DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services [CMS-7027-N] Medicare, Medicaid, and Children’s Heal th Insurance Programs; Meeting of the Advisory Panel on Outreach and Education (APOE), March 27, 2013 AGENCY : Centers for Medicare & Me dicaid Services (CMS), HHS. ACTION : Notice of meeting. 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 Health and Human Services and the Administrator of the Cent ers for Medicare & Me dicaid Services on opportunities to enhance the effectiveness of consumer education strategies concerning Medicare, Medicaid, and the Ch ildren’s Health Insurance Progr am (CHIP). This meeting is open to the public. DATES : Meeting Date : Wednesday, March 27, 2013, 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT). Deadline for Meeting Registrati on, Presentations and Comments : Wednesday, March 13, 2013, 5:00 p.m., EDT. Deadline for Requesting Special Accommodations : Wednesday, March 13, 2013, 5:00 p.m., EDT. ADDRESSES: Meeting Location : The Embassy Row Hotel, 2015 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20036.2 Presentations and Written Comments : Jennifer Kordonski, Designated Federal Official (DFO), Division of Forum and Conference Development, Office of Communications, Centers for Medicare & Medi caid Services, 7500 Security Boulevard, Mailstop S1-13-05, Baltimore, MD 21244-1850 or contact Ms. Kordonski via e-mail at Jennifer.Kordonski@cms.hhs.gov. REGISTRATION : The meeting is open to the public, but attendance is limited to the space available. Persons wishing to attend th is meeting must register at the website http://events.SignUp4.com/APOEMAR2013MTG 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 th is notice. Individual s requiring sign language interpretation or other special accommodati ons 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: Jennifer Kordonski, (410) 786-1840. Additi onal information about the APOE is available on the Internet at http://www.cms.gov/FACA/04_APOE.asp . Press inquiries are handled through the CMS Pr ess 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 Act3 authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services (the Secretary) to establish an advisory panel if the Secretary determines th at the panel is “in the public interest in connection with the performan ce of duties imposed . . . by la w.” Such duties are imposed by section 1804 of the Social Security Act (t he Act), requiring the Secretary to provide informational materials to Medicare benefi ciaries about the Medicare program, and section 1851(d) of the Act, requiring the S ecretary 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 Hea lth Service Act (42 U.S.C. 217a ). The Secretary signed the charter establishing this Panel on Januar y 21, 1999 (64 FR 7899, February 17, 1999) and approved the renewal of the charter on Ja nuary 21, 2011 (76 FR 11782, March 3, 2011). Pursuant to the amended charter, the Panel advises and makes recommendations to the Secretary of Health and Human Servi ces and the Administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) concerning optimal st rategies for the following: • Developing and implementing education and outreach programs for individuals enrolled in, or eligible for, Medicare, Me dicaid, and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP). • Enhancing the federal governments effectiveness in informing Medicare, Medicaid, and CHIP consumers, providers a nd stakeholders pursuant to education and outreach programs of issues regarding th ese and other health coverage programs,4 including the appropriate use of public-private partnerships to leverage the resources of the private sector in educating benefi ciaries, providers and stakeholders. • Expanding outreach to vulnerable and underserved communities, including racial and ethnic minorities, in the context of Medicare, Medicaid, and CHIP education
programs. • Assembling and sharing an informati on base of “best practices” for helping consumers evaluate health plan options. • Building and leveraging existing co mmunity infrastructures for information, counseling, and assistance. • Drawing the program link between outreach and education, promoting consumer understanding of health care c overage choices and f acilitating consumer selection/enrollment, which in turn support th e overarching goal of improved access to quality care, including prev ention services, envisioned under health care reform. The current members of the Panel are: Samant ha Artiga, Principal Policy Analyst, Kaiser Family Foundation; Joseph Ba ker, President, Medicare Rights Center; Philip Bergquist, Manager, Health Center Operations, CHIPRA Outreach & Enrollment Project and Director, Michig an Primary Care Associatio n; Marjorie Cadogan, Executive Deputy Commissioner, Department of Social Services; Jonathan Dauphine, Senior Vice President, AARP; Barbara Ferrer, Executive Di rector, Boston Public Health Commission; Shelby Gonzales, Senior Health Outreach Associate, Center on Budget & Policy Priorities; Jan Henning, Benefits Counseli ng & Special Projects Coordinator, North Central Texas Council of Governments’ Area Agency on Aging; Warren Jones,5 Executive Director, Mississippi Institute for Improvement of Geographic Minority Health; Cathy Kaufmann, Administrator, Oregon Health Author ity; Sandy Markwood, Chief Executive Officer, National Associati on of Area Agencies on Aging; Miriam Mobley-Smith, Dean, Chicago State University, College of Pharmacy; Ana Natale-Pereira, Associate Professor of Medicine, University of Medicine & Dentistry of New Jersey; Megan Padden, Vice President, Sentara Health Plans; David W. Roberts, Vice-President, Healthcare In formation and Management System Society; Julie Bodën Schmidt, Associate Vice Pres ident, National Association of Community Health Centers; Alan Spielman, Presiden t & Chief Executive Officer, URAC; Winston Wong, Medical Director, Comm unity Benefit Director, Kaiser Permanente and Darlene Yee-Melichar, Professor & Coordi nator, San Francisco State University. The agenda for the March 27, 2013 mee ting will include the following:

● Welcome and Listening Se ssion with CMS Leadership

● Recap of the Previous (December 18, 2012) 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 “ADDRESSE S” 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 a presentation may submit written6 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.CMS-7027-N

Authority : Sec. 222 of the Public Health Servic e 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). (Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistan ce Program No. 93.733, Medicare--Hospital Insurance Program; and Program No. 93.774, Medicare--Supplementary Medical Insurance Program)

Dated: February 13, 2013

_________________________ Marilyn Tavenner, Acting Administrator Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services

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BILLING CODE 4120-01-P

[FR Doc. 2013-03928 Filed 02/21/2013 at 8:45 am; Publication Date: 02/22/2013]