21372 Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 73 / Friday, April 15, 2011 / Notices 

Exchange. An Exchange is an organized 

marketplace to help consumers and 

small businesses buy health insurance 

in a way that permits easy comparison 

of available plan options based on price, 

benefits, and quality. By pooling people 

together, reducing transaction costs, and 

increasing price and quality 

transparency, Exchanges create more 

efficient and competitive health 

insurance markets for individuals and 

small employers. The Exchange will 

carry out a number of functions as 

required by the Affordable Care Act, 

including certifying qualified health 

plans, administering premium tax 

credits and cost-sharing reductions, 

responding to consumer requests for 

assistance, and providing an easy-to-use 

website and written materials that 

individuals can use to assess eligibility 

and enroll in health insurance coverage, 

and coordinating eligibility for and 

enrollment in other state health subsidy 

programs, including Medicaid and 

CHIP. Section 1311 of the Affordable 

Care Act provides for grants to States for 

the planning and establishment of 

American Health Benefit Exchanges. 

The Secretary is planning to disburse 

funds in at least three phases: first, for 

planning; second, for early information 

technology development; and third, for 

implementation. $51 million was made 

available for States for State Exchange 

planning. Forty-nine States and the 

District of Columbia applied and have 

been awarded grant funds. $5 million 

was made available for Territories 

Exchange early implementation. Five 

Territories were eligible to receive a 

Notice of Grant Award; four applied and 

have been awarded funds. States and 

Territories are eligible for up to $1 

million each from this grant 

announcement, which will extend for 

up to twelve months. Form Number: 

CMS–10337 (OCN: 0938–1101); 

Frequency: Occasionally; Affected 

Public: State, Local, or Tribal 

Governments; Number of Respondents: 

54; Number of Responses: 594; Total 

Annual Hours: 277,533. (For policy 

questions regarding this collection, 

contact Katherine Harkins at (301) 492– 

4445. For all other issues call (410) 786– 

1326. 

2. Type of Information Collection 

Request: Extension of a currently 

approved collection; Title of 

Information Collection: Consumer 

Assistance Program Grants; Use: Section 

1002 of the Affordable Care Act 

provides for the establishment of 

consumer assistance (or ombudsman) 

programs, starting in FY 2010. Federal 

grants will support these programs. For 

FY 2010, $30 million is appropriated. 

These programs will assist consumers 

with filing complaints and appeals, 

assist consumers with enrollment into 

health coverage, collect data on 

consumer inquiries and complaints to 

identify problems in the marketplace, 

educate consumers on their rights and 

responsibilities, and starting in 2014, 

resolve problems with premium credits 

for Exchange coverage. Importantly, 

these programs must provide detailed 

reporting on the types of problems and 

questions consumers may experience 

with health coverage, and how these are 

resolved. In order to strengthen 

oversight, the law requires programs to 

report data to the Secretary of the 

Department of Health and Human 

Services (HHS) ‘‘As a condition of 

receiving a grant under subsection (a), 

an office of health insurance consumer 

assistance or ombudsman program shall 

be required to collect and report data to 

the Secretary on the types of problems 

and inquiries encountered by 

consumers’’ (Sec. 2793 (d)). Form 

Number: CMS–10333 (OMB–0938– 

1097); Frequency: Quarterly; Affected 

Public: Private Sector: State, Local, or 

Tribal Governments; Number of 

Respondents: 40; Number of Responses: 

200; Total Annual Hours: 4,800 . (For 

policy questions regarding this 

collection, contact Eliza Bangit at (301) 

492–4219. For all other issues call (410) 

786–1326.) 

To obtain copies of the supporting 

statement and any related forms for the 

proposed paperwork collections 

referenced above, access CMS’ Web site 

at http://www.cms.gov/ 

PaperworkReductionActof1995/PRAL/ 

list.asp#TopOfPage or e-mail your 

request, including your address, phone 

number, OMB number, and CMS 

document identifier, to 

Paperwork@cms.hhs.gov, or call the 

Reports Clearance Office at 410–786– 

1326. 

In commenting on the proposed 

information collections please reference 

the document identifier or OMB control 

number. To be assured consideration, 

comments and recommendations must 

be submitted in one of the following 

ways by June 14, 2011: 

1. Electronically. You may submit 

your comments electronically to http:// 

www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

instructions for ‘‘Comment or 

Submission’’ or ‘‘More Search Options’’ 

to find the information collection 

document(s) accepting comments. 

2. By regular mail. You may mail 

written comments to the following 

address: CMS, Office of Strategic 

Operations and Regulatory Affairs, 

Division of Regulations Development, 

Attention: Document Identifier/OMB 

Control Number, Room C4–26–05, 7500 

Security Boulevard, Baltimore, 

Maryland 21244–1850. 

Martique Jones, 

Director, Regulations Development Group, 

Division B, Office of Strategic Operations and 

Regulatory Affairs. 

[FR Doc. 2011–9208 Filed 4–14–11; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4120–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND 

HUMAN SERVICES 

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid 

Services 

[CMS–5055–N2] 

Medicare Program; Solicitation for 

Proposals for the Medicare 

Community-Based Care Transitions 

Program 

AGENCY: Centers for Medicare & 

Medicaid Services (CMS), HHS. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: This notice informs interested 

parties of an opportunity to apply to 

participate in the Medicare Communitybased Care Transitions Program, which 

was authorized by section 3026 of the 

Affordable Care Act. 

DATES: Proposals will be accepted on a 

rolling basis. Acceptable applicants will 

be awarded on an ongoing basis as 

funds permit. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Juliana Tiongson, (410) 786–0342 or by 

e-mail at CareTransitions@cms.hhs.gov. 

ADDRESSES: Proposals should be mailed 

to the following address: 

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid 

Services, Attention: Juliana Tiongson, 

7500 Security Boulevard, Mail Stop: 

C4–14–15, Baltimore, Maryland 

21244–1850. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background 

Section 3026 of the Patient Protection 

and Affordable Care Act (Pub. L. 111– 

148, enacted on March 23, 2010) 

(Affordable Care Act) authorized the 

Medicare Community-based Care 

Transitions Program (CCTP). The goals 

of the CCTP are to improve the quality 

of care transitions, reduce readmissions 

for high risk Medicare beneficiaries, and 

document measurable savings to the 

Medicare program by reducing 

unnecessary readmissions. The CCTP is 

part of Partnership for Patients, a 

national patient safety initiative through 

which the Administration is supporting 

broad-based efforts to reduce harm 

caused to patients in hospitals and 

improve care transitions. 


srobinson on DSKHWCL6B1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 73 / Friday, April 15, 2011 / Notices 21373 

II. Criteria for Applicants 

We are seeking eligible organizations 

which are a subsection (d) hospital, as 

defined in section 1886(d)(1)(B) of the 

Social Security Act (the Act), with high 

readmission rates that partner with 

community-based organizations (CBOs) 

or CBOs that provide care transition 

services. CBOs are defined as 

community-based organizations that 

provide care transition services across 

the continuum of care through 

arrangements with subsection (d) 

hospitals and whose governing bodies 

include sufficient representation of 

multiple health care stakeholders, 

including consumers. 

This program creates a source of 

funding for care transition services that 

effectively manage transitions from 

acute to community-based settings and 

report specified process and outcome 

measures on their results. CBOs will be 

paid on a per eligible discharge basis for 

eligible Medicare beneficiaries at high 

risk for readmission, including those 

with multiple chronic conditions, 

depression, or cognitive impairments. 

In selecting CBOs to participate in the 

program, preference will be given to 

eligible entities that are Administration 

on Aging (AoA) grantees that provide 

concurrent care transition interventions 

with multiple hospitals and 

practitioners or entities that provide 

services to medically-underserved 

populations, small communities, and 

rural areas. The program will run for 5 

years beginning April 11, 2011; 

however, participants will be awarded 

2-year agreements that may be extended 

on an annual basis for the remaining 3 

years based on performance. 

Applicants must identify root causes 

of readmissions and define their target 

population and strategies for identifying 

high risk patients. Applicants must also 

specify care transition interventions 

including strategies for improving 

provider communications in care 

transitions and improving patient 

activation. Lastly, applicants will be 

required to provide a budget including 

a per eligible discharge rate for care 

transition services, provide an 

implementation plan with milestones, 

and demonstrate prior experience with 

effectively managing care transition 

services and reducing readmissions. 

A competitive process will be used to 

select eligible organizations. We will 

accept proposals on a rolling basis. The 

program will continue through 2015. 

For specific details regarding the 

CCTP and the application process, 

please refer to the solicitation on the 

CMS Web site at http://www.cms.gov/ 

DemoProjectsEvalRpts/MD/ 

itemdetail.asp?itemID=CMS1239313. 

III. Application Information 

Please refer to file code [CMS–5055– 

N2] on the application. Proposals (an 

unbound original and 3 copies plus an 

electronic copy on CD–ROM) must be 

typed for clarity and should not exceed 

30 double-spaced pages, exclusive of 

cover letter, the executive summary, 

resumes, forms, and supporting 

documentation. Because of staffing and 

resource limitations, we cannot accept 

proposals by facsimile (FAX) 

transmission. Applicants may, but are 

not required to, submit a total of 10 

copies to assure that each reviewer 

receive a proposal in the manner 

intended by the applicant (for example, 

collated, tabulated color copies). Hard 

copies and electronic copies must be 

identical. 

IV. Eligible Organizations 

As discussed above, subsection (d) 

hospitals with high readmission rates 

that partner with CBOs or CBOs that 

provide care transition services are 

eligible to participate in the CCTP. We 

anticipate that a wide variety of 

interested parties may be eligible to 

form a CBO in order to apply in 

collaboration with other organizations 

to perform the responsibilities specified. 

CBOs may be characterized as physician 

practices, particularly primary care 

practices, a corporate entity that has a 

separate quality improvement 

organization (QIO) contract with CMS 

under Part B of title XI of the Act, in 

situations that will not result in or 

create the appearance of a conflict of 

interest between the QIO’s review tasks 

under title XI and the corporate entity’s 

role as a CBO, an Aging and Disability 

Resource Center, Area Agency on Aging, 

or other appropriate organization that 

meets the statutory definition at section 

3026(b)(1)(B) of the Act. 

Authority: Catalog of Federal Domestic 

Assistance Program No. 93.773, Medicare— 

Hospital Insurance; and Program No. 93.774, 

Medicare—Supplementary Medical 

Insurance Program. 

Dated: December 27, 2010. 

Donald M. Berwick, 

Administrator, Centers for Medicare & 

Medicaid Services. 

[FR Doc. 2011–9126 Filed 4–12–11; 11:15 am] 

BILLING CODE 4120–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND 

HUMAN SERVICES 

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid 

Services 

Privacy Act of 1974; Report of a New 

System of Records 

AGENCY: Center for Consumer 

Information and Insurance Oversight 

(CCIIO), Centers for Medicare and 

Medicaid Services (CMS), Department 

of Health and Human Services (HHS). 

ACTION: Notice of a new Privacy Act 

system of records. 

SUMMARY: In accordance with the 

requirements of the Privacy Act of 1974, 

the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid 

Services (CMS), Center for Consumer 

Information and Insurance Oversight 

(CCIIO) is establishing a new system of 

records (SOR) titled the ‘‘Health 

Insurance Assistance Database (HIAD),’’ 

System No. 09–70–0586. This SOR is 

established under the authority of 

Sections 2719, 2723, and 2761 of the 

Public Health Service Act (PHS Act) 

(Public Law (Pub. L.) 97–35) and 

§ 1321(c) of the Patient Protection and 

Affordable Care Act (Affordable Care 

Act) (Pub. L. 111–148). Section 1321(c) 

of the Affordable Care Act authorizes 

HHS (1) to ensure that States with 

Exchanges are substantially enforcing 

the Federal standards to be set for the 

Exchanges and (2) to set up Exchanges 

in States that elect not to do so or are 

not substantially enforcing related 

provisions. Sections 2723 and 2761 of 

the PHS Act authorize HHS to enforce 

provisions that apply to non-Federal 

governmental plans and to enforce PHS 

Act provisions that apply to other health 

insurance coverage in States that HHS 

has determined are not substantially 

enforcing those provisions. The HIAD 

database will be maintained by the 

Office of Consumer Support Health 

Insurance Assistance Team (the Team) 

to assist the Office of Oversight with its 

compliance activities. HIAD is the 

primary tool through which the Team 

will track information for the purposes 

of oversight. 

The primary purpose of this system is 

to collect and maintain information on 

consumer inquiries and complaints 

regarding insurance issuers that will 

permit CCIIO to exercise its direct 

enforcement authority over non-Federal 

governmental health plans, investigate 

any inquiries or complaints from 

enrollees of those plans, to determine 

which States may not be substantially 

enforcing the Affordable Care Act and 

PHS Act provisions and to determine 

whether complaints that indicate 


srobinson on DSKHWCL6B1PROD with NOTICES