The Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act: A National Resource Center

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 2010 through 2012. With the passage of ATRA, the MIPPA programs have again been reauthorized for a total of $25 million[1] in Fiscal Year (FY) 2013. This legislation builds upon the 2008 MIPPA legislation which provided for beneficiary outreach and included funding to State Health Insurance Assistance Programs (SHIPs), Area Agencies on Aging (AAAs), 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. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Administration for Community Living (ACL) are jointly administering the MIPPA funding through a single announcement and a coordinated implementation and monitoring process as a model for similar state and local collaboration for this funding. The national MIPPA resource center will coordinate efforts to inform older Americans and beneficiaries with disabilities about the benefits available under federal and state programs, with an emphasis on providing information on the Low Income Subsidy and Medicare Savings Program benefits. This resource center, as it has in the past, will serve as a technical assistance resource center for the MIPPA grantees.