Support for Beneficiary Counseling Programs for States Participating in the Medicare- Medicaid Financial Alignment Initiative

The purpose of this Funding Opportunity Announcement is to support two types of activities for beneficiaries eligible for Medicare-Medicaid Financial Alignment Initiative demonstrations:1.1 Ombudsman services provides two additional years of funding for Demonstration Ombudsman Programs. Only states that currently receive CMS funding for Demonstration Ombudsman Programs from grant number CMS-1J1-13-001 are eligible to apply for ombudsman services funding (California, Colorado, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, and Ohio, Rhode Island, and South Carolina).1.2 One-on-one counseling activities enable beneficiaries to receive information and options counseling (hereafter called one-on-one counseling) on options for health coverage. Previously, only the State Health Insurance Information Assistance Program (SHIP) and Aging and Disability Resource Center (ADRC) together could receive funding to provide this services. However, under this announcement, states have the flexibility to determine what entity will provide this service, and how they wish to structure the one-on-one counseling program. The state-selected entity could be a SHIP, an ADRC, a joint project of a SHIP and ADRC, an ombudsman program, or another appropriate entity.