Alternate Non-Emergency Service Providers or Networks

The Department of Health and Human Services Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services funded grants under CFDA 93.790 to establish alternate non-emergency service providers and networks to reduce inappropriate emergency department utilization, with the most recent grant awards issued on April 15, 2008.

This program is not actively pursuing new awards. The entire portfolio of 20 Project Grants was obligated in a single cohort on April 15, 2008—over 18 years ago. No grant opportunities have been posted recently, and no awards have been disbursed since that date. The program appears dormant; the source contains no evidence of current or planned solicitations.

When the program was active, it funded the establishment of state and regional networks of non-emergency service providers designed to divert Medicaid beneficiaries away from emergency rooms. Representative funded activities included emergency room diversion co-location programs pairing community health centers with hospitals and behavioral health providers; networks of alternate non-emergency services providers at the state level; primary care home initiatives; and case management and express care partnerships. The portfolio reflected a Medicaid-focused strategy to reduce non-emergent emergency department usage by expanding access to appropriate primary and urgent care alternatives.

All 20 awards were Project Grants, with individual grant values ranging from $287 thousand (North Dakota emergency diversion program) to $7.3 million (South Dakota alternate non-emergency services establishment), obligating a combined $44.8 million in federal dollars. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services was the sole funding agency. Representative awards included Tennessee's alternative non-emergency services programs ($4.2 million), South Dakota's establishment of alternate providers ($7.3 million), Pennsylvania's Department of Public Welfare program ($1.7 million), and Georgia's alternate non-emergency services provider initiative ($2.5 million). Project completion dates were set between 2010 and 2012.

Pursuit of this program is not recommended. The funding line has not distributed awards in nearly two decades, and no current or planned solicitation is evident in the source material.