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[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 97 (Friday, May 18, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 29647-29648]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-12131]

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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services

[CMS-5052-N2]

Medicare Program; Solicitation for Proposals for the Medicare 
Graduate Nurse Education Demonstration--Deadline Extension

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

ACTION: Notice of extension of deadline.

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SUMMARY: This notice extends the deadline for submission of proposals 
to apply to participate in the Medicare Graduate Nurse Education (GNE) 
Demonstration.

DATES: Proposals will be considered timely if they are received on or 
before 5 p.m., Eastern Standard Time (E.S.T.) on May 25, 2012.

ADDRESSES: Proposals should be mailed to the following address: Centers 
for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Center for Medicare & Medicaid 
Innovation, Attention: Alexandre Laberge, Mail Stop: WB-06-05, 7500 
Security Boulevard, Baltimore, Maryland 21244-1850.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Alexandre Laberge (410) 786-8625 or by 
email at GNE@cms.hhs.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    General Information: Please refer to file code (CMS-5052-N2) on the 
application. Proposals (an unbound original and 10 electronic copies on 
CD-ROM) must be typed for clarity and should not exceed 50 double-
spaced pages, exclusive of cover letter, the executive summary, 
resumes, forms, and no more than 15 pages 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 
receives a proposal in the manner intended by the applicant (for 
example, collated, tabulated color copies). Hard copies and CD-ROM 
electronic copies must be identical.
    Eligible Organizations: As set forth in section 5509 of the 
Affordable Care Act an ``eligible hospital'' may apply to perform the 
responsibilities specified. Section 5509(e)(5) of the Affordable Care 
Act defines an ``eligible hospital'' to mean a hospital (as defined in 
section 1861(e) of the Social Security Act (the Act) (42 U.S.C. 1395x)) 
or a critical access hospital (as defined in section 1861(mm)(1) of the 
Act) that has a written agreement in place with--(A) 1 or more 
applicable schools of nursing; and (B) 2 or more applicable non-
hospital community-based care settings. The written agreement must meet 
specific requirements set forth in section 5509 of the Affordable Care 
Act including--(1) The obligations of the eligible partners with 
respect to the provision of qualified training; and (2) the obligation 
of the eligible hospital to reimburse such eligible partners applicable 
(in a timely manner) for the costs of such qualified training 
attributable to partner. The Demonstration will include up to five 
eligible hospitals.

I. Background

    We are seeking eligible hospital applicants, which includes 
critical access hospitals, to partner with one or more applicable 
schools of nursing (SONs) and two or more applicable nonhospital 
community-based care settings (CCSs) to provide advanced practice 
registered nurse (APRN) students with qualified training. See section 
5509(e) of the Affordable Care Act for the definitions of the terms 
used in the preceding sentence. At least half of the clinical training 
must be provided in non-hospital CCSs which may include federally 
qualified health centers (FQHCs), rural health clinics (RHCs), and 
other nonhospital settings as determined appropriate by the Secretary. 
However, the Secretary may waive the requirement under section 
5509(e)(7)(A)(ii) of the Affordable Care Act with respect to eligible 
hospitals located in rural or medically underserved areas.
    On March 22, 2012, we posted a solicitation for proposals on the 
Innovation Center Web site. In addition, in the March 22, 2012 Federal 
Register (77 FR 16841) we published a notice of solicitation for 
proposals to participate in the Graduate Nurse Education (GNE) 
Demonstration. The Demonstration provides a source of Medicare funding 
for the reasonable costs for clinical training attributable to the 
incremental increase in the number of APRN students enrolled in 
participating SONs during the Demonstration relative to an established 
baseline. Section 5509 of the Affordable Care Act sets forth 
limitations on the reasonable costs reimbursable under the 
Demonstration. We will make interim payments to selected hospitals with 
a cost settlement process using Medicare reasonable cost principles. 
Participating eligible hospitals must establish written agreements with 
one or more applicable SONs and two or more applicable non-hospital 
CCSs that define the obligations of each partner with respect to the 
provision of qualified training and the corresponding eligible 
hospital's obligation to reimburse eligible partners applicable (in a 
timely manner) for the costs of such qualified training attributable to 
the partner and the mechanism for partner reimbursement. As outlined in 
the GNE Solicitation, applicant hospitals may partner with other 
hospitals in the Demonstration and we will support an expanded 
configuration of hospital relationships under certain circumstances. 
For more details, see the Solicitation, which is available on the 
Innovation Center Web site at http://www.innovations.cms.gov/initiatives/GNE/index.html.

II. Provisions of This Notice

    The CMS Innovation Center has received much interest and a large 
number of inquires about the GNE Demonstration announced on the CMS Web 
site and in the Federal Register. In response to requests from the 
community of potential applicants to allow for some additional time to 
prepare the proposals for participation in the Demonstration, and in 
light of our continued commitment to work in partnership with our 
stakeholders, the Innovation Center has modified the deadline for 
proposals so that the applications from eligible hospital applicants 
are due by the date specified in the DATES section of this notice.

III. Information Collection Requirements

    In accordance with section 5509(a)(4) of the Affordable Care Act, 
this information collection requirement is not subject to the Paperwork 
Reduction Act of 1995. Consequently, it need not be reviewed by the 
Office of Management and Budget under the

[[Page 29648]]

authority of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. chapter 
35).

    Authority: Section 5509 of the Affordable Care Act.

(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Program No. 93.773, 
Medicare--Hospital Insurance; and Program No. 93.774, Medicare--
Supplementary Medical Insurance Program)

    Dated: May 15, 2012.
Marilyn Tavenner,
Acting Administrator, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
[FR Doc. 2012-12131 Filed 5-17-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4120-01-P
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