[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 162 (Monday, August 22, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 56654-56655]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-19999]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services

[CMS-2430-N]


Medicaid Program; Connecting Kids to Coverage Outreach and 
Enrollment Cooperative Agreement

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

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The purpose of this notice is to announce a single source 
emergency cooperative agreement funding opportunity available solely to 
the Greater Flint Health Coalition to reduce the number of children in 
Flint, Michigan who are eligible for Medicaid and CHIP, but are not 
enrolled, and improve retention of children enrolled.

DATES: 3 years, composed of three 12-month budget periods. The maximum 
funding amount for the first 12-month budget period is $100,000. The 
Greater Flint Health Coalition will be eligible to receive an 
additional $100,000 per year for the second and third 12-month budget 
periods.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Patrick M. Edwards, Project Officer, 
410-786-4463.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background

    On January 16, 2016, President Obama declared an emergency in the 
State of Michigan and ordered federal aid to supplement state and local 
efforts in response to the lead exposure related to the Flint, Michigan 
water system. On March 3, 2016, we approved the State of Michigan's 
1115 demonstration, which (along with associated state plan amendments) 
extended Medicaid coverage and services to children up to age 21 years 
and to pregnant women with incomes up to and including 400 percent of 
the federal poverty level (FPL) who were served by the Flint water 
system from April 2014 through a state-specified date. To maximize 
outreach efforts to the significant number of children newly eligible 
for coverage, the Secretary for the Department of Health and Human 
Services (DHHS) has expressed interest in utilizing $300,000 of 
outreach funding available under the Medicare Access and CHIP 
Reauthorization Act (MACRA) (Pub. L. 114-10, enacted on April 16, 2015) 
to support and coordinate outreach and enrollment efforts in Flint, 
Michigan to address the urgent health coverage needs of children 
exposed to lead related to the Flint water system. The MACRA funds will 
be used to support the immediate need for an outreach and enrollment 
coordinator to educate current beneficiaries and applicants about the 
availability of important Medicaid benefits for children impacted by 
the lead exposure that began in April 2014 and continues to pose a 
risk. This exposure can cause negative developmental neurocognitive 
effects. Funds will be used for activities aimed at educating families 
about the availability of free or low-cost health coverage under 
Medicaid and CHIP,\1\ identifying children likely to be eligible for 
these programs, assisting families with the application, as well as 
supporting the renewal of children in Medicaid and CHIP.
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    \1\ On January 1, 2016, Michigan transitioned most of the 
children in its separate CHIP to a Medicaid expansion CHIP. The only 
children remaining in the separate CHIP are children from conception 
to birth, as defined in 42 CFR 457.10, with family income up to and 
including 195 percent of the Federal Poverty Level. Outreach and 
enrollment efforts will be directed to children who are eligible for 
Medicaid, as well as this CHIP population, to address the urgent 
health coverage needs of children exposed to lead contaminated 
water.
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II. Provisions of the Notice

    The purpose of this notice is to announce a single source emergency 
cooperative agreement funding opportunity available solely to the 
Greater Flint Health Coalition to reduce the number of children in 
Flint, Michigan who are eligible for Medicaid and CHIP, but are not 
enrolled, and improve retention of children enrolled. A single-source 
award to the Greater Flint Health Coalition will enable CMS to 
expeditiously provide emergency assistance to Flint, Michigan for the 
following purposes: To coordinate and promote activities aimed at 
educating families about the availability of free or low-cost health 
coverage under Medicaid and CHIP, identify children likely to be 
eligible for these programs, assist families with the application and 
renewal process, instruct current beneficiaries and applicants about 
the evaluation of potential lead exposure in the homes, communicate 
other benefits available to individuals eligible for services through 
the Flint demonstration, and ensure that such communication with 
individuals with disabilities and with individuals who are limited 
English proficient are in compliance with applicable civil rights laws, 
including Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and Title VI of the 
Civil Rights Act of 1964.
    To provide these essential services as quickly as possible to 
reduce the

[[Page 56655]]

potential long term effects caused by lead exposure, this single source 
emergency funding opportunity must solely be available to the Greater 
Flint Health Coalition (GFHC) which is uniquely positioned to meet the 
goals of the emergency cooperative agreement based on the 
organization's location, capacity, partnerships, resources, prior 
experience, and ability to begin implementing the project immediately. 
Prior to the water crisis in Flint, the GFHC worked to significantly 
improve the health status of Flint residents by establishing a common 
health agenda and instituting a shared measurement system among local 
hospitals with mutually reinforcing health activities. In addition, 
this organization currently administers programs that involve a variety 
of constituents important to reaching and enrolling children in 
Medicaid and CHIP, such as schools, health homes, safety net providers, 
and various government organizations. The GFHC's presence in the 
greater Flint community enabled them to become an early leader in 
alerting the public about the lead exposure related to the Flint water 
system.
    Utilizing the funding under this single-source award, the GFHC will 
be able to immediately hire an outreach and enrollment coordinator to 
educate beneficiaries about Medicaid and CHIP services available to 
affected children and families in Flint, Michigan and to coordinate 
community-based activities designed to support Medicaid enrollment for 
eligible children. More broadly, this funding will enable the GFHC to 
address the lead exposure related to the Flint water system by 
promoting critical public health, medical, and community-based services 
and interventions that address and mitigate the detrimental short and 
long term impacts of lead. Due to these reasons and the GFHC's cross 
sector collaboration with Genesee County's public health leadership, 
physicians, hospitals, and health insurers, GFHC has the full capacity 
to begin implementation of the project tasks immediately.

III. Collection of Information Requirements

    This document does not impose information collection requirements, 
that is, reporting, recordkeeping or third-party disclosure 
requirements. Consequently, there is no need for review by the Office 
of Management and Budget under the authority of the Paperwork Reduction 
Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.).

    Dated: August 16, 2016.
Andrew M. Slavitt,
Acting Administrator, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
[FR Doc. 2016-19999 Filed 8-19-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4120-01-P