The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced on November 14 that it will award up to $1 billion in March 2012 to fund innovative service delivery and payment strategies beyond the models defined in the Affordable Care Act (ACA). CMS released a funding opportunity notice via www.grants.gov on the “Health Care Innovation Challenge,”a competitive solicitation for locally based, creative ideas supported by viable work plans and budgets that can begin to improve care within six months of the award date and create a sustainable pathway to achieve savings under Medicare, Medicaid, and/or the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) within two to three years. This competitive solicitation is managed by the CMS Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation under section 3021 of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). It reflects over 400 suggestions already submitted to the Innovation Center. Eligible applicants include local governments, providers, payers, public-private partnerships, multi-payer collaboratives, faith based organizations, and other non-profit and for profit entities. Activities funded under 15 other ACA initiatives are not eligible for the Health Care Innovation Challenge. State governments (already participating in many of those initiatives) are not eligible to apply but may encourage and offer technical assistance to locally based public and private applicants. Priority will be given to projects that rapidly hire, train, and deploy new types of health care workers, focusing on improved care coordination, prevention, and care process re-engineering, and serving high-risk individuals with complex health care needs using infrastructure such as electronic health records, telemedicine, and medication reconciliation systems. Awards will range from $1 million to $30 million over three years. There is no non-federal “matching” requirement. Each approved project will execute a cooperative agreement with CMS, will be subject to monitoring of quality and costs based on a standard minimum data set of performance indicators, and must cooperate with independent evaluators to be contracted by CMS. Applicants will be required to develop detailed financial models explaining forecasted savings over the duration of the award. Applicants must outline goals, participant recruitment strategies, education and outreach plans, organizational capacity, workforce development plans, data evaluation plans, and a financial plan including the sustainability of the business model. Non-binding letters of intent must be received by 12/19/11, applications are due 1/27/12, and awards will be announced officially on 3/30/12. The period of performance under the grants will be 3/30/12-3/29/15. There may be a second round of competition in August 2012 if funds in the $1 billon budget remain after the first round.
