FW: Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation Grant Notice

[Guest guest]

Please consider distributing this information.

Thanks,

Maxie Bishop, RN, LP

State EMS Director

Office of EMS and Trauma Systems

Phone: 512/834-6737

Mobile: 512/484-5470

Fax: 512/834-6736

e-mail: maxie.bishop@...maxie.bishop@...>

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The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation announced the availability of $1

BILLION for the " Health Care Innovation Challenge " . The webpage is pasted at the

bottom of this message. This is a rare opportunity for which EMS is squarely

positioned. Although states are not eligible to apply, we are encouraging state

EMS offices to distribute this announcement to local EMS agencies, associations

and regions. Letters of intent are due December 19th, 2011. The four page fact

sheet is very informative:

http://innovations.cms.gov/documents/pdf/innovation-challenge-fact-sheet.pdf .

In addition to the specific mention of EMS (community paramedicine) on page 5 of

the Funding Opportunity Announcement

http://innovations.cms.gov/documents/pdf/innovation-challenge-foa.pdf , there

are many other EMS project opportunities in all three objectives of the grant,

such as innovative care delivery, payment models, and measuring quality and care

improvement. These could include bundled payment demonstrations, pay for

performance, EMS articulation with accountable care organizations, EMS projects

with federally qualified health care centers and " most appropriate

disposition/destination " projects. Measurable improvement in quality and cost

savings is imperative to the success of any project.

This is an excellent chance to get multiple EMS projects moving and

demonstrating the contribution that EMS can make to the improvement of health

care in the US. Ideal grantees for these projects will be collaborations of the

actual care providers that make a difference within local communities.