Common use of Partnership Activities Clause in Contracts

Partnership Activities. Arkansas is approaching the development of its SPM in the most collaborative manner possible with HHS and state partners. Within the state we are including all interested stakeholders in the process and seeking to leverage existing resources whenever possible. Our in-state collaboration includes other divisions within AID as well as other state agencies/departments including Medicaid (within the Department of Human Services), the Surgeon General and his staff at the Arkansas Center for Health Improvement, the Department of Information Systems, the Department of Health, the Department of Higher Education, the Arkansas Minority Health Commission, the Governor’s office, and members and committees of the Arkansas Legislature. Representatives of these agencies and others in a health leadership role in our state, including AHCD, meet with our CCIIO project officer, other CMS or HHS staff, and Arkansas legislators on a regular basis via teleconference or in person in an effort to xxxxxx full understanding and agreement on the manner in which AID is planning implementation of the SPM in Arkansas. Our cooperative relationship with CCIIO has fostered a healthy “back and forth” productive dialogue and exchange of ideas. Given that the SPM model was one of the later Marketplace options identified, CMS has worked hard toward finalizing all the guidelines and regulations. And, given that Arkansas was the first state to indicate a preference for the SPM, we have had the opportunity to ask specific questions prior to written direction and have had the opportunity on more than one occasion to voice our opinion on the preferred way to structure a particular operating procedure. The AHCD team participates fully in conversations with CCIIO representatives on at least a weekly basis and more often by e-mail. We take full advantage of webinars and conference calls held by CCIIO staff to explain new requirements such as the Blueprint and this Level One funding opportunity. Our successful Design Review in October 2012 for both Plan Management and Consumer Assistance, the approval of our Blueprint Application in January, and positive feedback from our Implementation Review in June 2013 have further resolved us toward meeting the goal of providing affordable and quality insurance to the people of Arkansas. We look forward to further cooperation and guidance from CCIIO, partner state agencies and government officials, and stakeholders in multiple capacities across the state.

Partnership Activities. Arkansas is approaching the development of its SPM FFE Partnership in the most collaborative manner possible with HHS and state partnersDHHS. Within the state we are including all interested stakeholders in the process and seeking to leverage use existing resources whenever possible. Our in-state collaboration includes other divisions within with AID as well as other state State agencies/departments including Medicaid (within the Arkansas Department of Human ServicesServices [ADHS]), the State’s Surgeon General and his staff at the Arkansas Center for Health ImprovementImprovement (ACHI), the Department of Information Systems, the Department of Health, the Department of Higher Education, the Arkansas Minority Health Commission, Services (DIS) and the Governor’s office, and members and committees of the Arkansas Legislature. Representatives of these agencies and others in a health leadership role in our state, including AHCD, state meet with our CCIIO project officer, officer and other CMS or HHS staff, and Arkansas legislators staff on a regular basis via teleconference or in person in an effort to xxxxxx full understanding and agreement on the manner in which AID is planning implementation of the SPM FFE Partnership in Arkansas. Our cooperative relationship with CCIIO has fostered been a healthy “back and forth” productive dialogue and exchange of ideas”. Given that the SPM FFE Partnership model was one of the later Marketplace Exchange options identified, CMS has worked hard toward finalizing is still working to finalize all the guidelines and regulations. And, And given that Arkansas was the first state to indicate a preference for the SPMFFE Partnership, we have had the opportunity to ask specific questions prior to written direction and have had the opportunity on more than one occasion to voice our opinion on the preferred way to structure a particular operating procedure. The AHCD HBEPD team participates fully in conversations with CCIIO representatives on at least a weekly basis and more often by e-mailemail. We also take full advantage of webinars and conference calls held by CCIIO staff to explain new requirements such as the Blueprint and this Level One funding opportunity. Our successful We plan to build on our Initial Planning Review with a Plan Management Design Review in October 2012 for both September and Consumer Assistance Design Review soon thereafter. Plan Management Activities – The shared business functions of certifying, renewing and managing the QHPs available through the FFE in Arkansas are elements of Plan Management and Consumer Assistancewill be the responsibility of the state in the FFE Partnership. State regulators and insurers need an efficient, effective and compliant means to submit and review health plans for certification and inclusion in the approval FFE. Currently, AID uses the National Association of our Blueprint Application Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) System for Electronic Rate and Form Filling (SERFF) to support handling of insurance policy rate and form filings from Arkansas’ issuers. As reported earlier in Januarythis document, HBEPD is planning to utilize SERFF to provide a single point of interaction for Arkansas issuers to submit plans for certification and renewal and for Arkansas state regulators to certify, renew and manage QHPs participating in the Exchange. Using existing information technology investments will mitigate costs and lessen the burden to issuers of adapting to a new system. HBEPD staff is in continuous communication with NAIC, monitoring the progress of their SERFF modifications, participating in their user forums and making plans to test the changes at the appropriate time. Funds to support the use of SERFF were included in the Level One grant awarded February 2012 and appear sufficient to meet Arkansas’s needs. HBEPD has identified the need for additional funding under this Level One grant application in two Plan Management areas:  The addition of a full time staff position in the role of Insurance Compliance Officer. Using the certification criteria established for QHPs and the rules promulgated by AID and CCIIO, this person will review each plan applying to be a QHP and offer products on the FFE. S/He will be the lead user of SERFF within the Division and the one with primary responsibility for uploading an approved, certified plan to the FFE. S/He will also monitor plan performance, participate in recertification activities and, as needed, decertification activities for all plans available to Arkansans via the FFE. This position will work under the direction and supervision of the Plan Management Specialist.  The continuation of Plan Management consultation services being provided by Public Consulting Group (PCG) – As discussed earlier in this document, PCG has provided extensive consultation to HBEPD and in particular the PMAC in the form of issue briefs, facilitated sessions in person, conference calls and meetings with CCIIO/CMS. Their current contract under the previous Level One Grant was for planning how Arkansas could best implement the Plan Management activities of an FFE Partnership. AID would like to continue PCG’s contract to maintain continuity and their expertise as we now implement the plans that have been made. Under this new contract PCG will: o Facilitate Qualified Health Plan Technical Assistance Workgroup to be formed in March 2013 for the purpose of serving as an interface between issuer administrators who are representing QHPs and AID staff. Scope of the workgroup will include responding to questions about the QHP application process and rules governing the QHP process, facilitating meetings bringing together AID and QHP staff, troubleshooting issues as the Arkansas FFE Partnership approaches launch date, and positive feedback from our assisting AID with ongoing QHP launch planning and readiness assessment; o Assist AID in Development of Operational QHP Policy and Procedures to updating AID publications and bulletins as necessary. PCG will assist AID staff by identifying QHP requirements that need to be reflected in agency publications. PCG will then assist with the drafting and review of the materials to assure compliance with federal rules and Arkansas Partnership policy. o Prepare a QHP Implementation Review tool for reviewing the short and longer term success of the QHP launch. This will involve review of the stages of design and development to assure goals and objectives of these phases were met. Further, PCG will prepare tools to measure consumer satisfaction with the QHP process, both in June 2013 terms of clarity of information provided about the QHPs and the ease of identifying and selecting optimal plans. The purpose of designing these tools before launch will be to have further resolved us toward meeting them ready for immediate assessment of the goal of providing affordable and quality insurance QHP process from Day 1 launch forward in order to the people of Arkansas. We look forward to further cooperation and guidance from CCIIO, partner state agencies and government officials, and stakeholders gather feedback in multiple capacities across the statetime-sensitive ways.

Partnership Activities. Arkansas is approaching the development of its SPM State Partnership Exchange in the most collaborative manner possible with HHS and state partnersDHHS. Within the state we are including all interested stakeholders in the process and seeking to leverage existing resources whenever possible. Our in-state collaboration includes other divisions within AID as well as other state State agencies/departments including Medicaid (within the Arkansas Department of Human ServicesServices [ADHS]), the State’s Surgeon General and his staff at the Arkansas Center for Health ImprovementImprovement (ACHI), the Department of Information Systems, the Department of Health, the Department of Higher EducationServices (DIS), the Arkansas Minority Department of Health Commission, (ADH) and the Governor’s office, and members and committees of the Arkansas Legislature. Representatives of these agencies and others in a health leadership role in our state, including AHCD, state meet with our CCIIO project officer, officer and other CMS or HHS staff, and Arkansas legislators DHHS staff on a regular basis via teleconference or in person in an effort to xxxxxx full understanding and agreement on the manner in which AID is planning implementation of the SPM State Partnership Exchange in Arkansas. Our cooperative relationship with CCIIO has fostered been a healthy “back and forth” productive dialogue and exchange of ideas”. Given that the SPM State Partnership Exchange model was one of the later Marketplace Exchange options identified, CMS has worked hard toward finalizing is still working to finalize all the guidelines and regulations. And, And given that Arkansas was the first state to indicate a preference for the SPMState Partnership Exchange, we have had the opportunity to ask specific questions prior to written direction and have had the opportunity on more than one occasion to voice our opinion on the preferred way to structure a particular operating procedure. The AHCD HBEPD team participates fully in conversations with CCIIO representatives on at least a weekly basis and more often by e-mailemail. We also take full advantage of webinars and conference calls held by CCIIO staff to explain new requirements such as the Blueprint and this Level One funding opportunity. Our Building on our successful Design Review in October 2012 for both Plan Management and Consumer Assistance, Assistance and the approval of our Blueprint Application in January, we anticipate another Design Review and positive feedback from our an Implementation Review with CCIIO prior to the beginning of Open Enrollment in June October 2013. Plan Management Activities – The shared business functions of certifying, renewing and managing the QHPs available through the Health Insurance Marketplace in Arkansas are the responsibility of the state in the State Partnership Exchange operating Plan Management functions. As reported earlier in this document, HBEPD will use SERFF to provide a single point of interaction for Arkansas issuers to submit plans for certification and renewal and for Arkansas state regulators to certify, renew and manage QHPs participating in the Exchange. Using existing information technology investments will mitigate costs and lessen the burden to issuers of adapting to a new system. HBEPD staff and contractors are in continuous communication with NAIC, monitoring the progress of their SERFF modifications, participating in their user forums and making plans to test the changes at the appropriate time. HBEPD has identified the need for additional funding under this Level One grant application in three Plan Management areas: • The funding of a dedicated staff position in AID’s Life and Health (L&H) Division in the role of Plan Approval Specialist. An experienced, qualified individual already on staff at AID (Xxxxx Xxxxxxx) has been identified to assume this position full time. She will be responsible for reviewing health insurance contracts, endorsements, rates and rules for compliance with Arkansas Insurance Code and QHP requirements for inclusion in the Health Insurance Marketplace. This position will remain in the L&H Division of AID but she will work under the guidance of the HBEPD Plan Management Specialist in her full- time role addressing QHP certification, monitoring and ongoing improvements. • The continuation of Plan Management consultation services being provided by Public Consulting Group (PCG) – As discussed earlier in this document, PCG has provided extensive consultation to HBEPD and in particular the PMAC in the form of issue briefs, facilitated sessions in person, conference calls and meetings with CCIIO/CMS. Their current contract under the previous Level One B grant ends September 30, 2013 and AID would like to continue PCG’s contract to maintain continuity and their expertise as we now implement QHP certification processes, evaluate the success of the certification plans we have further resolved us toward meeting put in place and revised in preparation for Plan Year 2015 QHP certifications. Under this new contract PCG will: o Assist HBEPD and The PMAC in establishing Year 2 QHP Certification Criteria - In adopting “open marketplace versus active purchaser” policies for Year 1 QHP certification, AID authorized possible criteria for future years. These included flexibility to establish network adequacy standards exceeding the goal federal minimum standards, engaging or requiring carriers to adopt specific quality improvement strategies, which may include participation in the Arkansas Payment Improvement Initiative, requirements for carriers to offer plans on a regional or statewide basis, limiting the number of providing affordable plans offered within metal levels and establishing QHP performance benchmarks and quality insurance standards that exceed federal minimum standards. PCG will develop issue briefs to frame consideration of these issues, provide options and brief the people of Arkansas. We look forward PMAC and HBEPD staff to further cooperation and guidance from CCIIO, partner state agencies and government officials, and stakeholders in multiple capacities across the statefacilitate decision making.

Partnership Activities. Arkansas is approaching the development of its SPM FFE Partnership in the most collaborative manner possible with HHS and state partnersDHHS. Within the state we are including all interested stakeholders in the process and seeking to leverage use existing resources whenever possible. Our in-state collaboration includes other divisions within with AID as well as other state State agencies/departments including Medicaid (within the Arkansas Department of Human ServicesServices [ADHS]), the State’s Surgeon General and his staff at the Arkansas Center for Health ImprovementImprovement (ACHI), the Department of Information Systems, the Department of Health, the Department of Higher Education, the Arkansas Minority Health Commission, Services (DIS) and the Governor’s office, and members and committees of the Arkansas Legislature. Representatives of these agencies and others in a health leadership role in our state, including AHCD, state meet with our CCIIO project officer, officer and other CMS or HHS staff, and Arkansas legislators staff on a regular basis via teleconference or in person in an effort to xxxxxx full understanding and agreement on the manner in which AID is planning implementation of the SPM FFE Partnership in Arkansas. Our cooperative relationship with CCIIO has fostered been a healthy “back and forth” productive dialogue and exchange of ideas”. Given that the SPM FFE Partnership model was one of the later Marketplace Exchange options identified, CMS has worked hard toward finalizing is still working to finalize all the guidelines and regulations. And, And given that Arkansas was the first state to indicate a preference for the SPMFFE Partnership, we have had the opportunity to ask specific questions prior to written direction and have had the opportunity on more than one occasion to voice our opinion on the preferred way to structure a particular operating procedure. The AHCD HBEPD team participates fully in conversations with CCIIO representatives on at least a weekly basis and more often by e-mailemail. We also take full advantage of webinars and conference calls held by CCIIO staff to explain new requirements such as the Blueprint and this Level One funding opportunity. Our successful We plan to build on our Initial Planning Review with a Plan Management Design Review in October 2012 for both September and Consumer Assistance Design Review soon thereafter. Plan Management Activities – The shared business functions of certifying, renewing and managing the QHPs available through the FFE in Arkansas are elements of Plan Management and Consumer Assistancewill be the responsibility of the state in the FFE Partnership. State regulators and insurers need an efficient, effective and compliant means to submit and review health plans for certification and inclusion in the approval FFE. Currently, AID uses the National Association of our Blueprint Application Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) System for Electronic Rate and Form Filling (SERFF) to support handling of insurance policy rate and form filings from Arkansas’ issuers. As reported earlier in Januarythis document, HBEPD is planning to utilize SERFF to provide a single point of interaction for Arkansas issuers to submit plans for certification and renewal and for Arkansas state regulators to certify, renew and manage QHPs participating in the Exchange. Using existing information technology investments will mitigate costs and lessen the burden to issuers of adapting to a new system. HBEPD staff is in continuous communication with NAIC, monitoring the progress of their SERFF modifications, participating in their user forums and making plans to test the changes at the appropriate time. Funds to support the use of SERFF were included in the Level One grant awarded February 2012 and appear sufficient to meet Arkansas’s needs. HBEPD has identified the need for additional funding under this Level One grant application in two Plan Management areas: • The addition of a full time staff position in the role of Insurance Compliance Officer. Using the certification criteria established for QHPs and the rules promulgated by AID and CCIIO, this person will review each plan applying to be a QHP and offer products on the FFE. S/He will be the lead user of SERFF within the Division and the one with primary responsibility for uploading an approved, certified plan to the FFE. S/He will also monitor plan performance, participate in recertification activities and, as needed, decertification activities for all plans available to Arkansans via the FFE. This position will work under the direction and supervision of the Plan Management Specialist. • The continuation of Plan Management consultation services being provided by Public Consulting Group (PCG) – As discussed earlier in this document, PCG has provided extensive consultation to HBEPD and in particular the PMAC in the form of issue briefs, facilitated sessions in person, conference calls and meetings with CCIIO/CMS. Their current contract under the previous Level One Grant was for planning how Arkansas could best implement the Plan Management activities of an FFE Partnership. AID would like to continue PCG’s contract to maintain continuity and their expertise as we now implement the plans that have been made. Under this new contract PCG will: o Facilitate Qualified Health Plan Technical Assistance Workgroup to be formed in March 2013 for the purpose of serving as an interface between issuer administrators who are representing QHPs and AID staff. Scope of the workgroup will include responding to questions about the QHP application process and rules governing the QHP process, facilitating meetings bringing together AID and QHP staff, troubleshooting issues as the Arkansas FFE Partnership approaches launch date, and positive feedback from our assisting AID with ongoing QHP launch planning and readiness assessment; o Assist AID in Development of Operational QHP Policy and Procedures to updating AID publications and bulletins as necessary. PCG will assist AID staff by identifying QHP requirements that need to be reflected in agency publications. PCG will then assist with the drafting and review of the materials to assure compliance with federal rules and Arkansas Partnership policy. o Prepare a QHP Implementation Review tool for reviewing the short and longer term success of the QHP launch. This will involve review of the stages of design and development to assure goals and objectives of these phases were met. Further, PCG will prepare tools to measure consumer satisfaction with the QHP process, both in June 2013 terms of clarity of information provided about the QHPs and the ease of identifying and selecting optimal plans. The purpose of designing these tools before launch will be to have further resolved us toward meeting them ready for immediate assessment of the goal of providing affordable and quality insurance QHP process from Day 1 launch forward in order to the people of Arkansas. We look forward to further cooperation and guidance from CCIIO, partner state agencies and government officials, and stakeholders gather feedback in multiple capacities across the statetime-sensitive ways.