Pphf 2013 - Cooperative Agreement To Support Navigators In Federally-facilitated And State Partnership Exchanges

 

Section 1311(i) of the Affordable Care Act authorizes Exchange Navigators in States with a Federally-facilitated Exchange (FFE). Exchanges are required to develop and implement Navigator grant programs. Navigators will serve consumers in States with an FFE, including State Partnership Exchanges. As health reform implementation continues, consumers will benefit from understanding new programs, taking advantage of new protections, and navigating the system to find the most affordable coverage that meets their needs. Exchange Navigators are intended to assist consumers in those areas in the following ways:
•Maintain expertise in eligibility, enrollment, and program specifications and conduct public education activities to raise awareness about the Exchange;
•Provide information and services in a fair, accurate, and impartial manner. Such information must acknowledge other health programs (e.g., Medicaid, Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP));
•Facilitate selection of a QHP;
•Provide referrals to any applicable office of health insurance consumer assistance or health insurance ombudsman established under Section 2793 of the Public Health Service (PHS) Act, or any other appropriate State agency or agencies, for any enrollee with a grievance, complaint, or question regarding their health plan, coverage, or a determination under such plan or coverage; and
•Provide information in a manner that is culturally and linguistically appropriate to the needs of the population being served by the Exchange, including individuals with limited English proficiency, and ensure accessibility and usability of Navigator tools, such as fact sheets, and functions for individuals with disabilities in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act.

Deleted 02/05/2016 (Archived.) 93.750 Agency: Department of Health and Human Services
Office: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Cooperative Agreements Not Applicable. Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act § 1311(i); 45 C.F.R. §155.210 and title IV Section 4002 of the Affordable Care Act establishing the Prevention and Public Health Fund (PPHF). Funding through the cooperative agreement is open to self-employed individuals and private and public entities including community and consumer-focused nonprofit groups; trade, industry and professional associations; commercial fishing industry organizations; ranching and farming organizations; chambers of commerce; unions; resource partners of the Small Business Administration; licensed insurance agents and brokers; and other public or private entities. Other entities may include but are not limited to Indian Tribes, tribal organizations, urban Indian organizations, and State or local human services. Beneficiaries must propose to serve in a State with a FFE to be eligible to be served by applicants receiving funding through this cooperative agreement. All applicants (individuals, entities, and all members making up a consortium) should submit a brief statement (one or two short paragraphs) within the Project Narrative attesting that they are not one of the following ineligible entities: Health insurance issuers, subsidiaries of health insurance issuers, associations that include members of, or lobbies on behalf of, the insurance industry, or recipients of any direct or indirect consideration from any health insurance issuer in connection with the enrollment of any individuals or employees in a QHP or non-QHP. OMB Circular No. A-87 applies to this program. Preapplication coordination is not applicable. Environmental impact information is not required for this program. This program is excluded from coverage under E.O. 12372. OMB Circular No. A-102 applies to this program. OMB Circular No. A-110 applies to this program. 1.All applicants under this announcement must have an Employer Identification Number/Taxpayer Identification Number (EIN/TIN) to apply. Please note, the time needed to complete the EIN/TIN registration process is substantial, and applicants should therefore begin the process of obtaining an EIN/TIN immediately upon posting of this FOA to ensure this information is received in advance of application deadlines.
2.All applicants, as well as sub-recipients must have a Dun and Bradstreet (D&B) Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) number at the time of application in order to be considered for a grant or cooperative agreement. A DUNS number is required whether an applicant is submitting a paper application (only applicable if a waiver is granted) or using the Government-wide electronic portal, http://www.grants.gov. The DUNS number is a nine-digit identification number that uniquely identifies business entities. Obtaining a DUNS number is easy and free. To obtain a DUNS number, access the following website: www.dunandbradstreet.com or call 1-866-705-5711. This number should be entered in the block with the applicant's name and address on the cover page of the application (Item 8c on the Form SF-424, Application for Federal Assistance). The name and address in the application should be exactly as given for the DUNS number. Applicants should obtain this DUNS number as soon as possible after the announcement is posted to ensure all registration steps are completed in time.
3.The applicant must also register in the System for Award Management (SAM) database in order to be able to submit the application. Applicants are encouraged to register early, and must have their DUNS and EIN/TIN numbers in order to do so. Information about SAM is available at https://www.sam.gov/portal/public/SAM/. The SAM registration process is a separate process from submitting an application. You should allow a minimum of five business days to complete SAM registration; however, in some cases, the registration process can take approximately two weeks or longer to be completed. Therefore, applicants should begin the SAM registration process as soon as possible after the announcement is posted to ensure that it does not impair your ability to meet required submission deadlines.
4.Authorized Organizational Representative: The Authorized Organizational Representative (AOR) who will officially submit an application on behalf of the organization must register with grants.gov for a username and password. AORs must complete a profile with Grants.gov using their organization’s DUNS Number to obtain their username and password at http://grants.gov/applicants/get_registered.jsp. AORs must wait one business day after successful registration in SAM before entering their profiles in Grants.gov. Applicants should complete this process as soon as possible after successful registration in SAM to ensure this step is completed in time to apply before application deadlines.
5.When an AOR registers with Grants.gov to submit applications on behalf of an organization, that organization’s E-Biz POC will receive an email notification. The email address provided in the profile will be the email used to send the notification from Grants.gov to the E-Biz POC with the AOR copied on the correspondence.
6.The E-Biz POC must then login to Grants.gov (using the organization’s DUNS number for the username and the special password called “M-PIN”) and approve the AOR, thereby providing permission to submit applications.
7.Any files uploaded or attached to the Grants.Gov application must be PDF file format and must contain a valid file format extension in the filename. Even though Grants.gov allows applicants to attach any file formats as part of their application, CMS restricts this practice and only accepts PDF file formats. Any file submitted as part of the Grants.gov application that is not in a PDF file format, or contains password protection, will not be accepted for processing and will be excluded from the application during the review process. In addition, the use of compressed file formats such as ZIP, RAR, or Adobe Portfolio will not be accepted. The application must be submitted in a file format that can easily be copied and read by reviewers. It is recommended that scanned copies not be submitted through Grants.gov unless the applicant confirms the clarity of the documents. Pages cannot be reduced in size, resulting in multiple pages on a single sheet, to avoid exceeding the page limitation. All documents that do not conform to the above specifications will be excluded from the application materials during the review process.
8.After you electronically submit your application, you will receive an acknowledgement from http://www.grants.gov that contains a Grants.gov tracking number. HHS will retrieve your application package from Grants.gov. Please note, applicants may incur a time delay before they receive acknowledgement that the application has been accepted by the Grants.gov system. Applicants should not wait until the application deadline to apply because notification by Grants.gov that the application is incomplete may not be received until close to or after the application deadline, eliminating the opportunity to correct errors and resubmit the application. Applications submitted after the deadline, as a result of errors on the part of the applicant, will not be accepted and/or granted a waiver.
9.After HHS retrieves your application package from Grants.gov, a return receipt will be emailed to the applicant contact. This will be in addition to the validation number provided by Grants.gov.
10.All grant applications must be submitted electronically and be received through http://www.grants.gov by 1:00 pm Eastern Daylight Time on the applicable due date.
11.All applications will receive an automatic time stamp upon submission and applicants will receive an email reply acknowledging the application’s receipt.
•Applications will be screened to determine eligibility for further review using the criteria detailed in Section III, Eligibility Information, of this solicitation.
•An evaluation rubric will be developed by HHS, which will consist of critical elements identified in Section V, Application Review Information, of this solicitation. This evaluation rubric will be used by qualified, unbiased experts in their review of all applications. An applicant may receive a score of up to 100 points.
•The results of the objective review of applications by qualified experts will be used to advise the approving HHS official. Final award decisions will be made by a HHS program official. In making these decisions, the HHS program official will take into consideration: the regulatory requirement that there be at least two types of Navigators in each Exchange and that one of these Navigators be a community and consumer focused nonprofit group; span or scope of populations proposed to be served; recommendations of the review panel; reviews for programmatic and grants management compliance; the reasonableness of the estimated cost to the government and anticipated results; and the likelihood the proposed cost will result in the benefits expected. HHS reserves the right to conduct pre-award Budget Negotiations with potential awardees.
•Successful applicants can receive one cooperative agreement award based on this solicitation.
•Evaluations will be made available for review upon request, excluding scores.
•Successful applicants will receive a Notice of Award (NoA) signed and dated by the HHS Grants Management Officer. The NoA is the document authorizing the grant award and will be sent by electronic mail to the awardee as listed on its SF-424. Any communication between HHS and applicants prior to issuance of the NoA is not an authorization to begin performance of a project.
•Unsuccessful applicants will be notified by letter, sent electronically or through the U.S. Postal Service to the applicant organization as listed on its SF-424, within 30 days of the award date. Apr 05, 2013 to Aug 14, 2013 Anticipated Award Date: August 14, 2013. Not Applicable. Not Applicable. Successful applicants are required to demonstrate that they will use cooperative agreement funds to, at a minimum, carry out the statutory and regulatory duties of a Navigator for the entire length of the grant period, including: maintaining expertise in eligibility, enrollment, and program specifications; conducting public education activities to raise awareness about the Exchange; providing information and services in a fair, accurate, and impartial manner; facilitating selection of a QHP; providing referrals to any applicable office of health insurance consumer assistance or ombudsman established under Section 2793 of the PHS Act to address consumer grievances, questions, or complaints about their health plan, coverage, or a determination; and providing information in a manner that is culturally and linguistically appropriate and accessible to individuals with disabilities. Use of these funds should be to build a program that supports the following required duties:
•Maintain expertise in eligibility, enrollment, and program specifications and conduct public education activities to raise awareness about the Exchange;
•Provide information and services in a fair, accurate, and impartial manner. Such information must acknowledge other health programs (e.g., Medicaid, Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP));
•Facilitate selection of a QHP;
•Provide referrals to any applicable office of health insurance consumer assistance or health insurance ombudsman established under Section 2793 of the PHS Act, or any other appropriate State agency or agencies, for any enrollee with a grievance, complaint, or question regarding their health plan, coverage, or a determination under such plan or coverage; and
•Provide information in a manner that is culturally and linguistically appropriate to the needs of the population being served by the Exchange, including individuals with limited English proficiency, and ensure accessibility and usability of Navigator tools, such as fact sheets, and functions for individuals with disabilities in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. Funds are restricted from being used:
1.To cover the costs to provide direct health care services to individuals.
2.To match any other Federal funds.
3.To provide services, equipment, or support that are the legal responsibility of another party under Federal or State law (e.g., vocational rehabilitation or education services) or under any civil rights laws. Such legal responsibilities include, but are not limited to, modifications of a workplace or other reasonable accommodations that are a specific obligation of the employer or other party.
4.To supplant existing State, local, or private funding of infrastructure or services such as staff salaries, etc.
5.To cover any pre-award costs.
6.To carry out services that are the responsibility of the Exchange, such as eligibility and enrollment determinations, or to carry out any functions already funded through federal Exchange Establishment grants under section 1311(a) of the Affordable Care Act.
7.To assist consumers residing in a State with a State-based Exchange (SBE) or in a State the Navigator does not serve. Navigators may provide these consumers with basic information about Exchanges, but should refer them to Navigators, the Exchange Call Center, and other resources within the State where the consumer resides for more in-depth assistance. Grantee must provide required quarterly and final (at the end of the cooperative agreement period) reports in a form prescribed by CMS. Reports will be submitted electronically. These reports will outline how cooperative agreement funds were used, describe program progress, describe any barriers encountered including how any potential conflicts of interest were mitigated and process for handling non-compliant staff or volunteers, describe how the program ensured access to culturally and linguistically appropriate services, and detail measurable outcomes to include how many staff and volunteers completed required training and became certified as Navigators. CMS will provide the format for program reporting and the technical assistance necessary to complete program reporting requirements. At each stage, CMS will evaluate reports and provide feedback to recipients.
Recipients agree to separately identify to each sub-recipient, and document at the time of sub-award and the time of disbursement of funds, the Federal award number, and CFDA number 93.750 for 2013 PPHF fund purposes, and amount of PPHF funds.
Recipient agrees to report on the following: This award requires the recipient to complete projects or activities which are funded under the 2013 PPHF and to report on use of PPHF funds provided through this award. Information from these reports will be made available to the public.
Recipients awarded a grant, cooperative agreement, or contract from such funds with a value of $25,000 or more shall produce reports on a semi-annual basis with a reporting cycle of January 1 – June 30 and July 1 – December 31; and email such reports (in 508 compliant format) to the HHS grants management official assigned to the grant or cooperative agreement no later than 20 calendar days after the end of each reporting period (i.e., July 20 and January 20, respectively). Recipient reports shall reference the notice of award number and title of the grant or cooperative agreement, and include a summary of the activities undertaken and identify any sub-grants or sub-contracts awarded (including the purpose of the award and the identity of the [sub] recipient). Grantees must report on a quarterly basis cash transaction data via the Payment Management System (PMS) using the FFR in lieu of completing a SF-272/SF-272A. The FFR, containing cash transaction data, is due within 30 days after the end of each quarter. No progress reports are required. Grantees must report on a quarterly basis cash transaction data via the Payment Management System (PMS) using the FFR in lieu of completing a SF-272/SF-272A. The FFR, containing cash transaction data, is due within 30 days after the end of each quarter. Awardees must agree to cooperate with any Federal evaluation of the program and must provide required quarterly and final (at the end of the cooperative agreement period) reports in a form prescribed by CMS. In accordance with the provisions of OMB Circular No. A-133 (Revised, June 27, 2003), "Audits of States, Local Governments, and Non-Profit Organizations," nonfederal entities that expend financial assistance of $500,000 or more in Federal awards will have a single or a program-specific audit conducted for that year. Nonfederal entities that expend less than $500,000 a year in Federal awards are exempt from Federal audit requirements for that year, except as noted in Circular No. A-133. Recipient must maintain expenditures and other financial records detailing the use of cooperative agreement funds for three years from the day on which the grantee submits the last financial status report for the grant period unless there is an open investigation in which case the records must be maintained during the duration of the investigation. Recipient should submit these reports to CMS on a quarterly basis along with their quarterly progress reports. This program has no statutory formula.
This program has no matching requirements.
MOE requirements are not applicable to this program. •Grant period is one year from date of award. See the following for information on how assistance is awarded/released: •Once an award is made, the funds are posted in recipient accounts established in the Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Payment Management, Payment Management System (PMS). Grantees may then access their funds by using the PMS funds request process. Upon notification of award, recipients under this announcement will be able to drawdown funds for approved start-up costs. The remaining funds will be reimbursable upon meeting required milestones. See Regional Agency Offices. Programmatic Questions
Navigatorgrants@cms.hhs.gov
Administrative Questions
Michelle Feagins
Grants Management Division
Office of Acquisition and Grants Management
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
Department of Health and Human Services
Michelle.Feagins@cms.hhs.gov
1-301-492-4312. MIchelle Feagins 200 Independence Ave., S.W., Washington, District of Columbia 20201 Email: Michelle.Feagins@cms.hhs.gov Phone: 1-301-492-4312 http://www.cciio.cms.gov 75-0116-0-1-551. (Cooperative Agreements) FY 13 $66,955,057; FY 14 Estimate Not Available; and FY 15 Estimate Not Available N/A. •The criteria as outlined in this grant announcement and in Affordable Care Act Section 1311(i) and 45 CFR § 155.210.
•Administrative Regulations for Grants:
•45 CFR, Part 74, Uniform Administrative Requirements for Awards and Subawards to Institutions of Higher Education, Hospitals, Other Nonprofit Organizations, and Commercial Organizations.
•45 CFR, Part 92, Uniform Administrative Requirements for Grants and Cooperative Agreements to State, Local and Tribal Governments.
•Grants Policy:
•HHS Grants Policy Statement, Revised 01/07.
•Cost Principles:
•Title 2, Code of Federal Regulations: Grants and Agreements, Part 220 – Cost Principles for Educational Institutions (previously OMB Circular A-21)
•Title 2, Code of Federal Regulations: Grant and Agreements, Part 225—Cost Principles for State, Local, and Indian Tribal Governments (previously OMB Circular A-87).
•Title 2, Code of Federal Regulations: Grant and Agreements, Part 230—Cost Principles for Non-Profit Organizations (previously OMB Circular A 122).
•48 CFR subpart 31.2—Contracts with Commercial Organizations
•Audit Requirements:
•OMB Circular A 133, Audits of States, Local Governments, and Non profit Organizations.
Not Applicable.