Strong Start for Mothers and Newborns

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (Innovation Center), is interested in testing new care and payment models that have the potential to improve perinatal outcomes for women enrolled in Medicaid or CHIP who are at high-risk for adverse pregnancy outcomes.

The target applicants for this solicitation are providers (e.g., specific service providers, clinician groups and/or hospitals); States applying in partnership with providers; managed care organizations (MCOs) applying in partnership with providers; and conveners applying in partnership with providers. All applicants not directly providing prenatal care services (i.e. States, MCOs, and conveners) are expected to partner with providers of obstetrical care services and proposed enhanced prenatal care services. Included within the definition of State, for the purposes of this FOA are the District of Columbia and the 5 U.S. Territories: American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Faith-based organizations, Community-based organizations, and Tribal organizations are also eligible to apply. States, managed care organizations, and conveners must include letters of agreement from their provider partners who will be carrying out the intervention as described in the proposal. Partnerships with public health organizations are encouraged, as are multi-state collaborations.

Women enrolled in Medicaid and/or CHIP

Cooperative agreement awards made to successful applicants will be provided to augment and coordinate with pre-existing State-provided prenatal care services and benefits to test whether more comprehensive prenatal care services, as are to be enabled in these awards, lead to better birth outcomes for high risk women and infants, per inclusion in a rigorous evaluation study framework and program improvement initiative. States may not use funds as the State's share of the Medicaid program costs or as supplemental Disproportionate Share Hospital (DSH) payments. This funding may not be duplicative of other Federal funding opportunities for information technology capacity building such as assistance provided through Medicaid, ARRA, HITECH, ONC or other CMS initiatives. The intent of this proposal is to complement, not supplant any of these or other Federal programs.

Cooperative agreements are generally funded on a 12-month basis, with support beyond the first year contingent upon acceptable evidence of satisfactory progress, continuing program relevance, and availability of funds. See the following for information on how assistance is awarded/released: Successful applicants will receive a Notice of Award. Unsuccessful applicants will be notified by letter. Applicants should review the award administration information in the funding opportunity announcement issued under this CFDA program for more information.

OMB Circular No. A-102 applies to this program. OMB Circular No. A-110 applies to this program. The standard application form SF-424 and related forms must be used for this program. Applicants should review the application and submission information in the Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) for specific instructions on applying for this cooperative agreement program.

Applicant should refer to the funding opportunity announcement under this CFDA program for specific criteria requirements on proposal selection.

CMS will make a decision for each application received. Each applicant will receive written notification of CMS' decision. Applicants approved for an award must submit a letter of acceptance to CMS within 30 days of the date of the award, agreeing to the terms and conditions of the award.

Cooperative agreements include three years of service delivery and an additional year for data reporting requirements on births of intervention infants. The awardee must annually submit a formal request for continuation accompanied by a progress report which will be evaluated prior to a recommendation of continuation. Upon notification of the award, awardees will receive initial funding for the first year or 12-months of their program, to be used for implementation of the proposed intervention. Non-competing continuation awards will be awarded for each additional year of the award, contingent upon availability of funding, awardee performance, and demonstrated progress toward the goal of reducing premature births.