[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 243 (Friday, December 18, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 79043-79045]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-31861]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services

[CMS-7039-N]


Health Insurance MarketplaceSM, Medicare, Medicaid, 
and the Children's Health Insurance Program; Meeting of the Advisory 
Panel on Outreach and Education (APOE), January 13, 2016

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

ACTION: Notice of meeting.

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SUMMARY: This notice announces the new 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 Health Insurance MarketplaceSM,\1\ Medicare, Medicaid, 
and Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) consumer education 
strategies. This meeting is open to the public.
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    \1\ Health Insurance MarketplaceSM and 
MarketplaceSM are service marks of the U.S. Department of 
Health and Human Services.

DATES: Meeting Date: Wednesday, January 13, 2016 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. 
Eastern Standard Time (EST).
    Deadline for Meeting Registration, Presentations and Comments: 
Wednesday, December 30, 2015, 5 p.m., EST.
    Deadline for Requesting Special Accommodations: Wednesday, December 
30, 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 425A, Conference Room, Washington, DC 20201.
    Presentations and Written Comments: Presentations and written 
comments should be submitted to: Abigail Huffman, Designated Federal 
Official (DFO), Division of Forum and Conference Development, Office of 
Communications, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, 7500 Security 
Boulevard, Mailstop S1-05-06, Baltimore, MD 21244-1850 or 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/apoejan2016meeting 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 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, Designated Federal 
Official, 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.

[[Page 79044]]

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 Social Security 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 \2\ (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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    \2\ 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 marketplaces 
called Affordable Insurance Exchanges, or ``Exchanges'' (we also call 
an Exchange a Health Insurance MarketplaceSM or 
MarketplaceSM). 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 an Exchange. 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 a Health Insurance MarketplaceSM.
     Enhancing the federal government's effectiveness in 
informing Health Insurance MarketplaceSM, 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 MarketplaceSM, 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: Kellan Baker, Associate 
Director, Center for American Progress; Robert Blancato, President, 
Matz, Blancato & Associates; Dale Blasier, Professor of Orthopaedic 
Surgery, Department of Orthopaedics, Arkansas Children's Hospital; 
Deborah Britt, Executive Director of Community & Public Relations, 
Piedmont Fayette Hospital; Deena Chisolm, Associate Professor of 
Pediatrics & Public Health, The Ohio State University, Nationwide 
Children's Hospital; Josephine DeLeon, Director, Anti-Poverty 
Initiatives, Catholic Charities of California; Robert Espinoza, Vice 
President of Policy, Paraprofessional Healthcare Institute; Jennifer 
Gross, Manager of Political Field Operations, Planned Parenthood of 
Montana; Louise Scherer Knight, Director, The Sidney Kimmel 
Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins; Miriam Mobley-Smith, 
Dean, Chicago State University, College of Pharmacy; Roanne Osborne-
Gaskin, M.D., Senior Medical Director, MDWise, Inc.; Cathy Phan, 
Outreach and Education Coordinator, Asian American Health Coalition DBA 
HOPE Clinic; Kamila Pickett, Litigation Support, Independent 
Contractor; Brendan Riley, Outreach and Enrollment Coordinator, NC 
Community Health Center Association; Jeanne Ryer, Director, New 
Hampshire Citizens Health Initiative, University of New Hampshire; 
Alvia Siddiqi, Medicaid Managed Care

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Community Network (MCCN) Medical Director, Advocate Physician Partners, 
Carla Smith, Executive Vice President, Healthcare Information and 
Management Systems Society (HIMSS); Tobin Van Ostern, Vice President 
and Co-Founder, Young Invincibles Advisors; and Paula Villescaz, Senior 
Consultant, Assembly Health Committee.

II. Provisions of This Notice

    In accordance with section 10(a) of the FACA, this notice announces 
a meeting of the APOE. The agenda for the January 13, 2016 meeting will 
include the following:

 Welcome and listening session with CMS leadership
 Recap of the previous (October 7, 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: December 10, 2015.
Andrew M. Slavitt,
Acting Administrator, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
[FR Doc. 2015-31861 Filed 12-17-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4120-01-P