Open Door Initiative
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is above all else, a service agency. Previously known as the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA), the CMS is responsible for administering Medicare, Medicaid, State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), and Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA).
Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy G. Thompson made the following statement about CMS on June 14, 2001: "We're making quality service the number one priority in this agency. We're going to encourage innovation, better educate consumers about their options, and be more responsive to the health care needs of Americans."
The Open Door Initiative is a program based on a simple and fresh attitude: that the CMS desires to better hear and interact with those beneficiaries, providers, and other stakeholders interested in the delivery of quality healthcare for our nation's seniors and beneficiaries with disabilities. This increased emphasis on responsiveness is captured through an ongoing series of 'Open Door Forums' that provide a dialogue about both the many individual service areas and beneficiary needs within CMS.
There are currently fourteen individual ongoing forums held on a monthly or bimonthly basis. The CMS also continues to pilot new forums as well as hold special forums to meet current and evolving provider and beneficiary needs. Each forum is chaired by a senior-level agency official and co-chaired by a CMS Regional Administrator. Senior CMS leadership, including both our Administrator Dr. Mark McClellan, and Deputy Administrator Leslie Norwalk actively participate in these forums. Rich Lawlor, a senior level policy advisor in the Office of the Administrator, directs the forums.
| Highlights |
Special Open Door Forum: Discussion of Interim Guidance on Special Needs Plans under the Medicare Modernization ActWhen: November 8, 2:00 - 4:00PMSection 231 of the Medicare Modernization Act of 2003 (MMA) authorizes Medicare Advantage (MA) organizations to offer plans that serve individuals with special needs. This provision allows MA coordinated care plans the option to exclusively or disproportionately enroll ‘special needs’ individuals. Two groups of special needs Medicare individuals are specified in the interim guidance, Medicaid dual eligibles and the institutionalized. MA organizations can now operate as Special Needs Plans (SNPs) if they meet requirements established in the interim guidance, which was published June 22, 2004. At the Open Door Forum, we intend to further discuss both policy and operational aspects to this guidance. We will discuss the two types of SNPs currently allowed, those for dual eligibles and the institutionalized, as well as SNP Plan application process, proposal review, and marketing requirements. Get more information (PDF, 17 KB). CMS Special Open Door Forum Listening Session: Current Standards of Practice for Pharmacy Services Provided to Medicare Beneficiaries Residing in Long-Term Care FacilitiesWhen: November 16, 1:00 - 3:00 PMCMS is holding this Special Open Door Forum Listening Session, to hear from various stakeholders regarding long-term care pharmacy standards of practice and the issues that may be involved in the implementation of the Medicare Part D prescription drug benefit in these types of facilities. As a listening session, CMS will not be responding to the individual comments or concerns raised, but will rather utilize the time permitted to help ensure that the most complete set of concerns is identified. Please keep in mind that this Special Listening Session is not intended to gather input related to the overall implementation of the new Part D prescription benefit, and will remain focused on the role of pharmacy in the long-term care setting alone. Get more information (PDF, 19 KB). |
The chairs and co-chairs for each of the ongoing forums are listed below. CMS encourages you to visit the links to the right to review the schedule and other important news.
| Open Door Forum | Chairpersons | Regional Co-Chairpersons |
|---|---|---|
| Ambulance | Bill Rogers, MD | Charlotte Yeh, MD |
| Coordination of Benefits (formerly Medicare as Secondary Payer) | Gerald Walters | |
| Disability | Charlene Brown | Joe Tilghman |
| Diversity | Ken Simon, MD | Rose Crum-Johnson |
| ESRD and Clinical Laboratories | Brady Augustine | Barry Straube, MD |
| Health Plans | Gary Bailey | Jackie Garner |
| Home Health,
Hospice, and Durable Medical Equipment |
Winnie Pizzano | James Kerr |
| Hospitals | Herb Kuhn | Charlotte Yeh, MD |
| Low-Income Health Access | Susan McNally & Alexander Ross (HRSA) | Jeff Flick |
| New Freedom Initiative (PDF) | Dennis Smith | Joe Tilghman |
| Pharmaceutical, Pharmacy,
and Device Manufacturers |
Sean Tunis, MD | Gil Kunken, DDS |
| Physicians, Nurses & Allied Health | Leslie Norwalk | Alex Trujillo |
| Rural Health | Tim Trysla | Randy Farris, MD |
| Skilled Nursing Facilities/Long-term Care | Sheila Lambowitz | Jeff Flick |
The Open Door Forum schedule for the month ahead is available for review.
| Note: Some of the files on this page are available only in Adobe Acrobat - Portable Document Format (PDF). To view PDF files, you must have the Adobe Acrobat Reader (minimum version 5, version 6 suggested). You can check here to see if you have the Acrobat Reader installed on your computer. If you do not already have the Acrobat Reader installed, please go to Adobe's Acrobat download page now. |
