Administration on Aging (AoA) Grants for Medicare Beneficiary Outreach and Assistance Program

A-1: Only existing SHIP grant recipients are eligible to apply.

A-2: Only State Agencies on Aging are eligible to apply. (Allocation of funds for Native American Programs is being accomplished through a separate process.)

A-3 Eligible states are those that received an AoA and CMS Aging and Disability Resource Center (ADRC) grant where the ADRC was established by July 15, 2008, the date H.R. 6331: Medicare Improvements for Patients & Providers Act of 2008 was enacted.

Priority Area B: Resource Center
Eligible applicants include domestic public or private and non-profit entities including state and local governments, Indian tribal governments and organizations (American Indian/Alaskan Native/Native American), faith-based organizations, community-based organizations, and institutions of higher education.
Applicants must have demonstrable experience, on a nationwide-basis, in administering programs, conducting nationwide outreach to target populations, providing assistance on benefits outreach and enrollment, providing training and technical assistance and partnering with state and local organizations serving seniors.

SHIPs, State Agencies on Aging, AAAs, and ADRCs have successfully filled an important role, providing valuable support at both the state and community levels for organizations involved in reaching people likely to be eligible for the Low Income Subsidy program (LIS), Medicare Savings Program (MSP), Medicare Part D and in assisting beneficiaries in applying for benefits. CMS and AoA seek plans from states that will describe how the MIPPA funds will be used to enhance those efforts through statewide and local coalition building focused on intensified outreach activities to help beneficiaries understand and apply for their Medicare benefits. States should provide one coordinated state plan in their application that covers the activities supported by the various funding sources available under MIPPA.

MIPPA presents a new opportunity to build on the successful collaboration between AoA and CMS through the Medicare Modernization Act (MMA). Through a new collaboration, CMS and AoA are jointly administering the MIPPA funding through a single program announcement and a coordinated implementation and monitoring process as a model for similar state and local collaboration for this funding.

Priority Areas

PRIORITY AREA ELIGIBLE APPLICANT PROGRAM ACTIVITY FORMULA/COMPETITION
Priority Area A.1 Existing State SHIP Grant Recipients LIS, MSP, and Medicare Part D Outreach and Outreach to Rural Areas Outreach Formula
Priority Area A.2 State Agencies on Aging LIS, MSP, and Medicare Part D Outreach and Outreach to Rural Areas Outreach Formula
Priority Area A.3 Existing ADRC State Grant Recipients as of July 15, 2008
MSP and Medicare Part D Outreach Formula
Priority Area B Public or Private and Non-Profits Entities Resource Center Competition

MIPPA FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES:

This section describes the various funding opportunities available in MIPPA, (§119, PL 110-275) to State SHIPS, States for AAAs (as defined in §102 of the Older Americans Act (OAA) of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3002)), ADRCs, and for a National Resource Center. (Allocation of funds for Native American programs is carried out under the OAA of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3001 et seq.)).

A.1: SHIP: Grants to State SHIPs to provide enhanced outreach to eligible Medicare beneficiaries regarding their benefits and enhanced outreach to individuals who may be eligible for the LIS or for the MSP. A total of $7.5 million is being made available for this purpose. Specific amounts available to each state are listed in Attachment H. The amount allocated to a SHIP will be based on two factors. Two thirds of the $7.5M will be allocated based on the number of Medicare beneficiaries in the state who are likely eligible, but not yet enrolled, for LIS. One third of the $7.5 million will be allocated based on the number of beneficiaries who are eligible for Part D and who live in rural areas.

A.2: AAAs: Grants to State Agencies on Aging for AAAs to provide enhanced outreach to eligible Medicare beneficiaries regarding their benefits and enhanced outreach to individuals who may be eligible for the LIS, MSP, Part D and Part D in rural areas. A total of $9.75 million is being made available for this purpose. Anticipated amounts available to each state are listed in Attachment H.

States have the option to develop their own plan for allocating these funds to either all or to a subset of their AAAs, or states can utilize a pre-defined allocation to their AAAs to maximize local outreach efforts. The pre-defined allocation will be available for States prior to the applicants conference call scheduled for February 4, 2009 at http://www.aoa.gov/doingbus/fundopp/fundopp.aspx. States are requested to limit administrative costs to 8%.

A.3: ADRC: There are two funding streams in MIPPA directed to ADRCs. Funding is available for ADRCs to provide outreach to individuals regarding the benefits available under Part D and under the MSP. Reprogrammed funding from FY 2008 is available for ADRCs for providing outreach to individuals regarding Part D benefits.

Funds will be allocated to State Agencies on Aging via a formula patterned after the statutory formula used for A.1 and A.2. Grants are available to State Agencies on Aging for ADRCs to provide outreach to individuals regarding the benefits available under Part D and MSPs. A total of $7.5 million is being made available for this purpose. Specific amounts available to each state are listed in Attachment H.

States have the option to develop their own plan for allocating these funds to either all their ADRCs or a subset of their ADRCs, or states can utilize a pre-defined allocation to their ADRCs. The pre-defined allocation will be available for States prior to the applicants conference call scheduled for February 4, 2009 at http://www.aoa.gov/doingbus/fundopp/fundopp.aspx. To maximize local outreach efforts, states are requested to limit administrative costs to 8%.

Priority Area B – National Resource Center

Background
Many older Americans are eligible for, but not receiving federal and state benefits ranging from income supplements to energy assistance to health care assistance. For example, it is estimated that up to 1.77 million low-income beneficiaries are eligible for, but not receiving, low-income subsidies under the Medicare Part D prescription drug benefit.

In recognition of this underutilization of federal and state benefit programs, Congress amended the Older Americans Act (OAA) in 2006 with language directing AoA to provide technical assistance to States, Area Agencies on Aging, and service providers to provide outreach and benefits enrollment assistance, particularly to older individuals with greatest economic need, for Federal and State programs.

Further, in reauthorizing the OAA, Congress directed AoA to work with an experienced entity to establish a national center on benefits outreach and enrollment to:
(i) Maintain and update web-based decision support and enrollment tools and integrated, person-centered systems designed to inform older individuals about the full range of benefits for which the individuals may be eligible under Federal and State programs;
(ii) Utilize cost-effective strategies to find older individuals with greatest economic need and enroll the individuals in the programs for which they are qualified;
(iii) Create and support efforts for Aging and Disability Resource Centers (ADRCs), and other public and private State and community-based organizations, including faith-based organizations and coalitions, to serve as benefits enrollment centers for the programs;
(iv) Develop and maintain an information clearinghouse on best practices and cost-effective methods for finding and enrolling older individuals with greatest economic need in the programs for which the individuals are eligible; and
(v) Provide, in collaboration with related Federal agency partners administering the Federal programs, training and technical assistance on effective outreach, screening, enrollment, and follow-up strategies.

In 2008, Congress approved $2 million in Title IV of the OAA for a national center on benefits outreach and enrollment. A Program Announcement was published and in September of 2008 a grant was issued to the National Council on Aging to develop a center that, building on best practices such as person-centered assistance and web-based decision-support tools, would collaborate with federal, state and local partners to ensure more complete and cost-effective enrollment of seniors and people with disabilities, including those of low-income, in the full array of state and federal benefits for which they are eligible.

Also in 2008 Congress approved $30 million in the Medicare Trust Fund to support Low Income Subsidy outreach and enrollment. $5 million is allocated to support a national resource center on benefits outreach and enrollment. This Program Announcement calls for a national resource center which will coordinate efforts to inform older Americans and beneficiaries with disabilities about the benefits available under federal and state programs, with an emphasis on providing information on the Low Income Subsidy and Medicare Savings Program benefits.