[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 77 (Friday, April 23, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 21742-21743]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-08452]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Administration for Community Living


Award of a Single-Source Supplement for the National Center for 
Benefits Outreach and Enrollment

ACTION: Announcing the Intent to Award a Single-Source Supplement for 
the National Center for Benefits Outreach and Enrollment (NCBOE).

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SUMMARY: The Administration for Community Living (ACL) announces the 
intent to award a single-source supplemental to the current cooperative 
agreement held by the National Council on Aging (NCOA) for the National 
Center for Benefits Outreach and Enrollment (NCBOE). The purpose of the 
NCBOE is to provide technical assistance to states, Area Agencies on 
Aging, Aging and Disability Resource Centers and service providers who 
conduct outreach and low-income benefits enrollment assistance, 
particularly to older individuals with greatest economic need for 
federal and state programs. The administrative supplement for FY 2021 
will be for $3,009,007, bringing the total award for FY 2021 to 
$14,509,007.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information or comments 
regarding this program supplement, contact Margaret Flowers, U.S. 
Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Community 
Living, Center for Integrated Programs, Office of Healthcare 
Information and Counseling; telephone (202) 795-7315; email 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This supplemental funding will expand the 
NCBOE's outreach and education efforts targeting older adults with the 
greatest economic need, especially people from underserved communities. 
The NCBOE will build on current efforts to reach and assist 
beneficiaries, including expanding the work of the Benefits Enrollment 
Centers, making enhancements to the benefits eligibility and screening 
tool, and expanding the capacity of the benefits call center. As part 
of this work, the NCBOE should consider specific strategies to reach 
and enroll beneficiaries in rural communities, who are under 65, with 
limited English proficiency, from tribal communities, from communities 
of color, and/or from other historically underserved and marginalized 
communities. In its role as the Medicare Improvements for Patients and 
Providers Act (MIPPA) Resource Center, the NCBOE should expand their 
support for the MIPPA grantees to develop technical assistance 
materials for the Older Americans Act Title VI Tribal grantees. 
Materials may include educational content on Medicare and the Indian 
Health Service, and training on enrollment assistance for low income 
beneficiaries. Additionally, the NCBOE should build on the work 
previously done to support the aging and disability networks (including 
the Area Agencies on Aging, Centers for Independent Living, and Aging 
and Disability

[[Page 21743]]

Resource Centers) in their efforts to help low income beneficiaries.
    The NCBOE works to utilize cost-effective strategies to find older 
individuals and people with disabilities with greatest economic need 
and facilitate their enrollment in the individuals in the programs for 
which they are qualified. As part of this effort, the NCBOE should 
support state and federal efforts to streamline benefits eligibility 
systems. This should include conducting a feasibility assessment to 
determine best ways to streamline the application process and 
centralize the eligibility guidelines for key benefits, including the 
automation of enrollment through a rules engine. The study should 
explore the governance structure and technical expertise necessary to 
create and maintain such a process. Additionally, it should explore 
what a realistic scope is for the project how the current benefits 
screening tools could evolve to benefit from further automation of 
eligibility. NCBOE should collaborate with ACL and the administration 
in conducting the feasibility assessment to coordinate with planned and 
emerging efforts to streamline eligibility benefits for low income 
individuals.
    Program Name: The National Center for Benefits Outreach and 
Enrollment (NCBOE).
    Recipient: National Council on Aging (NCOA).
    Period of Performance: The award will be issued for the current 
project period of September 1, 2021 through August 31, 2022.
    Total Award Amount: $14,509,007 in FY 2021.
    Award Type: Cooperative Agreement Supplement.
    Statutory Authority: The statutory authority is contained in the 
2006 Reauthorization of the Older Americans Act and the Medicare 
Improvements for Patients and Providers Act of 2008, as amended by the 
Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010, and reauthorized by 
the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012, Protecting Access to Medicare 
Act of 2014, Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018, and Coronavirus Aid, 
Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act of 2020, and Consolidated 
Appropriations Act of 2021.
    Basis for Award: The National Council on Aging (NCOA) is currently 
funded to carry out the NCBOE Project for the period of September 1, 
2020 through August 31, 2025. Much work has already been completed and 
further tasks are currently being accomplished. It would be 
unnecessarily time consuming and disruptive to the NCBOE project and 
the beneficiaries being served for the ACL to establish a new grantee 
at this time when critical services are presently being provided in an 
efficient manner.
    NCOA is uniquely placed to complete the work under the NCBOE grant. 
Since 2001, NCOA has been the national leader in improving benefits 
access to vulnerable older adults. They have an unparalleled history of 
working with community-based organizations to develop and replicate 
outreach and enrollment solutions, while maintaining and enhancing 
technology to make it easier and more efficient to find benefits. NCOA 
through NCBOE accomplishes its mission by developing and sharing tools, 
resources, best practices, and strategies for benefits outreach and 
enrollment via its online clearinghouse, electronic and print 
publications, webinars, and training and technical assistance.
    In addition, NCOA has BenefitsCheckUp which is, by far, the 
nation's most comprehensive and widely-used web-based service that 
screens older and disabled adults with limited incomes and resources 
and informs them about public and private benefits for which they are 
very likely to be eligible. Since the BenefitsCheckUp was launched in 
2001, nearly 9.5 million people have discovered $39.5 billion in 
benefits. In addition to the focus on Low-Income Subsidy and Medicare 
Savings Programs, BenefitsCheckUp also includes more than 2,500 
benefits programs from all 50 states and DC, including over 50,000 
local offices for people to apply for benefits; and more than 1,500 
application forms in every language in which they are available. NCOA 
is successfully meeting all programmatic goals under the current NCBOE 
grant.

    Dated: April 19, 2021.
Alison Barkoff,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Aging and Administrator.
[FR Doc. 2021-08452 Filed 4-22-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4154-01-P