and Education allows us to consider a broad range of views 
and information from interested audiences in connection with this 
effort and to identify opportunities to enhance the effectiveness of 
education strategies concerning the Affordable Care Act.
    This Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) group also advises on 
issues pertaining to education of providers and stakeholders with 
respect to health care reform and certain provisions of the Health 
Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act, 
enacted as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 
(ARRA).
    Pursuant to the amended charter, the Panel advises and makes 
recommendations to the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) and 
the Administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) 
concerning optimal strategies for the following:
     Developing and implementing education and outreach 
programs for individuals enrolled in, or eligible for Medicare, 
Medicaid, and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP).
     Enhancing the federal government's effectiveness in 
informing Medicare, Medicaid, and CHIP consumers, providers, and 
stakeholders pursuant to education and outreach programs of issues 
regarding these and other health coverage programs, including the 
appropriate use of public-private partnerships to leverage the 
resources of the private sector in educating beneficiaries, providers, 
and stakeholders.
     Expanding outreach to vulnerable and underserved 
communities, including racial and ethnic minorities, in the context of 
Medicare, Medicaid, and CHIP education programs.
     Assembling and sharing an information base of ``best 
practices'' for helping consumers evaluate health plan options.
     Building and leveraging existing community infrastructures 
for information, counseling, and assistance.
     Drawing the program link between outreach and education, 
promoting consumer understanding of health care coverage choices and 
facilitating consumer selection/enrollment, which in turn support the 
overarching goal of improved access to quality care, including 
prevention services, envisioned under health care reform.
    The current members of the Panel are: Samantha Artiga, Principal 
Policy Analyst, Kaiser Family Foundation; Joseph Baker, President, 
Medicare Rights Center; Kellan Baker, Senior Fellow, Center for 
American Progress; Philip Bergquist, Manager, Health Center Operations, 
CHIPRA Outreach & Enrollment Project and Director, Michigan Primary 
Care Association; Marjorie Cadogan, Executive Deputy Commissioner, 
Department of Social Services; Jonathan Dauphine, Senior Vice 
President, AARP; Barbara Ferrer, Chief Strategy Officer, W. K. Kellogg 
Foundation; Shelby Gonzales, Senior Health Outreach Associate, Center 
on Budget & Policy Priorities; Jan Henning, Benefits Counseling & 
Special Projects Coordinator, North Central Texas Council of 
Governments' Area Agency on Aging; Louise Knight, Director, The Sidney 
Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins; Miriam Mobley-
Smith, Dean, Chicago State University, College of Pharmacy; Ana Natale-
Pereira, Associate Professor of Medicine, Rutgers-New Jersey Medical 
School; Roanne Osborne-Gaskin, M.D., Associate Medical Director, 
Neighborhood Health Plan of Rhode

[[Page 70873]]

Island; Megan Padden, Vice President, Sentara Health Plans; Jeanne 
Ryer, Director, New Hampshire Citizens Health Initiative, University of 
New Hampshire; Carla Smith, Executive Vice President, Healthcare 
Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS); Winston Wong, 
Medical Director, Community Benefit Director, Kaiser Permanente and 
Darlene Yee-Melichar, Professor & Coordinator, San Francisco State 
University.

    The agenda for the December 15, 2014 meeting will include the 
following:

 Welcome and listening session with CMS leadership
 Recap of the previous (May 22, 2014) meeting
 Affordable Care Act initiatives
 An opportunity for public comment
 Meeting summary, review of recommendations and next steps

    Individuals or organizations that wish to make a 5-minute oral 
presentation on an agenda topic should submit a written copy of the 
oral presentation to the DFO at the address listed in the ADDRESSES 
section of this notice by the date listed in the DATES section of this 
notice. The number of oral presentations may be limited by the time 
available. Individuals not wishing to make an oral presentation may 
submit written comments to the DFO at the address listed in the 
ADDRESSES section of this notice by the date listed in the DATES 
section of this notice.

    Authority: Sec. 222 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 
217a) and sec. 10(a) of Pub. L. 92-463 (5 U.S.C. App. 2, sec. 10(a) 
and 41 CFR 102-3).

    Dated: November 25, 2014.
Marilyn Tavenner,
Administrator, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
[FR Doc. 2014-28217 Filed 11-26-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4120-01-P