The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) recently rolled out its Community Transformation Grants program under the Affordable Care Act, geared towards fighting chronic disease and creating healthier communities.  The five year grants will be used to address the “root causes” of chronic diseases through creating tobacco-free living, supporting active lifestyles and healthy eating, and reducing health disparities.   35 of the grantees will receive funding to implement intervention programs, and 26 grantees will receiving funding to build sustainable community prevention efforts. 

Read more about the grants here.  

The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) recently announced the launch of its new Primary Care initiative to provide bonuses to primary care doctors for improvement of care coordination and cost efficiency.  The goal of the initiative, created under the Affordable Care Act, is to facilitate care that is focused on the patient, coordination, and higher quality.  The bonuses will be offered through commercial and state health insurance plans, and will come in the form of monthly fees above and beyond Medicare fees received for patient care.  HHS has identified five primary areas that the fees will support including personalized care plans for chronically ill patients, 24-hour access to care and health information, preventive care, patient and family participation in care, and coordination among providers.  

The initiative is based on voluntary participation as a demonstration project, and primary care physicians interested in participating must submit a Letter of Intent by November 15, 2011.  For more information on signing up or the initiative, see CMS’ website on the initiative. 

The Centers for Medicaid & Medicare Services (CMS) recently expanded the Money Follows the Person grant program to provide additional assistance to state grantees’ implementation of quality improvement strategies.  The Money Follows the Person program was created through the Affordable Care Act (ACA), and fifteen states received funds under the program in January 2011.  Due to increases in demand from states and programs under the ACA, additional funds were needed to support the new individuals benefitting from the program including support for quality mechanisms addressing the needs of vulnerable populations.  Through its recent notice, CMS announced its $1.2 million expansion of the program to be used for developing technical assistance to grantee staff and subcontractors, home and community-based services programs, CMS staff oversight, and web-based technical assistance. 

Access the full notice here. 

HHS recently announced its expectation that Medicare Advantage premiums will fall approximately four percent in 2012, with enrollment expected to increase by 10 percent. This drop in premiums has been supported by the Affordable Care Act, which allowed CMS to prevent substantial cost increases or program cuts through elimination of co-pays and deductibles for Medicare-covered preventive services and additional discounts for Medicare beneficiaries that reach the prescription coverage “donut hole.” CMS is also offering high-quality performance incentives, including financial rewards and continuous marketing and enrollment to Five-Star Medicare Advantage and Part D plans.

The Medicare open enrollment period is also being extended an additional seven weeks, and CMS has added enhanced functionality to assist beneficiaries in making their plan choice and coverage elections for 2012. For more information on open enrollment and the various plan options, see http://www.cms.gov/center/openenrollment.asp.  

On September 15, 2011, HHS awarded $10 million in Accountable Care Act funds to 129 organizations seeking to become community health centers, which are geared toward meeting the primary health needs in economically distressed or other vulnerable areas. The funds were specifically directed toward organizations that seek to provide primary healthcare services, or to expand existing services, to vulnerable populations. Likewise, the development of the community health centers will boost local economic growth and support local job markets. For more information on the community health centers program, see http://bphc.hrsa.gov/about/index.html.

On July 29, 2011, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced that it would provide a total of $71.3 million in grant funding to expand the education and training of nurses and nursing diversity. The monies will be distributed among six types of awards: Nurse Education, Practice, Quality and Retention; Nursing Workforce Diversity; Nurse Faculty Loan Program; Advanced Nursing Education Program; Advanced Education Nursing Traineeships; Nurse Anesthetist Traineeships. Monies from these awards will support all levels of education from entry-level nursing to advanced traineeships, increase opportunities for individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds, and provide partial loan-forgiveness for nursing faculty.

To read more about this announcement and see details of each of the awards, please go to http://www.hhs.gov/news/press/2011pres/07/20110729a.html.

On April 12, 2011, The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced its intentions to form a public-private partnership with stakeholders such as patient advocates, healthcare providers and leaders at major hospitals. Called Partnership for Patients, this national initiative was created to improve quality and safety in health care, while also substantially reducing health care costs. HHS estimated that the partnership could save up to $35 billion in health care costs. Under the authority of the Affordable Care Act, HHS will invest $1 billion dollars towards this endeavor.

The two main goals will be to assist hospital patients by (1) preventing injury and further illness and (2) eliminating or mitigating complications that would adversely affect patient recovery. To learn more about the Partnership for Patients, please visit HealthCare.gov.

The Federal Trade Commission and the U.S. Department of Justice have jointly issued a proposed enforcement policy for the application of the antitrust laws to healthcare collaborations among otherwise independent providers and provider groups that seek to participate as accountable care organizations (ACOs) under the Medicare Shared Savings Program. The agencies seek public comments until May 31, 2011, on the proposed enforcement policy and the new antitrust "safety zone" it would create.

For more information and the proposed antitrust policy, please visit the FTC and DOJ’s Proposed Statement.

On March 31, 2011, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and Health and Human Services (HHS) unveiled the long-awaited federal rule on accountable care organizations. This proposed rule would implement section 3022 of the Affordable Care Act, which allows service providers and suppliers to continue receiving traditional Medicare fee-for-service payments under Parts A and B, and to be eligible for additional payments based on meeting specified quality and savings requirements.

To view the proposed rule, please visit the Office of the Federal Register website.

On March 30, 2011, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid issued the long-awaited, proposed regulations for the Medicare Shared Savings Program, including details of the requirements for qualifying as an accountable care organization (ACO), such as:

• Eligible legal entities
• Criteria for shared governance
• Assignment of beneficiaries to ACOs
• Different types of risk contracts
• Benchmarks and calculations of savings
• Shared savings, antitrust issues and policies, Medicare anti-kickback, and other regulatory requirements as applied to ACOs

The full text of the summary is available as a Duane Morris Alert.

On March 8, 2011, a coalition comprised of physicians representing the American Academy of Family Physicians, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American College of Physicians, and the American Osteopathic Association, announced its completion of 12 new recommendations for accreditation organizations to use when developing and implementing standards for the patient-centered medical homes (PCMHs). The PCMHs are a central component of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA). The coalition developed the guidelines in anticipation of accreditation organizations, such as the Joint Commission, building upon its recommendations to establish updated standards for the PCMHs.

For additional information, please refer to the coalition's guidelines.

On February 24, 2011, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced that states can begin to apply for a second round of grants, which they can use to create or improve existing health insurance premium review programs. Approximately $200 million is available to states to better track and review premium rate increases, and make the rate process more transparent to consumers. HHS anticipates that the state review programs will also enable states to challenge or even prevent unreasonable premium increases from being implemented. This round of grants marks the federal government’s continued effort to combat rising health insurance premiums.

To read more about this announcement and to see how to access grant funding, please go to http://www.healthcare.gov/news/factsheets/ratereview02242011a.html.

On February 22, 2011, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced that it would provide $45 million in grant funding to 13 states for the startup and operation of Money Follows the Person (MFP) demonstration projects. States operate MFP programs to provide financial support and assist Medicaid beneficiaries with moving from institutions (i.e., hospitals and nursing facilities) and transitioning back into their communities to live in their own homes or other facilities. HHS anticipates that this federal funding will help 13,000 more Medicaid beneficiaries, and it will continue to provide grant funding through 2016 by committing at least $621 million to the state projects.

To read more about this announcement and see the list of 13 states scheduled to receive grant funding, please go to http://www.hhs.gov/news/press/2011pres/02/20110222b.html.

Issued by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)on February 18, 2011, this regulation implements section 6113 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). The interim final rule amends existing legislation by introducing new notice requirements associated with long-term care (LTC) facility and skilled nursing facility (SNF) closures. Its purpose is twofold: to protect resident health and safety, and to facilitate a “smooth transition” in the event of a facility’s closure.

New requirements under this regulation include:

• who the administrator of a facility must notify about a closure;
• what minimum content is required in the written notice of closure, such as a detailed closure plan outlining how the facility will transfer residents; and
• when an administrator must provide written notification, which depends on whether the secretary of HHS terminates the facility’s participation in the Medicare or Medicaid program, or whether the facility is closing for another reason.

The regulation also extends liability to facility administrators. For example, an administrator may be subject to a civil monetary penalty of up to $100,000 if he or she fails to comply with its requirements. This regulation is effective on March 23, 2011.