[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 39 (Friday, February 27, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 10694-10695]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-04173]
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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
[CMS-7035-N]
Health Insurance Marketplace, Medicare, Medicaid, and Children's
Health Insurance Programs; Meeting of the Advisory Panel on Outreach
and Education (APOE), March 19, 2015
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 (HHS) and the Administrator of the Centers for Medicare
& Medicaid Services (CMS) on opportunities to enhance the effectiveness
of consumer education strategies concerning the Health Insurance
Marketplace, Medicare, Medicaid, and the Children's Health Insurance
Program (CHIP). This meeting is open to the public.
DATES: Meeting Date: Thursday, March 19, 2015, 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
eastern standard time (e.s.t.).
Deadline for Meeting Registration, Presentations and Comments:
Thursday, March 5, 2015, 5:00 p.m., e.s.t.
Deadline for Requesting Special Accommodations: Thursday, March 5,
2015, 5:00 p.m., e.s.t.
ADDRESSES: Meeting Location: U.S. Department of Health & Human
Services, Hubert H. Humphrey Building, 200 Independence Avenue SW.,
Room 738 G, Conference Room, Washington, DC 20201.
Presentations and Written Comments: Abigail Huffman, 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. Huffman 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/apoemar2015meeting 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: Abigail Huffman, (410) 786-0897.
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 (HHS)
(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 the 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) expanded the availability of other options
for health care coverage and enacted a number of changes to Medicare as
well as to Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP).
Qualified individuals and qualified employers are now able to purchase
private health insurance coverage through competitive marketplace
called Affordable Insurance Exchange, (also called Health Insurance
Marketplace, or ``Marketplace''). In order to effectively implement and
administer these changes, we must provide information to 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, including private health
insurance coverage through the Marketplace. The APOE 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 FACA group also advises on issues pertaining to education of
providers and stakeholders with respect to the Affordable Care Act 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 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), or health
coverage available through the Health Insurance Marketplace.
Enhancing the federal government's effectiveness in
informing Health Insurance Marketplace, Medicare, Medicaid, and CHIP
consumers, issuers, 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
Health Insurance
[[Page 10695]]
Marketplace, Medicare, Medicaid, and CHIP education programs.
Assembling and sharing an information base of ``best
practices'' for helping consumers evaluate health coverage 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 the Affordable Care Act.
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,
Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act (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, M.D., Associate Professor of Medicine, Rutgers-New Jersey
Medical School; Roanne Osborne-Gaskin, M.D., Associate Medical
Director, Neighborhood Health Plan of Rhode 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 March 19, 2015 meeting will include the
following:
Welcome and listening session with CMS leadership
Recap of the previous (December 15, 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: February 23, 2015.
Marilyn Tavenner,
Administrator, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
[FR Doc. 2015-04173 Filed 2-26-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4120-01-P