2021-15022. Intent To Award 54 Single-Source Supplements for Current Senior Medicare Patrol (SMP) State Grantees

ACTION:

Announcing the intent to award 54 single-source supplements for current Senior Medicare Patrol (SMP) state grantees.

SUMMARY:

The Administration for Community Living (ACL) announces the intent to award 54 administrative supplements in the form of cooperative agreements to existing SMP project grantees to support the expansion and enhancement of virtual capacity of the program. This effort will benefit the SMP programs in each state, the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The purpose of existing grantees' work is to empower and assist Medicare beneficiaries, their families, and caregivers to prevent, detect, and report health care fraud, errors, and abuse through outreach, counseling, and education with an emphasis on reaching Medicare beneficiaries with limited income and those residing in rural areas. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and related travel and congregation limitations and public health concerns, it has been identified that focus on expansion of virtual capacity is crucial at this time. The administrative supplements for FY 2021 will be distributed at a flat rate of $18,000 to each of the existing 54 state grantees, bringing the total for the supplement awards to $972,000.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

For further information or comments regarding this program supplement, contact Marissa Whitehouse, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Community Living, Center for Integrated Programs, Office of Healthcare Information and Counseling; telephone [phone]; email [e-mail].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Program Name: Senior Medicare Patrol (SMP).

Recipient: 54 current SMP grantees.

Current grantee	State	FY21 ACL recommended supplement amount
Alabama Dept of Senior Services	Alabama	$18,000
Alaska Department of Health and Social Services	Alaska	18,000
Arizona Department of Economic Security	Arizona	18,000
Arkansas Department of Human Services	Arkansas	18,000
California Health Advocates	California	18,000
Colorado Division of Insurance	Colorado	18,000
The Department of Rehabilitation Services	Connecticut	18,000
Delaware Division of Social Services	Delaware	18,000
Legal Counsel For The Elderly	District of Columbia	18,000
Florida Department of Elder Affairs	Florida	18,000
Eqhealth Solutions, Inc	Georgia	18,000
Guam Department of Public Health & Social Services	Guam	18,000
Hawaii Department of Health	Hawaii	18,000
Idaho Commission on Aging	Idaho	18,000
AgeOptions, Inc	Illinois	18,000
IAAAA Education Institute, Inc	Indiana	18,000
Iowa Department of Commerce	Iowa	18,000
Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services	Kansas	18,000
Louisville-Jefferson County Metro Government	Kentucky	18,000
Eqhealth Solutions, Inc	Louisiana	18,000
Maine Department of Health and Human Services	Maine	18,000
Aging, Maryland department of	Maryland	18,000
Elder Services Of The Merrimack Valley Inc	Massachusetts	18,000
MMAP Inc	Michigan	18,000
Minnesota Department of Human Services	Minnesota	18,000
Eqhealth Solutions, Inc	Mississippi	18,000
District III Area Agency on Aging	Missouri	18,000
Missoula Aging Services	Montana	18,000
Insurance, Nebraska Department of	Nebraska	18,000
State of Nevada Aging and Disability Services Division	Nevada	18,000
New Hampshire Dept of Health and Human Services	New Hampshire	18,000
Jewish Family & Vocational Service of Middlesex County, Inc	New Jersey	18,000
Aging & Long-Term Services Department, New Mexico	New Mexico	18,000
NY Statewide Senior Action Council, Inc	New York	18,000
North Carolina Department of Insurance	North Carolina	18,000
Minot State University	North Dakota	18,000
Pro Seniors Inc	Ohio	18,000
Oklahoma State Insurance Department	Oklahoma	18,000
DHS Office of Financial Services	Oregon	18,000
Center For Advocacy For The Rights And Interests Of The Elderly	Pennsylvania	18,000
Hispanic-American Institute, Inc	Puerto Rico	18,000
Rhode Island Dept of Elderly Affairs	Rhode Island	18,000
South Carolina Department on Aging	South Carolina	18,000
South Dakota Department of Human Services	South Dakota	18,000
Upper Cumberland Development District	Tennessee	18,000
Better Business Bureau Educational Foundation	Texas	18,000
Legal Services of Virgin Islands Inc	U.S. Virgin Islands	18,000
Human Services, Utah Department of	Utah	18,000
Community of Vermont Elders	Vermont	18,000
Virginia Association Of Area Agencies On Aging	Virginia	18,000
Washington State Insurance Commissioner	Washington	18,000
Senior Services West Virginia Bureau	West Virginia	18,000
Greater Wisconsin Agency on Aging Resources, Inc	Wisconsin	18,000
Wyoming Senior Citizens, Inc	Wyoming	18,000

Period of Performance: The awards will be issued for the Fiscal Year 2021 project period of July 1, 2021 through May 31, 2022.

Total Award Amount: $972,000 total in FY 2021.

Award Type: Cooperative Agreement.

Statutory Authority: The statutory authority is contained in the HIPAA of 1996 (Pub. L. 104-191).

Basis for Award: Upon request for access to FY 2021 HCFAC Wedge funding, the Department granted approval for ACL's Office of Healthcare Information & Counseling to access $2 million in additional, one-time funding. This funding is intended to expand and enhance the virtual capacity of the existing SMP program and will be used in a number of ways to support virtual expansion and capabilities for current SMP grantees' efforts. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and related travel and congregation limitations and public health concerns, it has been identified that focus on expansion of virtual capacity is crucial at this time.

The current SMP grantees are funded to carry out the SMP project mission for the period of June 1, 2018 through May 31, 2023. Much work has already been completed and further tasks are currently being accomplished. It would be unnecessarily time consuming and disruptive to the SMP program, and the beneficiaries being served, for ACL to establish new grantees to focus on this intended virtual expansion of the program since the intent of this funding is to expand the current program and grantees' efforts. These administrative supplements will allow the SMP grantees to expand their current capacity to work virtually to empower Medicare beneficiaries, their families, and caregivers to prevent, detect, and report health care fraud, errors, and abuse through outreach, counseling, and education in the virtual space.

There is one SMP state grantee project in each of the 50 States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. In 2019, the most up-to-date complete year of data, the 54 SMP projects had a total of 6,875 active team members who conducted a total of 28,146 group outreach and education events, reaching an estimated 1.6 million people. In addition, the projects had 320,590 individual interactions with, or on behalf of, a Medicare beneficiary. For 2019, the SMP projects reported $2.4 million in expected Medicare recoveries. This program has successfully operated since its inception 23 years ago.

The current grantees are closely monitored and are successfully meeting all programmatic goals under the current SMP state grants.

Dated: July 12, 2021.

Alison Barkoff,

Acting Administrator and Assistant Secretary for Aging, Administration for Community Living.