Medicare Program; Funding in Support of the Pennsylvania Rural Health Model-Cooperative Agreement, 17998-18000 [2017-07555]
Download as PDF
sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with NOTICES
17998
Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 71 / Friday, April 14, 2017 / Notices
is used by State agencies who conduct
certification surveys on CMS’ behalf to
maintain information on the facility’s
characteristics that facilitate conducting
surveys, e.g., determining the size and
the composition of the survey team on
the basis of the number of ORs/
procedure rooms and the types of
surgical procedures performed in the
ASC. Form Numbers: CMS–370 and
CMS–377 (OMB control number: 0938–
0266); Frequency: Occasionally;
Affected Public: Private Sector—
Business or other for-profit and Not-forprofit institutions; Number of
Respondents: 5,694; Total Annual
Responses: 1,898; Total Annual Hours:
627. (For policy questions regarding this
collection contact Erin McCoy at 410–
786–2337.)
3. Type of Information Collection
Request: Revision of a currently
approved collection; Title of
Information Collection: Consumer
Experience Survey Data Collection; Use:
Section 1311(c)(4) of the Affordable
Care Act requires the Department of
Health and Human Services (HHS) to
develop an enrollee satisfaction survey
system that assesses consumer
experience with qualified health plans
(QHPs) offered through an Exchange. It
also requires public display of enrollee
satisfaction information by the
Exchange to allow individuals to easily
compare enrollee satisfaction levels
between comparable plans. HHS
established the QHP Enrollee
Experience Survey (QHP Enrollee
Survey) to assess consumer experience
with the QHPs offered through the
Marketplaces. The survey include topics
to assess consumer experience with the
health care system such as
communication skills of providers and
ease of access to health care services.
CMS developed the survey using the
Consumer Assessment of Health
Providers and Systems (CAHPS®)
principles (https://www.ahrq.gov/
cahps/about-cahps/principles/
index.html) and established an
application and approval process for
survey vendors who want to participate
in collecting QHP enrollee experience
data.
The QHP Enrollee Survey, which is
based on the CAHPS® Health Plan
Survey, will be used to (1) help
consumers choose among competing
health plans, (2) provide actionable
information that the QHPs can use to
improve performance, (3) provide
information that regulatory and
accreditation organizations can use to
regulate and accredit plans, and (4)
provide a longitudinal database for
consumer research. CMS completed two
rounds of developmental testing
VerDate Sep<11>2014
16:21 Apr 13, 2017
Jkt 241001
including 2014 psychometric testing
and 2015 beta testing of the QHP
Enrollee Survey. The psychometric
testing helped determine psychometric
properties and provided an initial
measure of performance for
Marketplaces and QHPs to use for
quality improvement. Based on
psychometric test results, CMS further
refined the questionnaire and sampling
design to conduct the 2015 beta test of
the QHP Enrollee Survey. CMS
previously obtained clearance for the
2016 and 2017 administrations of the
QHP Enrollee Survey.
At this time, CMS is requesting to
renew approval for the information
collection related to the QHP Enrollee
Experience Survey in 2018–2020. These
activities are necessary to ensure that
CMS fulfills legislative mandates
established by section 1311(c)(4) of the
Affordable Care Act to develop an
‘‘enrollee satisfaction survey system’’
and provide such information on
Marketplace Web sites. CMS is also
seeking approval to remove eight survey
questions beginning with the 2018
survey administration. With the removal
of these eight questions, the revised
total estimated annual burden hours of
national implementation of the QHP
Enrollee Survey is 22,523 hours with
90,015 responses. The revised total
annualized burden over three years for
this requested information collection is
67,569 hours and the total average
annualized number of responses is
270,045 responses. Form Number:
CMS–10488 (OMB Control Number:
0938–1221); Frequency: Annually;
Affected Public: Public sector
(Individuals and Households), Private
sector (Business or other for-profits and
Not-for-profit institutions); Number of
Respondents: 90,015; Total Annual
Responses: 90,015; Total Annual Hours:
22,523; (For policy questions regarding
this collection contact Nidhi SinghShah at 301–492–5110.)
4. Type of Information Collection
Request: Revision of a previously
approved collection; Title of
Information Collection: Beneficiary and
Family Centered Data Collection; Use:
The CMS Quality Improvement
Organization (QIO) Program includes
Beneficiary and Family Centered Care
(BFCC) QIOs whose functions, as set
forth in Section 1862(g) of the Social
Security Act, are to improve the
effectiveness, efficiency, economy, and
quality of services delivered to Medicare
beneficiaries. To accomplish these
goals, the QIOs review health care
services funded under Medicare to
determine whether those services are
reasonable, medically necessary,
furnished in the appropriate setting, and
PO 00000
Frm 00032
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
meet professionally recognized
standards of quality. The QIOs also
review health care services where the
beneficiary or a representative has
complained about the quality of those
services or is appealing alleged
premature discharge.
Under the current 11th QIO Statement
of Work (SOW), two organizations are
providing services as BFCC QIOs across
all of the United States. The QIO
evaluation criteria have been revised to
reflect this national regionalization and
it is important for CMS to understand
the impact on beneficiaries from this
reorganization. The information will be
used to evaluate the success of each QIO
in meeting its contractual requirements
and to understand the experience of
Medicare beneficiaries and/or their
representative with QIO contract
mandated work. Form Number: CMS–
10393 (OMB Control number: 0938–
1177); Frequency: Once; Affected
Public: Individuals or households;
Number of Respondents: 24,970;
Number of Responses: 24,970; Total
Annual Hours: 2,899. (For policy
questions regarding this collection,
contact David Russo at 617–565–1310.)
Dated: April 11, 2017.
William N. Parham, III,
Director, Paperwork Reduction Staff, Office
of Strategic Operations and Regulatory
Affairs.
[FR Doc. 2017–07568 Filed 4–13–17; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4120–01–P
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND
HUMAN SERVICES
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid
Services
[CMS–5523–N]
Medicare Program; Funding in Support
of the Pennsylvania Rural Health
Model—Cooperative Agreement
Centers for Medicare &
Medicaid Services (CMS), Department
of Health and Human Services (HHS).
ACTION: Notice.
AGENCY:
This notice announces the
issuance of the January 12, 2017 singlesource cooperative agreement funding
opportunity announcement to begin the
Pennsylvania Rural Health Model’s
implementation activities, titled
‘‘Funding in Support of the
Pennsylvania Rural Health Model
Cooperative Agreement’’ (the ‘‘Funding
Opportunity’’). This Funding
Opportunity is available solely to the
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania acting
through the Pennsylvania Department of
Health (the ‘‘Commonwealth’’). This
SUMMARY:
E:\FR\FM\14APN1.SGM
14APN1
Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 71 / Friday, April 14, 2017 / Notices
sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with NOTICES
Funding Opportunity provides the
Commonwealth with necessary start-up
funding for the Model and is open to the
Pennsylvania Department of Health,
and, once established, the Rural Health
Redesign Center (RHRC) (or in the event
that the RHRC is not established, the
Pennsylvania Department of Health).
DATES: The project period of the initial
award, in the amount of $10 million, to
the Pennsylvania Department of Health
will be 12 months from the date of
award. The project period of the second
award, in the amount of $15 million, to
the RHRC, or to the Pennsylvania
Department of Health if the RHRC has
not been established, will be 36 months
from the date of award. The
performance period of the Pennsylvania
Rural Health Model began on January
13, 2017, and will conclude on
December 31, 2023.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Stephen Cha, (410) 786–1876.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
The Pennsylvania Rural Health Model
(the ‘‘Model’’) is a new Centers for
Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)
alternative payment model designed to
improve health and health care in rural
Pennsylvania. Specifically, the Model
seeks to increase rural Pennsylvanians’
access to high-quality care and improve
their health, while also reducing the
growth of hospital expenditures across
payers, including Medicare fee-forservice, and increasing the financial
viability of the State’s rural hospitals to
ensure continued access to care
facilities. The Model will test whether
the deliberate care delivery
transformation of participating rural
hospitals, including critical access
hospitals (CAHs), in conjunction with
population-based payments to those
hospitals (in the form of prospective
hospital global budgets for participating
payers) improves health outcomes and
quality of care for the Commonwealth’s
rural residents, reduces the growth of
hospital expenditures across payers, and
improves the financial viability of
participant rural hospitals to maintain
access to care for the Commonwealth’s
rural residents. Participation in the
model is voluntary for hospitals and
payers; and CMS and the
Commonwealth will collaborate to
achieve participation sufficient to meet
the hospital participation and payer
participation scale targets in the Model.
This Model is being tested by the Center
for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation
(the ‘‘Innovation Center’’) using the
authority of the Secretary of the
Department of Health and Human
VerDate Sep<11>2014
16:21 Apr 13, 2017
Jkt 241001
Services (the ‘‘Secretary’’) in section
1115A of the Social Security Act (the
Act).
CMS believes that states can be
critical partners of the federal
government and other health care
payers to facilitate the design,
implementation, and evaluation of
community-centered health systems that
can deliver significantly improved cost,
quality, and population health
performance results for all state
residents, including Medicare,
Medicaid, and Children’s Health
Insurance Program (CHIP) beneficiaries.
States have policy and regulatory
authorities, as well as ongoing
relationships with commercial health
care payers, health plans, and health
care providers that can accelerate
delivery system reform. CMS has
previously partnered with states to
accelerate delivery system reform
through initiatives such as the State
Innovation Models (SIM) initiative. SIM
provides state-based health care
transformation efforts with funding to
test the ability of states to utilize policy
and regulatory levers to advance multipayer health care payment and delivery
system reform models.
On January 13, 2017, CMS and the
Commonwealth entered into the
Pennsylvania Rural Health Model
Agreement (the ‘‘State Agreement’’) to
implement the Pennsylvania Rural
Health Model. The performance period
of the Model began on January 13, 2017
and will end on December 31, 2023. As
part of the Model, the Commonwealth
commits to achieving population health
outcomes, access and quality targets,
financial targets, and rural hospital
participation and payer participation
scale targets, as defined in the State
Agreement. The Commonwealth intends
to legislatively authorize and, through
the Pennsylvania Department of Health,
establish the RHRC to operate certain
aspects of the Model.
The Funding Opportunity offers up to
a total of $25 million in funding to the
Commonwealth over a 4-year period,
with an initial award to the
Pennsylvania Department of Health, and
a second award to the RHRC (or to the
Pennsylvania Department of Health, if
the RHRC is not established in time).
The Pennsylvania Department of Health
will have the opportunity to apply for
the initial award with a project period
of one year (one 12-month budget
period) from the date of the award. Then
the RHRC, if established in time, will
have the opportunity to apply for the
second award with a project period of
36 months from the date of the award,
comprised of three 12-month budget
periods. In the event that the RHRC is
PO 00000
Frm 00033
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
17999
not established in time, the
Pennsylvania Department of Health can
apply again as the second award
applicant.
II. Provisions of the Notice
The Funding Opportunity offers $10
million in start-up funding to the
Pennsylvania Department of Health to
begin the Model’s implementation
activities, including Model operations,
global budget administration, data
analytics, technical assistance, quality
assurance, and to establish the RHRC (if
authorized to do so by Pennsylvania’s
legislature), to which the Pennsylvania
Department of Health may delegate the
Model’s implementation activities once
the RHRC is established. The Funding
Opportunity also provides the RHRC (or
the Pennsylvania Department of Health,
if the RHRC is not established in time)
with the opportunity to apply for an
additional $15 million to continue
implementation activities under the
Model. In the event that the RHRC is not
established in time, the Pennsylvania
Department of Health can apply as the
second applicant for the additional $15
million to continue implementation
activities under the Model.
As set forth in the State Agreement,
the Commonwealth commits to
achieving population health outcomes,
access and quality targets, financial
targets, and rural hospital participation
and payer participation scale targets.
CMS and the Commonwealth aim to
transform the rural hospital care
delivery system to address community
health needs, achieve financial
sustainability for rural hospitals, and
achieve savings or budget neutrality for
payers participating in the Model.
Payers and rural hospitals can choose to
participate in the Model, and CMS and
the Commonwealth expect to work
closely together to achieve participation
sufficient to meet the hospital
participation and payer participation
scale targets. Additionally, CMS and the
Commonwealth aim for this Model to
deliver meaningful improvements in the
health of the Commonwealth’s rural
population by transforming the
relationships between and among care
delivery and public health systems
across the Commonwealth. CMS and the
Commonwealth believe the Model can
help rural hospitals to succeed, in part
by transitioning hospital payments from
fee-for-service to, prospective hospital
global budgets for participating payers.
More information about the
Pennsylvania Rural Health Model can
be found at: https://innovation.cms.gov/
initiatives/pa-rural-health-model/.
The Funding Opportunity is open
solely to the Pennsylvania Department
E:\FR\FM\14APN1.SGM
14APN1
18000
Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 71 / Friday, April 14, 2017 / Notices
of Health and to the RHRC (once
established). The Pennsylvania
Department of Health is uniquely
positioned as the initial applicant under
the Funding Opportunity based on its
existing knowledge of the Model;
authority and role in administering the
Model; and its existing partnerships and
collaborations with Pennsylvania health
care providers, payers, and communitybased stakeholders. The RHRC (once
established) will also be uniquely
positioned to meet the goals of the
Model (as outlined in the State
Agreement), as it will be established
specifically to provide implementation
support for the Model.
III. Collection of Information
Requirements
This document does not impose
information collection requirements,
that is, reporting, recordkeeping or
third-party disclosure requirements.
Consequently, there is no need for
review by the Office of Management and
Budget under the authority of the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44
U.S.C. 3501 et seq.).
Dated: April 10, 2017.
Seema Verma,
Administrator, Centers for Medicare &
Medicaid Services.
[FR Doc. 2017–07555 Filed 4–11–17; 11:15 am]
BILLING CODE 4120–01–P
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND
HUMAN SERVICES
Administration for Children and
Families
[OMB NO.: 0970–0354]
Proposed Information Collection
Activity; Comment Request; The Early
Head Start Family and Child
Experiences Survey 2018 (Baby
FACES 2018)
Description: The Administration for
Children and Families (ACF) at the U.S.
Department of Health and Human
Services (HHS) seeks approval to collect
descriptive information for the Early
Head Start Family and Child
Experiences Survey 2018 (Baby FACES
2018). This information collection is to
provide nationally representative data
on Early Head Start (EHS) programs,
centers, classrooms, staff, and families
to guide program planning, technical
assistance, and research. The proposed
data collection builds upon a prior
study (Baby FACES 2009; OMB 0970–
0354) that longitudinally followed two
cohorts of children through their
experience in the program. While that
study provided a great deal of
information about program participation
over time and about services received by
children and families, it did not allow
for national level estimates of service
quality, nor inferences about children
who enter the program after 15 months
of age. To fill these knowledge gaps and
to answer additional questions about
how programs function, the proposed
Baby FACES 2018 design will include a
cross-section of a nationally
representative sample of programs,
centers, home visitors, teachers,
classrooms, children and families. This
will allow nationally representative
estimates at all levels at a point in time
and will include the entire age span of
enrolled children.
The goal of this work is to obtain
updated information on EHS programs
and understand better how program
processes support relationships (e.g.,
between home visitors and parents,
between parents and children, and
between teachers and children) which
are hypothesized to lead to improved
child and family outcomes.
Respondents: Early Head Start
program directors, child care center
directors, teachers and home visitors,
and parents of enrolled children.
ANNUAL BURDEN ESTIMATES
[2-Year clearance]
Total
number of
respondents
Instrument
sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with NOTICES
Classroom/home visitor sampling form from EHS staff ......
Child roster form from EHS staff .........................................
Parent consent form ............................................................
Parent survey .......................................................................
Parent Child Report (PCR) ..................................................
Staff survey (Teacher survey and Home Visitor survey) ....
Staff Child Report (SCR) .....................................................
Program director survey ......................................................
Center director survey .........................................................
Estimated Total Annual Burden
Hours: 2,095.
In compliance with the requirements
of Section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the
Administration for Children and
Families is soliciting public comment
on the specific aspects of the
information collection described above.
Copies of the proposed collection of
information can be obtained and
comments may be forwarded by writing
to the Administration for Children and
Families, Office of Planning, Research
and Evaluation, 370 L’Enfant
VerDate Sep<11>2014
16:21 Apr 13, 2017
Jkt 241001
Annual
number of
respondents
563
563
2,475
2,475
2,475
1,575
1,238
150
450
282
282
1,238
1,238
1,238
788
619
75
225
Promenade SW., Washington, DC 20447,
Attn: OPRE Reports Clearance Officer.
Email address: OPREinfocollection@
acf.hhs.gov. All requests should be
identified by the title of the information
collection.
The Department specifically requests
comments on (a) whether the proposed
collection of information is necessary
for the proper performance of the
functions of the agency, including
whether the information shall have
practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the
agency’s estimate of the burden of the
proposed collection of information; (c)
PO 00000
Frm 00034
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 9990
Number of
responses per
respondent
Average
burden hours
per response
1
1
1
1
1
1
2
1
1
Annual burden
hours
.17
.33
.17
.5
.25
.5
.25
.5
.33
48
93
210
619
309
394
310
38
74
the quality, utility, and clarity of the
information to be collected; and (d)
ways to minimize the burden of the
collection of information on
respondents, including through the use
of automated collection techniques or
other forms of information technology.
Consideration will be given to
comments and suggestions submitted
within 60 days of this publication.
Mary Jones,
ACF/OPRE Certifying Officer.
[FR Doc. 2017–07602 Filed 4–13–17; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4184–22–P
E:\FR\FM\14APN1.SGM
14APN1
Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 71 (Friday, April 14, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 17998-18000]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-07555]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
[CMS-5523-N]
Medicare Program; Funding in Support of the Pennsylvania Rural
Health Model--Cooperative Agreement
AGENCY: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), Department of
Health and Human Services (HHS).
ACTION: Notice.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: This notice announces the issuance of the January 12, 2017
single-source cooperative agreement funding opportunity announcement to
begin the Pennsylvania Rural Health Model's implementation activities,
titled ``Funding in Support of the Pennsylvania Rural Health Model
Cooperative Agreement'' (the ``Funding Opportunity''). This Funding
Opportunity is available solely to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
acting through the Pennsylvania Department of Health (the
``Commonwealth''). This
[[Page 17999]]
Funding Opportunity provides the Commonwealth with necessary start-up
funding for the Model and is open to the Pennsylvania Department of
Health, and, once established, the Rural Health Redesign Center (RHRC)
(or in the event that the RHRC is not established, the Pennsylvania
Department of Health).
DATES: The project period of the initial award, in the amount of $10
million, to the Pennsylvania Department of Health will be 12 months
from the date of award. The project period of the second award, in the
amount of $15 million, to the RHRC, or to the Pennsylvania Department
of Health if the RHRC has not been established, will be 36 months from
the date of award. The performance period of the Pennsylvania Rural
Health Model began on January 13, 2017, and will conclude on December
31, 2023.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Stephen Cha, (410) 786-1876.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
The Pennsylvania Rural Health Model (the ``Model'') is a new
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) alternative payment
model designed to improve health and health care in rural Pennsylvania.
Specifically, the Model seeks to increase rural Pennsylvanians' access
to high-quality care and improve their health, while also reducing the
growth of hospital expenditures across payers, including Medicare fee-
for-service, and increasing the financial viability of the State's
rural hospitals to ensure continued access to care facilities. The
Model will test whether the deliberate care delivery transformation of
participating rural hospitals, including critical access hospitals
(CAHs), in conjunction with population-based payments to those
hospitals (in the form of prospective hospital global budgets for
participating payers) improves health outcomes and quality of care for
the Commonwealth's rural residents, reduces the growth of hospital
expenditures across payers, and improves the financial viability of
participant rural hospitals to maintain access to care for the
Commonwealth's rural residents. Participation in the model is voluntary
for hospitals and payers; and CMS and the Commonwealth will collaborate
to achieve participation sufficient to meet the hospital participation
and payer participation scale targets in the Model. This Model is being
tested by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (the
``Innovation Center'') using the authority of the Secretary of the
Department of Health and Human Services (the ``Secretary'') in section
1115A of the Social Security Act (the Act).
CMS believes that states can be critical partners of the federal
government and other health care payers to facilitate the design,
implementation, and evaluation of community-centered health systems
that can deliver significantly improved cost, quality, and population
health performance results for all state residents, including Medicare,
Medicaid, and Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) beneficiaries.
States have policy and regulatory authorities, as well as ongoing
relationships with commercial health care payers, health plans, and
health care providers that can accelerate delivery system reform. CMS
has previously partnered with states to accelerate delivery system
reform through initiatives such as the State Innovation Models (SIM)
initiative. SIM provides state-based health care transformation efforts
with funding to test the ability of states to utilize policy and
regulatory levers to advance multi-payer health care payment and
delivery system reform models.
On January 13, 2017, CMS and the Commonwealth entered into the
Pennsylvania Rural Health Model Agreement (the ``State Agreement'') to
implement the Pennsylvania Rural Health Model. The performance period
of the Model began on January 13, 2017 and will end on December 31,
2023. As part of the Model, the Commonwealth commits to achieving
population health outcomes, access and quality targets, financial
targets, and rural hospital participation and payer participation scale
targets, as defined in the State Agreement. The Commonwealth intends to
legislatively authorize and, through the Pennsylvania Department of
Health, establish the RHRC to operate certain aspects of the Model.
The Funding Opportunity offers up to a total of $25 million in
funding to the Commonwealth over a 4-year period, with an initial award
to the Pennsylvania Department of Health, and a second award to the
RHRC (or to the Pennsylvania Department of Health, if the RHRC is not
established in time). The Pennsylvania Department of Health will have
the opportunity to apply for the initial award with a project period of
one year (one 12-month budget period) from the date of the award. Then
the RHRC, if established in time, will have the opportunity to apply
for the second award with a project period of 36 months from the date
of the award, comprised of three 12-month budget periods. In the event
that the RHRC is not established in time, the Pennsylvania Department
of Health can apply again as the second award applicant.
II. Provisions of the Notice
The Funding Opportunity offers $10 million in start-up funding to
the Pennsylvania Department of Health to begin the Model's
implementation activities, including Model operations, global budget
administration, data analytics, technical assistance, quality
assurance, and to establish the RHRC (if authorized to do so by
Pennsylvania's legislature), to which the Pennsylvania Department of
Health may delegate the Model's implementation activities once the RHRC
is established. The Funding Opportunity also provides the RHRC (or the
Pennsylvania Department of Health, if the RHRC is not established in
time) with the opportunity to apply for an additional $15 million to
continue implementation activities under the Model. In the event that
the RHRC is not established in time, the Pennsylvania Department of
Health can apply as the second applicant for the additional $15 million
to continue implementation activities under the Model.
As set forth in the State Agreement, the Commonwealth commits to
achieving population health outcomes, access and quality targets,
financial targets, and rural hospital participation and payer
participation scale targets. CMS and the Commonwealth aim to transform
the rural hospital care delivery system to address community health
needs, achieve financial sustainability for rural hospitals, and
achieve savings or budget neutrality for payers participating in the
Model. Payers and rural hospitals can choose to participate in the
Model, and CMS and the Commonwealth expect to work closely together to
achieve participation sufficient to meet the hospital participation and
payer participation scale targets. Additionally, CMS and the
Commonwealth aim for this Model to deliver meaningful improvements in
the health of the Commonwealth's rural population by transforming the
relationships between and among care delivery and public health systems
across the Commonwealth. CMS and the Commonwealth believe the Model can
help rural hospitals to succeed, in part by transitioning hospital
payments from fee-for-service to, prospective hospital global budgets
for participating payers. More information about the Pennsylvania Rural
Health Model can be found at: https://innovation.cms.gov/initiatives/pa-rural-health-model/.
The Funding Opportunity is open solely to the Pennsylvania
Department
[[Page 18000]]
of Health and to the RHRC (once established). The Pennsylvania
Department of Health is uniquely positioned as the initial applicant
under the Funding Opportunity based on its existing knowledge of the
Model; authority and role in administering the Model; and its existing
partnerships and collaborations with Pennsylvania health care
providers, payers, and community-based stakeholders. The RHRC (once
established) will also be uniquely positioned to meet the goals of the
Model (as outlined in the State Agreement), as it will be established
specifically to provide implementation support for the Model.
III. Collection of Information Requirements
This document does not impose information collection requirements,
that is, reporting, recordkeeping or third-party disclosure
requirements. Consequently, there is no need for review by the Office
of Management and Budget under the authority of the Paperwork Reduction
Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.).
Dated: April 10, 2017.
Seema Verma,
Administrator, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
[FR Doc. 2017-07555 Filed 4-11-17; 11:15 am]
BILLING CODE 4120-01-P