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[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 39 (Friday, February 27, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 10694-10695]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-04173]

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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services

[CMS-7035-N]

Health Insurance Marketplace, Medicare, Medicaid, and Children's 
Health Insurance Programs; Meeting of the Advisory Panel on Outreach 
and Education (APOE), March 19, 2015

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

ACTION: Notice of meeting.

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SUMMARY: This notice announces a 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 consumer education strategies concerning the Health Insurance 
Marketplace, Medicare, Medicaid, and the Children's Health Insurance 
Program (CHIP). This meeting is open to the public.

DATES: Meeting Date: Thursday, March 19, 2015, 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. 
eastern standard time (e.s.t.).
    Deadline for Meeting Registration, Presentations and Comments: 
Thursday, March 5, 2015, 5:00 p.m., e.s.t.
    Deadline for Requesting Special Accommodations: Thursday, March 5, 
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 738 G, Conference Room, Washington, DC 20201.
    Presentations and Written Comments: Abigail Huffman, Designated 
Federal Official (DFO), Division of Forum and Conference Development, 
Office of Communications, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, 
7500 Security Boulevard, Mailstop S1-13-05, Baltimore, MD 21244-1850 or 
contact Ms. Huffman via email at Abigail.Huffman1@cms.hhs.gov.
    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/apoemar2015meeting or by contacting the DFO at the address listed in 
the ADDRESSES section of this notice or by telephone at number 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, (410) 786-0897. 
Additional information about the APOE is available on the Internet at: 
http://www.cms.gov/Regulations-and-Guidance/Guidance/FACA/APOE.html.
    Press inquiries are handled through the CMS Press Office at (202) 
690-6145.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In accordance with section 10(a) of the 
Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA), this notice announces a meeting 
of the Advisory Panel on Outreach and Education (APOE) (the Panel). 
Section 9(a)(2) of the Federal Advisory Committee Act authorizes the 
Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) 
(the Secretary) to establish an advisory panel if the Secretary 
determines that the panel is ``in the public interest in connection 
with the performance of duties imposed * * * by law.'' Such duties are 
imposed by section 1804 of the Social Security Act (the Act), requiring 
the Secretary to provide informational materials to Medicare 
beneficiaries about the Medicare program, and section 1851(d) of the 
Act, requiring the Secretary to provide for ``activities * * * to 
broadly disseminate information to [M]edicare beneficiaries * * * on 
the coverage options provided under [Medicare Advantage] in order to 
promote an active, informed selection among such options.''
    The Panel is also authorized by section 1114(f) of the Act (42 
U.S.C. 1314(f)) and section 222 of the Public Health Service Act (42 
U.S.C. 217a). The Secretary signed the charter establishing the Panel 
on January 21, 1999 (64 FR 7899, February 17, 1999) and approved the 
renewal of the charter on December 18, 2012 (78 FR 32661, May 31, 
2013).
    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 marketplace 
called Affordable Insurance Exchange, (also called Health Insurance 
Marketplace, or ``Marketplace''). In order to effectively implement and 
administer these changes, we must provide information to consumers, 
providers and other stakeholders pursuant to education and outreach 
programs regarding how these programs will change and the expanded 
range of health coverage options available, including private health 
insurance coverage through the Marketplace. The APOE 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.
    This FACA group also advises on issues pertaining to 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).
    Pursuant to the amended charter, the Panel advises and makes 
recommendations to the Secretary of HHS and the Administrator of the 
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) concerning 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 health 
coverage available through the Health Insurance Marketplace.
     Enhancing the federal government's effectiveness in 
informing Health Insurance Marketplace, Medicare, Medicaid, and CHIP 
consumers, issuers, providers, and stakeholders pursuant to education 
and outreach programs of issues regarding these and other health 
coverage 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

[[Page 10695]]

Marketplace, 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: Samantha Artiga, Principal 
Policy Analyst, Kaiser Family Foundation; Joseph Baker, President, 
Medicare Rights Center; Kellan Baker, Senior Fellow, Center for 
American Progress; Philip Bergquist, Manager, Health Center Operations, 
Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act (CHIPRA) 
Outreach & Enrollment Project and Director, Michigan Primary Care 
Association; Marjorie Cadogan, Executive Deputy Commissioner, 
Department of Social Services; Jonathan Dauphine, Senior Vice 
President, AARP; Barbara Ferrer, Chief Strategy Officer, W. K. Kellogg 
Foundation; Shelby Gonzales, Senior Health Outreach Associate, Center 
on Budget & Policy Priorities; Jan Henning, Benefits Counseling & 
Special Projects Coordinator, North Central Texas Council of 
Governments' Area Agency on Aging; Louise Knight, Director, The Sidney 
Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins; Miriam Mobley-
Smith, Dean, Chicago State University, College of Pharmacy; Ana Natale-
Pereira, M.D., Associate Professor of Medicine, Rutgers-New Jersey 
Medical School; Roanne Osborne-Gaskin, M.D., Associate Medical 
Director, Neighborhood Health Plan of Rhode Island; Megan Padden, Vice 
President, Sentara Health Plans; Jeanne Ryer, Director, New Hampshire 
Citizens Health Initiative, University of New Hampshire; Carla Smith, 
Executive Vice President, Healthcare Information and Management Systems 
Society (HIMSS); Winston Wong, Medical Director, Community Benefit 
Director, Kaiser Permanente and Darlene Yee-Melichar, Professor & 
Coordinator, San Francisco State University.
    The agenda for the March 19, 2015 meeting will include the 
following:

 Welcome and listening session with CMS leadership
 Recap of the previous (December 15, 2014) 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: February 23, 2015.
Marilyn Tavenner,
Administrator, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
[FR Doc. 2015-04173 Filed 2-26-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4120-01-P
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