[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 133 (Thursday, July 15, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 37334-37336]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-15022]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Administration for Community Living


Intent To Award 54 Single-Source Supplements for Current Senior 
Medicare Patrol (SMP) State Grantees

ACTION: Announcing the intent to award 54 single-source supplements for 
current Senior Medicare Patrol (SMP) state grantees.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The Administration for Community Living (ACL) announces the 
intent to award 54 administrative supplements in the form of 
cooperative agreements to existing SMP project grantees to support the 
expansion and enhancement of virtual capacity of the program. This 
effort will benefit the SMP programs in each state, the District of 
Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The purpose 
of existing grantees' work is to empower and assist Medicare 
beneficiaries, their families, and caregivers to prevent, detect, and 
report health care fraud, errors, and abuse through outreach, 
counseling, and education with an emphasis on reaching Medicare 
beneficiaries with limited income and those residing in rural areas. As 
a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and related travel and congregation 
limitations and public health concerns, it has been identified that 
focus on expansion of virtual capacity is crucial at this time. The 
administrative supplements for FY 2021 will be distributed at a flat 
rate of $18,000 to each of the existing 54 state grantees, bringing the 
total for the supplement awards to $972,000.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information or comments 
regarding this program supplement, contact Marissa Whitehouse, U.S. 
Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Community 
Living, Center for Integrated Programs, Office of Healthcare 
Information and Counseling; telephone (202) 795-7425; email 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Program Name: Senior Medicare Patrol (SMP).
    Recipient: 54 current SMP grantees.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                             FY21 ACL
                                                            recommended
          Current grantee                   State           supplement
                                                              amount
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alabama Dept of Senior Services....  Alabama............         $18,000
Alaska Department of Health and      Alaska.............          18,000
 Social Services.
Arizona Department of Economic       Arizona............          18,000
 Security.
Arkansas Department of Human         Arkansas...........          18,000
 Services.

[[Page 37335]]

 
California Health Advocates........  California.........          18,000
Colorado Division of Insurance.....  Colorado...........          18,000
The Department of Rehabilitation     Connecticut........          18,000
 Services.
Delaware Division of Social          Delaware...........          18,000
 Services.
Legal Counsel For The Elderly......  District of                  18,000
                                      Columbia.
Florida Department of Elder Affairs  Florida............          18,000
Eqhealth Solutions, Inc............  Georgia............          18,000
Guam Department of Public Health &   Guam...............          18,000
 Social Services.
Hawaii Department of Health........  Hawaii.............          18,000
Idaho Commission on Aging..........  Idaho..............          18,000
AgeOptions, Inc....................  Illinois...........          18,000
IAAAA Education Institute, Inc.....  Indiana............          18,000
Iowa Department of Commerce........  Iowa...............          18,000
Kansas Department for Aging and      Kansas.............          18,000
 Disability Services.
Louisville-Jefferson County Metro    Kentucky...........          18,000
 Government.
Eqhealth Solutions, Inc............  Louisiana..........          18,000
Maine Department of Health and       Maine..............          18,000
 Human Services.
Aging, Maryland department of......  Maryland...........          18,000
Elder Services Of The Merrimack      Massachusetts......          18,000
 Valley Inc.
MMAP Inc...........................  Michigan...........          18,000
Minnesota Department of Human        Minnesota..........          18,000
 Services.
Eqhealth Solutions, Inc............  Mississippi........          18,000
District III Area Agency on Aging..  Missouri...........          18,000
Missoula Aging Services............  Montana............          18,000
Insurance, Nebraska Department of..  Nebraska...........          18,000
State of Nevada Aging and            Nevada.............          18,000
 Disability Services Division.
New Hampshire Dept of Health and     New Hampshire......          18,000
 Human Services.
Jewish Family & Vocational Service   New Jersey.........          18,000
 of Middlesex County, Inc.
Aging & Long-Term Services           New Mexico.........          18,000
 Department, New Mexico.
NY Statewide Senior Action Council,  New York...........          18,000
 Inc.
North Carolina Department of         North Carolina.....          18,000
 Insurance.
Minot State University.............  North Dakota.......          18,000
Pro Seniors Inc....................  Ohio...............          18,000
Oklahoma State Insurance Department  Oklahoma...........          18,000
DHS Office of Financial Services...  Oregon.............          18,000
Center For Advocacy For The Rights   Pennsylvania.......          18,000
 And Interests Of The Elderly.
Hispanic-American Institute, Inc...  Puerto Rico........          18,000
Rhode Island Dept of Elderly         Rhode Island.......          18,000
 Affairs.
South Carolina Department on Aging.  South Carolina.....          18,000
South Dakota Department of Human     South Dakota.......          18,000
 Services.
Upper Cumberland Development         Tennessee..........          18,000
 District.
Better Business Bureau Educational   Texas..............          18,000
 Foundation.
Legal Services of Virgin Islands     U.S. Virgin Islands          18,000
 Inc.
Human Services, Utah Department of.  Utah...............          18,000
Community of Vermont Elders........  Vermont............          18,000
Virginia Association Of Area         Virginia...........          18,000
 Agencies On Aging.
Washington State Insurance           Washington.........          18,000
 Commissioner.
Senior Services West Virginia        West Virginia......          18,000
 Bureau.
Greater Wisconsin Agency on Aging    Wisconsin..........          18,000
 Resources, Inc.
Wyoming Senior Citizens, Inc.......  Wyoming............          18,000
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Period of Performance: The awards will be issued for the Fiscal 
Year 2021 project period of July 1, 2021 through May 31, 2022.
    Total Award Amount: $972,000 total in FY 2021.
    Award Type: Cooperative Agreement.
    Statutory Authority: The statutory authority is contained in the 
HIPAA of 1996 (Pub. L. 104-191).
    Basis for Award: Upon request for access to FY 2021 HCFAC Wedge 
funding, the Department granted approval for ACL's Office of Healthcare 
Information & Counseling to access $2 million in additional, one-time 
funding. This funding is intended to expand and enhance the virtual 
capacity of the existing SMP program and will be used in a number of 
ways to support virtual expansion and capabilities for current SMP 
grantees' efforts. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and related 
travel and congregation limitations and public health concerns, it has 
been identified that focus on expansion of virtual capacity is crucial 
at this time.
    The current SMP grantees are funded to carry out the SMP project 
mission for the period of June 1, 2018 through May 31, 2023. Much work 
has already been completed and further tasks are currently being 
accomplished. It would be unnecessarily time consuming and disruptive 
to the SMP program, and the beneficiaries being served, for ACL to 
establish new grantees to focus on this intended virtual expansion of 
the program since the intent of this funding is to expand the current 
program and grantees' efforts. These administrative supplements will 
allow the SMP grantees to expand their current capacity to work 
virtually to empower Medicare beneficiaries, their families, and 
caregivers to prevent, detect, and report health care fraud, errors, 
and

[[Page 37336]]

abuse through outreach, counseling, and education in the virtual space.
    There is one SMP state grantee project in each of the 50 States, 
the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin 
Islands. In 2019, the most up-to-date complete year of data, the 54 SMP 
projects had a total of 6,875 active team members who conducted a total 
of 28,146 group outreach and education events, reaching an estimated 
1.6 million people. In addition, the projects had 320,590 individual 
interactions with, or on behalf of, a Medicare beneficiary. For 2019, 
the SMP projects reported $2.4 million in expected Medicare recoveries. 
This program has successfully operated since its inception 23 years 
ago.
    The current grantees are closely monitored and are successfully 
meeting all programmatic goals under the current SMP state grants.

    Dated: July 12, 2021.
Alison Barkoff,
Acting Administrator and Assistant Secretary for Aging, Administration 
for Community Living.
[FR Doc. 2021-15022 Filed 7-14-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4154-01-P