Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 114 / Tuesday, June 14, 2011 / Notices 34713 

Application is available at: http:// 

innovations.cms.gov/areas-of-focus/ 

seamless-and-coordinated-care-models/ 

pioneer-aco-application/. 

ADDRESSES: Applications should be 

submitted by mail to the following 

address by the date specified in the 

DATES section of this notice: 

Pioneer ACO Model, Attention: Maria 

Alexander, Center for Medicare and 

Medicaid Innovation, Centers for 

Medicare and Medicaid Services, Mail 

Stop S3–13–05, 7500 Security 

Boulevard, Baltimore, MD 21244– 

1850. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Maria Alexander, (410) 786–4792. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background 

We are committed to achieving the 

three-part aim of better health, better 

health care, and lower per-capita costs 

for Medicare, Medicaid, and Children’s 

Health Insurance Program beneficiaries. 

One potential mechanism for achieving 

this goal is for CMS to partner with 

groups of health care providers of 

services and suppliers with a 

mechanism for shared governance that 

have formed an Accountable Care 

Organization (ACO) through which they 

work together to manage and coordinate 

care for a specified group of patients. 

We will pursue such partnerships 

through two complementary efforts, the 

Medicare Shared Savings Program, and 

initiatives undertaken by the Center for 

Medicare and Medicaid Innovation 

(Innovation Center). 

The Pioneer ACO Model is an 

Innovation Center initiative targeted at 

organizations that can demonstrate the 

improvements in financial and clinical 

performance with respect to the care of 

Medicare beneficiaries that are possible 

in a mature ACO. To be eligible to 

participate in the Pioneer ACO Model, 

organizations would ideally already be 

coordinating care for a significant 

portion of patients under financial risk 

sharing contracts and be positioned to 

transform both their care and financial 

models from fee-for-service to a threepart aim, value based model. 

On May 17, 2011, we posted a request 

for applications to participate in the 

Pioneer ACO Model on the Innovation 

Center Web site and we subsequently 

published a notice announcing the 

request for applications in the May 20, 

2011 Federal Register (76 FR 29249). 

On the Innovation Center Web site, we 

specified that the submission deadline 

for the letter of intent was June 10, 2011 

and that the application deadline was to 

be postmarked on or before July 18, 

2011. For more details see the request 

for application which is available on the 

Innovation Center Web site at http:// 

innovations.cms.gov/areas-of-focus/ 

seamless-and-coordinated-care-models/ 

pioneer-aco. However, in the May 20, 

2011 notice, we specified that the 

submission deadlines were June 10, 

2011 and not later than 5 p.m. on July 

19, 2011, respectively. Therefore, in the 

June 8, 2011 Federal Register (76 FR 

33306), we published a correction 

notice that corrected our error in the 

application submission deadline. 

II. Provisions of the Notice 

The Innovation Center is committed 

to working with stakeholders to develop 

initiatives to test innovative payment 

and service delivery models to reduce 

program expenditures while enhancing 

the quality of care available to 

beneficiaries. Being responsive to the 

suggestions of the stakeholder 

community is critical to the success of 

the Innovation Center’s efforts to 

achieve the three-part aim of better 

healthcare, better health, and reduced 

costs through improvement. As part of 

this commitment, and based on the 

feedback from the community of 

potential applicants, the Innovation 

Center is extending the following 

deadlines relating to the Pioneer ACO 

Model: (1) The deadline for submission 

of the letter of intent has been extended 

to June 30, 2011; and (2) the deadline 

for the submission of the application 

has been extended to August 19, 2011. 

Therefore in the DATES section of this 

notice, we included the new 

submissions deadlines and in the 

ADDRESSES section we provide the 

address to which the applications must 

be mailed. 

Authority: Section 1115A of the Social 

Security Act. 

Dated: June 8, 2011. 

Donald M. Berwick, 

Administrator, Centers for Medicare & 

Medicaid Services. 

[FR Doc. 2011–14678 Filed 6–9–11; 4:15 pm] 

BILLING CODE 4120–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND 

HUMAN SERVICES 

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid 

Services 

[CMS–7031–NC3] 

Proposed Establishment of a Federally 

Funded Research and Development 

Center—Third Notice 

AGENCY: Centers for Medicare & 

Medicaid Services (CMS), Department 

of Health & Human Services (DHHS). 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: This notice announces our 

intention to sponsor Federally Funded 

Research and Development Center 

(FFRDC) to facilitate the modernization 

of business processes and supporting 

systems and their operations. This is the 

third of three notices which must be 

published over a 90-day period in order 

to advise the public of the agency’s 

intention to sponsor an FFRDC. 

DATES: We must receive comments on or 

before July 5, 2011. 

ADDRESSES: Comments on this notice 

must be mailed to the Centers for 

Medicare & Medicaid Services, Candice 

Savoy, Contracting Officer, 7500 

Security Boulevard, Mailstop C2–01–10, 

Baltimore, MD 21244 or e-mail at 

Candice.Savoy@cms.hhs.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Candice Savoy, (410) 786–7494 or 

Candice.Savoy@cms.hhs.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid 

Services (CMS), an operating division 

within the Department of Health and 

Human Services (DHHS), intends to 

sponsor a Federally Funded Research 

and Development Center (FFRDC) to 

facilitate the modernization of business 

processes and supporting systems and 

their operations. Some of the broad task 

areas that will be utilized include 

strategic/tactical planning, conceptual 

planning, design and engineering, 

procurement assistance, organizational 

planning, research and development, 

continuous process improvement, 

Independent Verification and Validation 

(IV&V)/compliance, and security 

planning. Further analysis will consist 

of expert advice and guidance in the 

areas of program and project 

management focused on increasing the 

effectiveness and efficiency of strategic 

information management, prototyping, 

demonstrations, and technical activities. 

The FFRDC may also be utilized by nonsponsors, within DHHS. 

The FFRDC will be established under 

the Federal Acquisition Regulations (48 

CFR 35.017). 

The FFRDC will be available to 

provide a wide range of support 

including, but not limited to: 

• Strategic/tactical planning 

including assisting with planning for 

future CMS program policy, innovation, 

development, and support for Medicare 

and Medicaid. 

• Conceptual planning including 

operations, analysis, requirements, 

procedures, and analytic support. 

• Design and engineering including 

technical architecture direction. 


srobinson on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
34714 Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 114 / Tuesday, June 14, 2011 / Notices 

• Procurement assistance, review/ 

recommendations for current contract 

processes to include, contract reform, 

technical guidance, price and cost 

estimating, and source selection 

evaluation support. 

• Organizational planning including 

functional and gap analysis. 

• Research and development, 

assessment of new technologies and 

advice on medical and technical 

innovation and health information. 

• Continuous process improvement, 

Investment Life Cycle (ILC)/current 

practices review and recommendations, 

implementation of best practices and 

code reviews. 

• IV&V/Compliance, DUA 

surveillance and Web site content 

review. 

• Security including Security 

Assessments and Security Test and 

Evaluations (ST&E). Identify, define, 

and resolve problems as an integral part 

of the sponsor’s management team. 

• Providing independent analysis 

about DHHS vulnerabilities and the 

effectiveness of systems deployed to 

make DHHS more effective in providing 

healthcare services and implementation 

of new healthcare initiatives. 

• Providing intra-departmental and 

inter-agency cross-cutting, risk-informed 

analysis of alternative resource 

approaches. 

• Developing and deploying 

analytical tools and techniques to 

evaluate system alternatives (for 

example, policy-operations-technology 

tradeoffs), and life-cycle costs that have 

broad application across CMS. 

• Developing measurable 

performance metrics, models, and 

simulations for determining progress in 

securing DHHS data or other authorized 

data sources, (non-DHHS data sources, 

such as the census data or Department 

of Labor data, Veterans Administration, 

Department of Defense, data in 

developing performance metrics, and 

models). 

• Providing independent and 

objective operational test and evaluation 

analysis support. 

• Developing recommendations for 

guidance on the best practices for 

standards, particularly to improve the 

inter-operability of DHHS components. 

• Assessing technologies and 

evaluating technology test-beds for 

accurate simulation of operational 

conditions and delivery system 

innovation models. 

• Supporting critical thinking about 

the DHHS enterprise, business 

intelligence and analytic tools that can 

be applied consistently across DHHS 

and CMS programs. 

• Supporting systems integration, 

data management, and data exchange 

that contribute to a larger DHHS intra 

and inter-agency enterprise as well as 

collaboration with States, local tribal 

governments, the business sector (forprofit and not-for-profits), academia and 

the public. 

• Providing recommendations for 

standards for top-level DHHS systems 

requirements and performance metrics 

best practices for an integrated DHHS 

approach to systems solutions and 

structured and unstructured data 

architecture. 

• Understanding key DHHS 

organizations and their specific role and 

major acquisition requirements and 

support them in the requirements 

development phase of the acquisition 

lifecycle. 

• The FFRDC must function so 

effectively as to act as an agent for the 

sponsor in the design and pursuit of 

mission goals. 

• The FFRDC must provide rapid 

responsiveness to changing 

requirements for personnel in all 

aspects of strategic, technical and 

program management. 

• The FFRDC must recognize 

government objectives as its own 

objectives, partnering with the sponsor 

in pursuit of excellence in public 

service. 

• The FFRDC must allow for nonsponsor (other than CMS) work for 

operating Divisions within DHHS. 

We are publishing this notice in 

accordance with 48 CFR 5.205(b) of the 

FAR, to enable interested members of 

the public to provide comments on this 

proposed action. We note that this is the 

third of three notices issued under the 

FAR. 

The Request for Proposal will be 

posted on FedBizOpps in the Summer 

of 2011. Alternatively, a copy can be 

received by contacting the person listed 

in the ‘‘FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

CONTACT’’ section above. 

Dated: June 8, 2011. 

Donald M. Berwick, 

Administrator, Centers for Medicare & 

Medicaid Services. 

[FR Doc. 2011–14706 Filed 6–13–11; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4120–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND 

HUMAN SERVICES 

Administration for Children and 

Families 

Proposed Information Collection 

Activity; Comment Request 

Title: Voluntary Agencies Matching 

Grant Program. 

OMB No.: New. 

Description: The Voluntary Agencies 

Matching Grant Program was initiated 

in 1979 as an early employment 

alternative to public cash assistance. 

The goal of the Matching Grant Program 

is to assist individuals eligible for ORR 

funded services in attaining economic 

self-sufficiency within 120 to 180 days 

from their date of eligibility. Selfsufficiency must be achieved without 

accessing public cash assistance. 

With the projected expansion of the 

Voluntary Agencies Matching Grant 

Program to 11 grantees in FY 2012, the 

Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) 

intends to seek approval from Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) for 

information collection associated with 

the program. This includes a pre-award 

template for each local service provider 

site location and the data points the 

program currently collects. 

The Local Service Provider Site 

Project Design template provides ORR 

with the information necessary to 

evaluate the appropriateness of the 

service delivery according to the 

capacity of the service provider to 

deliver required services and the 

potential of those enrolled in the 

program to achieve self-sufficiency. The 

collection instrument is a template 

composed of a 1⁄2 page table with 

contact and capacity data, a narrative of 

up to 21⁄2 pages covering 11 elements 

related to capacity and service delivery, 

and a line-item budget. This form is 

required as part of the initial grant 

application and with each annual award 

renewal. 

The Data points are aggregate 

measures for each site where Matching 

Grant Program services are provided. 

The data points will be collected using 

SF–PPR D. ORR has found these data 

points to be essential for evaluating 

grantee and program performance in 

meeting the requirements of both the 

Refugee Act and ORR regulations. Data 

points are recorded at enrollment and 

120 days and/or 180 days from the point 

when the enrolled individual became 

eligible for the program. Data points 

include, eligible immigration status, 

employment eligibility and status, wage 

level, reasons for dropping out of the 

program (if applicable), and selfVerDate Mar<15>2010 16:27 Jun 13, 2011 Jkt 223001 PO 00000 Frm 00076 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 E:\FR\FM\14JNN1.SGM 14JNN1

srobinson on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES