[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 119 (Monday, June 22, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 35650-35651]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-15263]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services

[CMS-7037-N2]


Health Insurance Marketplace, Medicare, Medicaid, and Children's 
Health Insurance Programs; Meeting of the Advisory Panel on Outreach 
and Education (APOE), July 22, 2015

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

ACTION: Notice of meeting.

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SUMMARY: This notice announces the rescheduling of the June 25, 2015 
meeting and announces the new meeting date 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: Wednesday, July 22, 2015, 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. 
eastern daylight time (e.d.t).
    Deadline for Meeting Registration, Presentations and Comments: 
Wednesday, July 8, 2015, 5:00 p.m., e.s.t.
    Deadline for Requesting Special Accommodations: Wednesday, July 8, 
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: Presentations and written 
comments should be submitted to the DFO as listed in the FOR FURTHER 
INFORMATION CONTACT section of this notice.
    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/apoejuly2015meeting or by contacting the DFO as 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 FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT ADDRESSES section of this 
notice by the date listed in the DATES section of this notice.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Abigail Huffman, Designated Federal 
Official (DFO), Office of Communications, CMS, 7500 Security Boulevard, 
Mail Stop S1-05-06, Baltimore, MD 21244, 410-786-0897, email 
[email protected]. 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: 

I. Background

    The Advisory Panel for Outreach and Education (APOE) (the Panel) is 
governed by the provisions of Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) 
(Pub. L. 92-463), as amended (5 U.S.C. Appendix 2), which sets forth 
standards for the formation and use of federal advisory committees. The 
Panel is 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 of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services 
(HHS) (the Secretary) signed the charter establishing the Citizen's 
Advisory Panel on Medicare Education \1\ (the predecessor to the APOE) 
on January 21, 1999 (64 FR 7899, February 17, 1999) to advise and make 
recommendations to the Secretary and the Administrator of the Centers 
for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on the effective implementation 
of national Medicare education programs, including with respect to the 
Medicare+Choice (M+C) program added by the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 
(Pub. L. 105-33).
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    \1\ We note that the Citizen's Advisory Panel on Medicare 
Education is also referred to as the Advisory Panel on Medicare 
Education (65 FR 4617). The name was updated in the Second Amended 
Charter approved on July 24, 2000.
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    The Medicare Modernization Act of 2003 (MMA) (Pub. L. 108-173) 
expanded the existing health plan options and benefits available under 
the M+C program and renamed it the Medicare Advantage (MA) program. We 
have had substantial responsibilities to provide information to 
Medicare beneficiaries about the range of health plan options available 
and better tools to evaluate these options. The successful MA program 
implementation required CMS to consider the views and policy input from 
a variety of private sector constituents and to develop a broad range 
of public-private partnerships.
    In addition, Title I of the MMA authorized the Secretary and the 
Administrator of CMS (by delegation) to establish the Medicare 
prescription drug benefit. The drug benefit allows beneficiaries to 
obtain qualified prescription drug coverage. In order to effectively 
administer the MA program and the Medicare prescription drug benefit, 
we have substantial responsibilities to provide information to Medicare 
beneficiaries about the range of health plan options and benefits 
available, and to develop better tools to evaluate these plans and 
benefits.
    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

[[Page 35651]]

Insurance Marketplace, and ``Marketplace''). In order to effectively 
implement and administer these changes, we must provide information to 
consumers, providers, and other stakeholders through education and 
outreach programs regarding how existing programs will change and the 
expanded range of health coverage options available, including private 
health insurance coverage through the Marketplace. The APOE (the Panel) 
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.
    The scope of this panel also includes advising on issues pertaining 
to the 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).
    On January 21, 2011, the Panel's charter was renewed and the Panel 
was renamed the Advisory Panel for Outreach and Education. The Panel's 
charter was most recently renewed on January 21, 2015, and will 
terminate on January 21, 2017 unless renewed by appropriate action.
    Under the current charter, the APOE will advise the Secretary and 
the Administrator on 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 
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, through education and 
outreach programs, on issues regarding these 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 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; 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.

II. Provisions of This Notice

    In the May 29, 2015 Federal Register (80 FR 30684), in accordance 
with section 10(a) of the FACA, we published a notice announcing a June 
25, 2015 meeting of the APOE. In this notice, we are notifying 
interested parties we are rescheduling the meeting to July 22, 2015. 
The agenda for the July 22, 2015 meeting will include the following:
     Welcome and listening session with CMS leadership
     Recap of the previous (March 19, 2015) 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: June 16, 2015.
Andrew M. Slavitt,
Acting Administrator Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
[FR Doc. 2015-15263 Filed 6-17-15; 4:15 pm]
BILLING CODE 4120-01-P