With the passage of the Affordable Care Act in March 2010, the Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act of 2008 (MIPPA) was amended in Section 3306 to provide additional funding for Medicare outreach and enrollment activities.

This legislation builds upon 2008 MIPPA legislation which

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provided for beneficiary outreach and included funding to State Health Insurance Assistance Programs (SHIPs), Area Agencies on Aging (AAAs) and Title VI Native American Programs, Aging and Disability Resource Center programs (ADRCs), and for a resource center to help coordinate efforts to inform older Americans about available Federal and State benefits available.

The 2010 Affordable Care Act provides additional federal funding to be administered by the Administration on Aging (AoA) and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) for these outreach and resource center activities.

Title VI Native American Programs can fill an important role in providing valuable support to eligible Native American elders for the Low Income Subsidy program (LIS), Medicare Savings Program (MSP), Medicare Part D, Medicare prevention benefits and screenings and in assisting beneficiaries in applying for benefits.

AoA seeks certification from Title VI Native American programs that they will use the funds to coordinate at least one outreach event to inform and assist eligible American Indian, Alaska Native or Native Hawaiian elders about the benefits available to them through Medicare part D, the Low Income Subsidy, the Medicare Savings Program or Medicare prevention benefits and screenings and counsel those who are eligible.

AoA will provide a grant of $1,000 to each Older Americans Act Title VI Native American program.

The purpose of these grants will be for the coordination of at least one community announcement and at least one outreach event to inform eligible Native American elders about the benefits available to them through Medicare Part D, the Low Income Subsidy, the Medicare Savings Program or Medicare prevention benefits and screenings.

The example of $1000 per event is for illustrative purposes only.

There is data available from the National Association of Area Agencies on Aging (n4a) and studies performed by the National Council on Aging (NCOA) that reflect these costs for planning and implementing a community event for Medicare Part D and LIS outreach activities.