[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 108 (Tuesday, June 5, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 26059-26060]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-12046]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Administration on Community Living


Availability of Program Application Instructions for MIPPA 
Program Funds

AGENCY: Administration for Community Living, HHS.
    Title: Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act: State 
Plans for Medicare Savings Program, Low Income Subsidy & Prescription 
Drug Enrollment Outreach and Assistance.
    Announcement Type: Initial.
    Funding Opportunity Number: CIP-MI-18-001.
    Statutory Authority: The Medicare Improvements for Patients and 
Providers Act of 2008--Section 119, Public Law (Pub. L.) 110-275 as 
amended by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 
(Affordable Care Act), reauthorized by the American Taxpayer Relief Act 
of 2012 (ATRA), reauthorized by section 110 of the Protecting Access to 
Medicare Act of 2014 and reauthorized by the Medicare Access and CHIP 
Reauthorization Act of 2015, and was reauthorized for two years under 
the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 (Pub. L. 115-123, BBA of 2018).
    Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 93.071.
    Dates: The deadline for the submission of MIPPA Program State Plans 
is 11:59 p.m. EST August 3, 2018.

I. Funding Opportunity Description

    The purpose of MIPPA funding is to enhance state efforts to provide 
assistance to Medicare beneficiaries through statewide and local 
coalition building focused on intensified outreach activities to 
beneficiaries likely to be eligible for the Low Income Subsidy program 
(LIS) or the Medicare Savings Program (MSP) and in assisting those 
beneficiaries in applying for benefits. ACL will provide MIPPA program 
funding to State Health Insurance Assistance Programs (SHIPs), Area 
Agencies on Aging (AAAs), and Aging and Disability Resource Center 
programs (ADRCs), to inform Medicare beneficiaries about available 
Medicare program benefits. ACL seeks plans from states that will 
describe how the MIPPA program funds will be used for beneficiary 
outreach, education, and one-on-one application assistance over the 
next two years.
    ACL requests that states submit a two (2) year state plan with 
specific project strategies to expand, extend, or enhance their one-on-
one assistance, education, and group outreach efforts to Medicare 
beneficiaries on Medicare and assistance programs for those with 
limited incomes. States should describe how the SHIP, AAA, and ADRC 
efforts will be coordinated to provide outreach to beneficiaries with 
limited incomes statewide. States that are eligible to apply are asked 
to review previous MIPPA plans and update these plans to reflect 
successes achieved to date and direct their efforts to enhance and 
expand their MIPPA outreach activities. State agencies may prepare 
either one statewide plan or separate plans for each eligible State 
agency. Program Instructions will be available to applicants through 
ACL. ACL will also host an applicant teleconference on Tuesday, June 
19th, 2018 at 2:00 p.m. Eastern. Call in number: 202-774-2300. Meeting 
Number: 998 701 573.

II. Award Information

1. Funding Instrument Type

    These awards will be made in the form of grants to State Agencies 
for each MIPPA Priority Area:
    Priority Area 1--Grants to State Agencies (the State Unit on Aging 
or the State Department of Insurance) that administer the State Health 
Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) to provide enhanced outreach to 
eligible Medicare beneficiaries regarding their benefits, enhanced 
outreach and application assistance to individuals who may be eligible 
for the Medicare Low Income Subsidy (LIS) or the Medicare Savings 
Program (MSP), and for the purposes of conducting outreach activities 
aimed at preventing disease and promoting wellness.
    Priority Area 2--Grants to State Units on Aging for Area Agencies 
on Aging to provide enhanced outreach to eligible Medicare 
beneficiaries regarding their Medicare benefits, enhanced outreach and 
one-on-one application assistance to individuals who may be eligible 
for the LIS or the MSP, and for the purposes of conducting outreach 
activities aimed at preventing disease and promoting wellness.
    Priority Area 3--Grants to State Units on Aging that administer the 
Aging and Disability Resource Centers to provide outreach to 
individuals regarding their Medicare Part D benefits, benefits 
available under the LIS and MSP, and for the purposes of conducting 
outreach activities aimed at preventing disease and promoting wellness.

2. Anticipated Total Priority Area Funding per Budget Period

    ACL intends to make available, under this program announcement, 
grant awards for the three MIPPA priority areas. Funding will be 
distributed through a formula as identified in statute. ACL will fund 
total project periods of up to two (2) years, contingent upon 
availability of federal funds.
    Priority Area 1--SHIP: Up to $13 million in Fiscal Year (FY) 2018 
and $13 million in FY 2019 for state agencies that administer the SHIP 
Program.
    Priority Area 2--AAA: Up to $7.5 million in FY 2018 and $7.5 
million in FY 2019 for State Units on Aging for Area Agencies on Aging 
and for Native American programs. Funding for Native American Programs 
($270,000) is deducted from Priority 2 and is being allocated through a 
separate process.
    Priority Area 3--ADRC: Up to $5 million in FY 2018 and $5 million 
in FY 2019 for State Agencies that received an ACL, CMS, VHA Aging and 
Disability Resource Center (ADRC)/No Wrong Door System (NWD) grant at 
any point in time to support the development of their ADRC/NWD Systems.

III. Eligibility Criteria and Other Requirements

    1. Eligible Applicants MIPPA Priority Areas 1, 2 and 3: Awards made 
under this announcement, by statute, will be made only to agencies of 
State Governments.
    Priority Area 1: Only existing SHIP grant recipients are eligible 
to apply.
    Priority Area 2: Only State Units on Aging are eligible to apply.
    Priority Area 3: Only State Agencies that received an ACL, CMS, VHA 
Aging and Disability Resource Center (ADRC)/No Wrong Door System (NWD) 
grant to support the development of their ADRC/NWD Systems at any point 
in time are eligible for MIPPA funding under this priority area.
    Eligibility may change if future funding is made available.
    2. Cost Sharing or Matching is not required.
    3. DUNS Number
    All grant applicants must obtain and keep current a D-U-N-S number 
from Dun and Bradstreet. It is a nine-digit identification number, 
which provides unique identifiers of single business entities. The D-U-
N-S number can be obtained from: https://iupdate.dnb.com/iUpdate/viewiUpdateHome.htm.

[[Page 26060]]

    4. Intergovernmental Review
    Executive Order 12372, Intergovernmental Review of Federal 
Programs, is not applicable to these grant applications.

IV. Reporting

    1. MIPPA Grantees will be required to report data in the SHIP 
Tracking and Reporting System (STARS). STARS is the nationwide, web-
based data system that facilitates reporting of activities completed by 
SHIP and MIPPA Grantees. All required data must be submitted 
accurately, completely, and on time, and in the format specified by 
ACL. All reports shall be completed according to instructions 
distributed by ACL for grantees. States using proprietary systems (and 
all proprietary agencies operating within a state) must submit data 
into a fully compliant data system reflecting STARS Data System 
specifications, with no unresolved errors as a condition of eligibility 
for continued MIPPA funding.
    2. Financial Reporting Requirements: ACL requires the submission of 
the SF-425 (Federal Financial Report) semi-annually. The reporting 
cycle will be reflected in the Notice of Award. The annual SF-425 is 
due 30 days after the end of each semi-annual reporting period. The 
final SF-425 report is due 90 days after the end of the project period 
for each priority area. Grantees are required to complete the federal 
cash transactions portion of the SF-425 within the Payment Management 
System (PMS) for each priority area as identified in their award 
documents for the calendar quarters ending 3/31, 6/30, 9/30. And 12/31 
through the life of their award. In addition, the fully completed SF-
425 will be required as denoted in the Notice of Award terms and 
conditions.
    3. MIPPA Performance Reporting Requirements: All successful 
applicants must submit a MIPPA narrative progress report twice a year 
to ACL. The reports shall include: A description of the progress make 
toward meeting each of the MIPPA objectives outlined in the funding 
opportunity announcement. As part of the narrative progress reports, 
the grantee must provide details of how the program expects to meet the 
goals described in their state plan submission. The narrative progress 
reports must be uploaded through www.grantsolutions.gov for each 
priority area. The narrative progress reports cover the following 
periods and due dates annually: (a) September 30 through March 31--due 
April 30; (b) April 1 through September 29--due October 31.
    4. A final narrative report will be due at the end of the grant 
period. This final report will replace the last semi-annual narrative 
and must cover the entire life of the grant. The final narrative report 
is due 90 days after the end of the award (December 31, 2020).

V. Submission Information

1. Application Kits

    Application kits/Program Instructions are available at 
www.grantsolutions.gov. Instructions for completing the application kit 
will be available on the site. For help in locating this information 
contact the ACL Agency Contact identified below. Note: Applicants must 
submit a separate SF-424 for each priority area with their application 
packages. Additional detailed instructions will be available in the 
Application Kit.

2. Submission Dates and Times

    To receive consideration, applications must be submitted by 11:59 
p.m. Eastern time on August 1, 2018, through www.GrantSolutions.gov.

VI. Agency Contacts

    Direct inquiries regarding programmatic issues to U.S. Department 
of Health and Human Services, Administration for Community Living, 
Office of Healthcare Information and Counseling, Washington, DC 20201, 
attention: Katie Glendening or by calling 202-795-7350 or by email 
[email protected].

    Dated: May 30, 2018.
Mary Lazare,
Principal Deputy Administrator.
[FR Doc. 2018-12046 Filed 6-4-18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4154-01-P