[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 135 (Monday, July 15, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 42099-42101]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-16871]
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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
Announcement of Requirements and Registration for the ``Stay
Covered Challenge'' and the ``Churn Marketing Research Methodology
Development Challenge''
Authority: 15 U.S.C. 3719.
AGENCY: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, HHS.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
(SAMHSA), an operating division of the U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services, is announcing a new opportunity for individuals and
organizations to help solve a critical problem in today's health
environment. Specifically, there are high levels of involuntary breaks
in health insurance coverage among the non-elderly population in the
United States. These breaks are referred to as ``churning''--when
people transition from one source of insurance coverage to another when
eligibility for assistance changes. Churning makes programs more
complicated and costly to administer and can interrupt continuity of
care, create gaps in coverage, reduce health plans' incentive to invest
in their members' long-term wellness, and interfere with the accurate
and comprehensive measurement of health care quality.
According to a study by the Urban Institute, a total of 29.4
million people will have their eligibility status change each year
beginning in 2014 \1\. This challenge aligns with SAMHSA's mission to
reduce the impact of mental and substance use disorders on America's
communities. SAMHSA recognizes that enrollment in health insurance
plays a significant role in fulfilling this mission, from preventive
health care to behavioral health treatment and recovery. The National
Survey on Drug Use and Health estimates that of the individuals
currently uninsured and expected to be covered under the Affordable
Care Act, 11 million will have a behavioral health need. The literature
on the causes of breaks in coverage (i.e., income, housing volatility),
and the high prevalence of behavioral health conditions among the
uninsured, points to an interrelationship between behavioral health
symptoms and difficulties complying with administrative requirements in
applying for and maintaining continuous coverage.
Additionally, churning has a significant amount of administrative
as well as health costs, and there is a disproportionate impact of this
problem among individuals with behavioral health disorders. Therefore,
SAMHSA is announcing two challenge projects to help develop innovative
solutions to the barriers to developing a communications strategy
targeting individuals who experience churn.
The statutory authority for this challenge competition is section
105 of the America Creating Opportunities to Meaningfully Promote
Excellence in Technology, Education, and Science Reauthorization Act of
2010 (COMPETES Act).
DATES: Challenge submissions accepted until August 31, 2013.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kevin J. Malone, 1 Choke Cherry Road,
Room 8-1014, Rockville, MD 20857, Office: 240.276.2239, Email:
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Subject of Challenge Competitions
SAMHSA is interested in identifying individuals from a marketing
perspective who experience churn, and in developing innovative
strategies for targeting them. SAMHSA has access to relatively good
data on the individuals who are covered by Medicaid, based on
disability, and the providers and community-based organizations that
serve them. However, SAMHSA has very little capacity to identify the
individuals among the uninsured who were disenrolled but remain
eligible.
SAMHSA's strategy is to use the following two challenges to
strengthen communication with individuals in both phases of the process
(prior to losing coverage, and once an individual has been
disenrolled), thereby reducing incidences of churn and minimizing the
period between coverage if it does happen.
1. The ``Stay Covered Challenge'' calls for the development of a
marketing/outreach campaign designed for use by
[[Page 42100]]
providers and community-based organizations in targeting individuals in
Medicaid due to disability. For example, competitors should consider
developing marketing materials communicating the importance of
maintaining eligibility by responding to communications from the
Medicaid agency, and by communicating to the agency about housing
changes or other changes of circumstance that might impact program
eligibility. The materials submitted as a part of the challenge
competition will be evaluated as to how useful they would be in (1)
targeting individuals experiencing or at risk of churn; and (2)
fostering the use of the materials by the full range of providers and
community-based organizations serving Medicaid populations with
behavioral health needs.
2. As there is very limited data available on the recently
disenrolled but eligible population, the ``Churn Marketing Research
Methodology Development Challenge'' asks competitors to develop a
research methodology on how to identify actionable marketing data on
this group. The challenge will not involve the development of
communications materials targeting these individuals. This challenge
tasks researchers with developing a methodology for identifying the
marketing communications profile of uninsured individuals who have been
disenrolled from coverage affordability programs but remain eligible
for enrollment.
SAMHSA asks that applicants consider the following components in
their methodology for identifying this
target population:
Thorough description of data set and data collection
protocols, rationale for database selection, and limitations of the
data set
Sample selection criteria accurately meets criteria
Analytic design plan includes: selecting sample based on
criteria and running descriptive statistical tests on the data
Description of the variables (level of measurement of
each) and description of variable measurement (is the method reliable
and valid)
Differences in Medicaid and Health Exchange Enrollment
policies across states, including eligibility criteria and
administrative requirements
Differences between individuals experiencing churn for
different reasons (e.g. criminal justice involvement vs. relocation).
``Stay Covered Challenge''
Eligibility Rules for Participating in the Competition: To be
eligible to win a prize under this challenge, an individual or entity
1. Shall have registered to participate in the competition under
the rules promulgated by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services
Administration (SAMHSA);
2. Shall have complied with all the requirements under this
section;
3. In the case of a private entity, shall be incorporated in and
maintain a primary place of business in the United States, and in the
case of an individual, whether participating singly or in a group, must
be a citizen or permanent resident of the United States; and
4. May not be a federal entity or federal employee acting within
the scope of their employment;
5. May not be an HHS employee working on their application or
submission during assigned duty hours;
6. May not be an employee of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health
Services Administration;
7. Federal grantees may not use federal funds to develop COMPETES
Act challenge applications unless consistent with the purpose of their
grant award; and
8. Federal contractors may not use federal funds from a contract to
develop COMPETES Act challenge applications or to fund efforts in
support of a COMPETES Act challenge submission.
An individual or entity will not be deemed ineligible because the
individual or entity used federal facilities or consulted with federal
employees during a competition if the facilities and employees are made
available to all individuals and entities participating in the
competition on an equitable basis.
Registered participants will be required to agree to assume any and
all risks and waive claims against the Federal Government and its
related entities, except in the case of willful misconduct, for any
injury, death, damage, or loss of property, revenue, or profits,
whether direct, indirect, or consequential, arising from their
participation in a competition, whether the injury, death, damage, or
loss arises through negligence or otherwise.
All participants are required to provide written consent to the
rules upon or before submitting an entry.
Registration Process for Participants: To register for this
challenge participants should:
Access the www.challenge.gov Web site and search for the
``Stay Covered Challenge.''
[cir] A registration link for the challenge can be found on the
landing page under the challenge description.
Amount of Prize for the ``Stay Covered Challenge''
Total: $50,000 in prizes
First Place: $30,000
Second Place: $15,000
Third Place: $5,000
Awards may be subject to federal income taxes and HHS will comply
with IRS withholding and reporting requirements, where applicable.
Basis Upon Which Winners Will Be Selected: The judging panel will
make selections based upon the following criteria (100 points total):
1. Consideration of Medicaid and Health Exchange Enrollment
processes in each state, including current mechanisms states and health
plans use to communicate with enrollees regarding recertification (25
points).
2. Development of (1) Messages encouraging providers and community
based organizations to reach out to persons experiencing or at risk of
churn, and (2) messages for use by providers and CBOs in reaching out
to persons experiencing or at risk of churn, on those eligible for
Medicaid due to disability (25 points).
3. Demonstration of creative and innovative uses of multiple
platforms of media, including but not limited to social media, mobile/
smart phones, television, radio, and other traditional forms of
outreach (25 points).
4. Demonstration of the potential to improve the health status of
individuals with behavioral health needs which will be measured by the
likelihood of increased coverage among this population as the result of
these efforts. (25 points).
Additional Information: Ownership of intellectual property is
determined by the following:
[ssquf] Each entrant retains title and full ownership of their
submission. Entrants reserve all intellectual property rights not
expressly granted under the challenge agreement.
[ssquf] By participating in the challenge, each entrant agrees to
sponsor and administrate a limited, non-exclusive, royalty free,
worldwide, license and right to reproduce, publically perform,
publically display, and use the submission without limitation, for
advertising and promotional purposes relating to the challenge.
``Churn Marketing Research Methodology Development Challenge''
Eligibility Rules for Participating in the Competition: To be
eligible to win a prize under this challenge, an individual or entity
(1) Shall have registered to participate in the competition under
the rules
[[Page 42101]]
promulgated by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services
Administration (SAMHSA);
(2) Shall have complied with all the requirements under this
section;
(3) In the case of a private entity, shall be incorporated in and
maintain a primary place of business in the United States, and in the
case of an individual, whether participating singly or in a group, must
be a citizen or permanent resident of the United States; and
(4) May not be a federal entity or federal employee acting within
the scope of their employment
(5) May not be an HHS employee working on their application or
submission during assigned duty hours;
(6) May not be an employee of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health
Services Administration;
(7) Federal grantees may not use federal funds to develop COMPETES
Act challenge applications unless consistent with the purpose of their
grant award; and
(8) Federal contractors may not use federal funds from a contract
to develop COMPETES Act challenge applications or to fund efforts in
support of a COMPETES Act challenge submission.
An individual or entity will not be deemed ineligible because the
individual or entity used federal facilities or consulted with federal
employees during a competition if the facilities and employees are made
available to all individuals and entities participating in the
competition on an equitable basis.
Registered participants will be required to agree to assume any and
all risks and waive claims against the Federal Government and its
related entities, except in the case of willful misconduct, for any
injury, death, damage, or loss of property, revenue, or profits,
whether direct, indirect, or consequential, arising from their
participation in a competition, whether the injury, death, damage, or
loss arises through negligence or otherwise.
All participants are required to provide written consent to the
rules upon or before submitting an entry.
Registration Process for Participants: To register for this
challenge participants should: Access the www.challenge.gov Web site
and search for the ``Churn Marketing Research Methodology Development
Challenge.''
[cir] A registration link for the challenge can be found on the
landing page under the challenge description.
Amount of Prize for the ``Churn Marketing Research Methodology
Development Challenge''
Total: $50,000 in prizes
First Place: $30,000
Second Place: $15,000
Third Place: $5,000
Awards may be subject to federal income taxes and HHS will comply
with IRS withholding and reporting requirements, where applicable.
Basis Upon Which Winner Will Be Selected: Applications should be no
longer than 10 pages and include the following (100 points total):
1. Understanding the problem, including references from the
available literature (20 points).
2. Description of the data, methods of analysis, characteristics of
the population (60 points).
a. Data sets to be used and the applicant's access to the data--(10
points).
b. Methods of defining the population of interest--``churners''--
(20 points)
c. Methods of defining the demographic, psychographic, and economic
characteristics-- (15 points)
d. Table shells (may be presented in an Appendix)--(15 points)
3. Personnel qualifications, including data analysis and technical
resources available (resume may be presented in an Appendix)--(20
points)
Additional Information: Ownership of intellectual property is
determined by the following:
[ssquf] Each entrant retains title and full ownership of their
submission. Entrants reserve all intellectual property rights not
expressly granted under the challenge agreement.
[ssquf] By participating in the challenge, each entrant agrees to
sponsor and administrate a limited, non-exclusive, royalty free,
worldwide, license and right to reproduce, publically perform,
publically display, and use the submission without limitation, for
advertising and promotional purposes relating to the challenge.
Source:
\1\ Buettgens, M., Nichols, A., & Dorn, S. (2012). Churning
Under the ACA and State Policy Options for Mitigation. Prepared for
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Timely Analysis of Immediate Health
Policy Issues, http://www.urban.org/UploadedPDF/412587-Churning-Under-the-ACA-and-State-Policy-Options-for-Mitigation.pdf.
Cathy J. Friedman,
Public Health Analyst, SAMHSA.
[FR Doc. 2013-16871 Filed 7-12-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4162-20-P