Special Open Door Forum: Convening of the Special Needs Plan Chronic Condition Panel

 

Special Open Door Forum:

 

Convening of the Special Needs Plan Chronic Condition Panel

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

2:00 PM to 3:00 PM ET

 

(Conference Call Only)

 

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services will conduct an open door forum to announce the convening of the Special Needs Plan Chronic Condition Panel. The panel will determine the conditions that meet the definition of severe or disabling chronic conditions in accordance with Public Law 110-275, Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act of 2008. The forum will be held via audio-conference on September 10, 2008.  We will announce the names of the panel members as well as solicit written comments regarding the determination of the conditions that meet the definition of severe and disabling chronic conditions under section 1859(b)(6)(B)(iii) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395w-28(b)(6)(B)(iii). The aforementioned law defines "Severe or Disabling Chronic Conditions Specialized Needs Individual"-

 

(1) IN GENERAL- Section 1859(b)(6)(B)(iii) of the Social Security Act

(42 U.S.C. 1395w-28(b)(6)(B)(iii)) is amended by inserting `who have

one or more co morbid and medically complex chronic conditions that are

substantially disabling or life threatening, have a high risk of hospitalization

or other significant adverse health outcomes, and require specialized delivery

systems across domains of care' before the period at the end.

 

We are most interested in comments related to identifying the set of chronic conditions having significant medical, psychosocial, mental, and functional effects that require specialized care as prescribed by the law. CMS encourages consideration of conditions that lend themselves to effective care management and service delivery under a capitated health plan arrangement. In addition to commenting on criteria the panel may use for selecting conditions, we urge commenter to also consider the need for face validity and administrative feasibility. Those interested in responding to CMS' request for written comments are invited to send them to SNPpanel@cms.hhs.gov beginning September 10, 2008 through October 8, 2008.

 

We look forward to your participation.

 

Open Door Forum Instructions:

**Capacity is limited so dial in early. You may begin dialing into this forum as early as 1:45 PM ET.**

Dial: 1-800-837-1935

Reference Conference ID 62238545

Note: TTY Communications Relay Services are available for the Hearing Impaired. For TTY services dial 7-1-1 or 1-800-855-2880 and for Internet Relay services click here http://www.consumer.att.com/relay/which/index.html . A Relay Communications Assistant will help.

 

An audio recording of this Special Forum will be posted to the Special ODF website at http://www.cms.hhs.gov/OpenDoorForums/05_ODF_SpecialODF.asp and will be accessible for downloading beginning September 17, 2008 and available for 30 days.

 

For automatic emails of Open Door Forum schedule updates (E-Mailing list subscriptions) and to view Frequently Asked Questions please visit our website at: http://www.cms.hhs.gov/OpenDoorForums/

 

Thank you.