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[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 192 (Tuesday, October 4, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Page 61365]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-25531]

[[Page 61365]]

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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services

[CMS-5504-N2]

Bundled Payments for Care Improvement Initiative

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

ACTION: Notice of extension of deadlines.

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SUMMARY: This notice extends the deadlines for the submission of the 
Bundled Payments for Care Improvement ``Model 1'' letters of intent and 
applications.

DATES: Letter of Intent Submission Deadline: For Model 1 of this 
initiative, interested organizations must submit a nonbinding letter of 
intent by October 6, 2011 as described on the CMS Innovation Center Web 
site http://www.innovations.cms.gov/areas-of-focus/patient-care-models/bundled-payments-for-care-improvement.html. Application Submission 
Deadline: For Model 1 of this initiative, applications must be received 
on or before November 18, 2011.

ADDRESSES: Letter of Intents and Applications should be submitted 
electronically in searchable PDF format via encrypted e-mail to the 
following e-mail address by the date specified in the DATES section of 
this notice: BundledPayments@cms.hhs.gov. Applications and appendices 
will only be accepted via e-mail.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: BundledPayments@cms.hhs.gov for 
questions regarding the application process of the Bundled Payments for 
Care Improvement initiative.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background

    We are committed to achieving the three-part aim of better health, 
better health care, and reduced expenditures through continuous 
improvement for Medicare, Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance 
Program beneficiaries. Beneficiaries can experience improved health 
outcomes and patient experience when health care providers work in a 
coordinated and patient-centered manner. To this end, CMS is interested 
in partnering with providers who are working to redesign patient care 
to deliver these aims. Episode payment approaches that reward providers 
who take accountability for the three-part aim at the level of 
individual patient care for an episode are potential mechanisms for 
developing these partnerships.
    On August 23, 2011 we posted a request for applications (RFA) on 
the Innovation Center Web site. In addition, on August 25, 2011 we 
published a notice requesting applications in the Federal Register [76 
FR 53137] to participate in the Bundled Payment for Care Improvement 
initiative. This initiative seeks proposals from health care providers 
who wish to align incentives between hospitals, physicians and 
nonphysician practitioners in order to better coordinate care 
throughout an episode of care. RFAs will test episode-based payment for 
acute care and associated post-acute care, using both retrospective and 
prospective bundled payment methods. The RFA requests applications to 
test models centered around acute care; these models will inform the 
design of future models, including care improvement for chronic 
conditions. For more details, see the RFA, which is available on the 
Innovation Center Web site at http://www.innovations.cms.gov/areas-of-focus/patient-care-models/bundled-payments-for-care-improvement.html.

II. Provisions of the Notice

    The CMS Innovation Center has received much interest and a large 
number of inquiries about the BPCI initiative announced on the CMS Web 
site and in the Federal Register. There have also been many requests to 
allow for some additional time to prepare applications for Model 1 of 
the BPCI initiative. Based on the feedback from the community of 
potential applicants and our continued commitment to work in 
partnership with our stakeholders, the Innovation Center has modified 
the deadlines relating to Model 1 of the initiative: (1) The letter of 
intent will be due on or before October 6, 2011; and (2) the 
application will be due on or before November 18, 2011.
    We have announced the deadline extensions via the CMS Web site and 
via listserv. Therefore we also wanted to announce the extensions of 
the deadlines via the Federal Register.

III. Collection of Information Requirements

    Section 1115A(d)(3) of the Act specifies that the requirements of 
the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 do not apply with respect to the 
testing and evaluation of payment and service delivery models, or the 
expansion of these models.

    Authority:  Section 1115A of the Social Security Act.

    Dated: September 28, 2011.
Donald M. Berwick,
Administrator, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
[FR Doc. 2011-25531 Filed 9-30-11; 4:15 pm]
BILLING CODE 4120-01-P
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