93.071 FFY2025 MIPPA Priority 1 for SHIPs

To provide enhanced outreach to eligible Medicare beneficiaries regarding their preventive, wellness, and limited income benefits; application assistance to individuals who may be eligible for LIS or MSPs; and outreach activities aimed at preventing disease and promoting wellness. The benefits available under title XVIII of the Social Security Act, including the Medicare prescription drug benefit under Part D of title XVIII of the Social Security Act and under the Medicare Savings Program, and to coordinate efforts to inform older Americans about benefits available under Federal and state programs.

Expand outreach efforts and one-on-one counseling on Medicare coverage, Medicare Advantage plans, Medicare Part D, to promote wellness and disease prevention. Adherence to all requirements of the Volunteer Risk Program Management manual, a copy of which is attached.

This funding opportunity utilizes federal pass-through funds from the Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act of 2008 – Section 199, Public Law (PL) 110-275 as amended by Section 3306 the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (ACA), reauthorized by Section 610 of the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 (ATRA) and reauthorized by Section 110 of the Protecting Access to Medicare Act of 2014 and reauthorized by the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2024. MIPPA funding is administered to SHIP by the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), U. S. Administration for Community Living (ACL).

This grant does not restrict indirect costs to the grant. The applicant shall either submit evidence of a federally negotiated rate, the rate as approved through the Grant Accountability and Transparency Act (GATA) Indirect Cost Rate System (CARS) or accept the de minims rate. To charge indirect costs to a grant, the applicant organization must have an annually negotiated indirect cost rate agreement (NICRA). There are three (3) types of NICRAs: a) Federally Negotiated Rate. Organizations that receive direct federal funding may have an indirect cost rate that was negotiated with the Federal Cognizant Agency. Illinois will accept the federally negotiated rate. The organization must provide a copy of the federally NICRA. b) State Negotiated Rate. The organization must negotiate an indirect cost rate with the State of Illinois if they do not have a Federally Negotiated Rate. Or the organization may elect to use the de minimis rate. If an organization has not previously established in indirect cost rate, an indirect cost rate proposal must be submitted to the State of Illinois through the indirect cost rate system, CARS, no later than three (3) months after the effective date of the award. If an organization previously established an indirect cost rate, the organization must annually submit a new indirect cost proposal, through CARS, within six months after the close of the grantee’s fiscal year. All grantees must complete an indirect cost rate negotiation or elect the de minimis rate in CARS to claim indirect costs. Indirect costs claimed without an established negotiated rate or a de minimis rate election in CARS may be subject to disallowance. c) De minimis Rate. An organization that has never received a Federally Negotiated Rate may elect a de minimis rate of 10% of modified total direct cost (MTDC). Once established, the de minimis rate may be used indefinitely. The State of Illinois must verify the calculation of the MTDC annually to accept the de minimis rate. The Department reserves the right to limit the amount and/or type of indirect costs allowed to be charged to this grant award. For example, the cost of independent research and development, including their proportionate share of indirect costs, are unallowable under this grant award. Grantees have discretion not to claim payment for indirect costs. Applicants that elect not to claim indirect costs cannot be reimbursed for indirect costs. The applicant must record an election of “No Indirect Costs” into CARS.

Submissions shall be submitted electronically via AmpliFund by April 15, 2026 3:00 p.m. It is the responsibility of the applicant to ensure the application is received timely. Submission received after this date and time shall not be considered or evaluated for award. Applicants may request confirmation of receipt from Rachael.baskett@illinois.gov Received shall be defined as submission via AmpliFund prior to the due date and time of this Notice of Funding Opportunity.

All submissions MUST include in the Budget and Narrative portions of the application a list of proposed sub-grantees and the grant amount to each - with no sub-grant being over $3,000.00 unless accompanied by a detailed explanation to support the additional award. This information should appear in both the Narrative, Budget/Budget Narrative. Should a proposed sub-grantee have more than one site/location where services are provided and the applicant wishes to request additional funding for those sites, the applicant must provide a list of the additional sites and amounts to be sub-granted, along with a detailed explanation in the Budget and Narrative. Decisions will be made based on funding availability and then case by case. A list eligible SHIP MIPPA sub sites – based on reported Client contacts within STARS shall be provided for all applicants.

Please contact Aging.gata@illinois.gov with all Amplifund questions.

SHIP Certified Host Organizations in the State of Illinois in Good Standing. An eligible applicant must be a certified SHIP site for the State of Illinois, and the site must be registered as an active site on STARS for the purpose of counseling and/or monitoring work performed. Applicants must be structured to award sub-grants to all SHIP sites in good standing with SHIP. For purposes of this grant, Good Standing means there is a SHIP Coordinator and/or SHIP Counselor(s) who is actively performing SHIP counseling and/or outreach and actively reports beneficiary contacts and group or media outreach and education in STARS and demonstrate 25 MIPPA client contacts (or more) within the reporting period of September 1, 2024, through August 31, 2025. Awards shall be by geographical regions consistent with the 13 Planning and Services Areas (PSA) set forth by the Illinois Department on Aging. See Illinois Area Agencies on Aging Map at this link: https://www.illinois.gov/aging/PartnersProviders/Pages/aaa_map.aspx Entities in PSAs 1-13 may apply for this award.

No beneficiary eligibility

The U. S. Department of Health and Humans Services (HHS) is in the process of transitioning from utilization of 45 CFR 75 to adoption of 2 CFR 200. This FY 2025 award permits the utilization of specific 2 CFR 200 flexibilities as detailed by HHS on the following webpage: https://www.hhs.gov/about/news/2024/09/27/hhs-adopts-new-rules-federal-financial-assistance-2-cfr-part-200-publishes-updated-grants-policy-statement-gps-make-grants-more-accesible-transparent.html - Applicable costs and administrative procedures will be determined in accordance with Part 75 of Title 45 of the Code of Federal Regulations, which establishes uniform administrative requirements, cost principles and audit requirements for Health and Human Services (HHS) awards. https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-45/subtitle-A/subchapter-A/part-75.

PROJECT DESCRIPTION: The Senior Health Insurance Program (SHIP) mission is to empower, educate and assist Medicare eligible individuals, their families, and caregivers through objective outreach, counseling, and training, to make informed health insurance decisions that optimize access to care and benefits. The purpose of this grant is to strengthen the capability of local SHIP offices in their efforts to support the community as they perform personalized counseling, education, and outreach to help achieve the program mission. SHIP was created in Section 4360 of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (OBRA) of 1990 (Pub. L. 101– 508, 104 Stat. 1388). The text of the provision is available at the link below. The title of the section is, “HEALTH INSURANCE INFORMATION, COUNSELING, AND ASSISTANCE GRANTS.” https://www.ssa.gov/OP-Home/comp2/F101-508.html This funding opportunity utilizes federal pass-through funds from the Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act of 2008 – Section 199, Public Law (PL) 110-275 as amended by section 3306 the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (ACA), reauthorized by section 610 of the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 (ATRA) and reauthorized by section 100 of the Protecting Access to Medicare Act of 2014. MIPPA funding is administered to SHIP by the U. S. Administration for Community Living (ACL) United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The Goal of MIPPA is to assist people with Medicare-in particular, to help low-income and persons with disabilities to apply for two programs that help pay for their Medicare costs. This includes counseling and assisting with the application process for the Medicare Part D Extra Help/Low-Income Subsidy (LIS/Extra Help) which helps pay for the Part D premium and reduces prescription drug costs, and application assistance for the Medicare Savings Programs (MSPs) which also helps pay for Medicare Part B premiums and copayments. This funding will allow SHIP counselors performing one-on-one counseling the resources needed to support beneficiaries and give insight to SHIP administration used to track issues and best practices. The Objective of this funding opportunity is to demonstrate how funds received will be used to enhance the SHIP local network through outreach efforts, one-on-one counseling, and partnership building by issuing sub awards to SHIP sites in the applicable PSA. Funds are to be used to support locally accessible counseling services and efforts to meet the below identified SHIP objectives of this grant, and to assist SHIP sites in adherence to all aspects of the Volunteer Risk and Program Management (VRPM) manual requirements. Enhanced Outreach and Education Program funds should be used to identify and reach Medicare beneficiaries with greatest economic need and enroll those individuals in the programs for which they are qualified. MIPPA grantees also educate the community about Medicare Preventive Benefits and Supplemental Benefits. Preventive benefits provide access to exams and screenings such as the “Welcome to Medicare” preventive visit, yearly “Wellness” visits, flu shots, COVID-19 vaccinations, cardiovascular screenings, and more. Strategies could include but are not limited to media campaigns, online education campaigns, or innovative partnerships. The following express acknowledgements must be included on all MIPPA related public information materials: "This [project/publication/program/website, etc.] [is/was] supported by the Administration for Community Living (ACL), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of a financial assistance award totaling $812,260.00 with 100 percent funding by ACL/HHS. The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement, by ACL/HHS, or the U.S. Government. " Grantees shall: a. Provide funding to eligible local SHIP sites within the applicable PSA. b. Offer sub-grants to all local SHIP sites to provide accurate, objective, and comprehensive counseling and assistance. c. Support local SHIP sites as they compare Medicare plans and advise clients on the various types of Medicare coverage such as Medicare Advantage plans and Medicare Part D plans. d. Support local SHIP sites as they provide beneficiaries access to enrollment assistance through the locally based SHIP sites performing Medicare plan analysis and enrollment via Medicare.gov website tools. e. Support local SHIP sites as they assist beneficiaries with enrollment in the Medicare Part D Extra Help/Low-Income Subsidy (LIS) program by using the on-line application through Social Security. f. Support local SHIP sites as they assist beneficiaries with the Medicare Savings Program application located on the Application for Benefit Eligibility website (ABE system) at https://abe.illinois.gov/abe/access g. Support local SHIP sites as they assist beneficiaries in determining which forms of coverage best meet an individual’s coverage needs (for example, considerations relative to enrollment in Medicaid with a spend down or changing Medicare drug plans to save the beneficiary additional out-of-pocket expenses). h. Support local SHIP sites as they conduct outreach (in-person, virtually via zoom, skype, WebEx, etc.) to educate Medicare beneficiaries and their caregivers about choices for Medicare coverage and their Rights and Guarantees under Medicare law. This would include participating in any state-wide outreach coordinated by the SHIP main office, to include targeted outreach to local partners and enhance beneficiary awareness of said programs. i. Promote awareness of the SHIP program and MIPPA money savings for beneficiaries through locally based media, radio, and website public service announcements, Facebook, X (formerly known as Twitter). j. Recruit volunteers by working with local site SHIP coordinators, collecting and submitting the screening applications to SHIP staff, and monitoring for adequate staffing of the local sites. Potential counselors can be non-paid volunteer staff and/or paid staff and will be screened by the SHIP administration at IDoA. k. Monitor sub-grantees at local SHIP sites using the SHIP data tracking system (STARS) and report findings in programmatic reports to SHIP. Utilize the GATA Programmatic Report forms and instructions found on the Amplifund system and submit reports into this system. i. Ensure sub-grantees report all counseling activity and outreach in STARS. ii. Monitor reporting monthly by running advance searches through STARS on each sub-grantee and/or using the Performance Report for MIPPA in STARS. iii. Report technical issues, trends and best practices of all sub-grantees to SHIP in the GATA Programmatic Report and SHIP Supplemental Report. iv. Monitor sub-grants with local sites and report incurred expenses to SHIP utilizing the GATA Fiscal Report form. GATA forms and instructions can be found on the GATA website. l. A copy of the Illinois “Volunteer Risk and Program Management” manual is included as an attachment in the Question Submission Information Section of this opportunity and must be shared with all funding recipients of this grant. This manual provides information received from ACL on a nationwide move to increase volunteers, how to retain volunteers, and how to protect clients and counselors through criminal background checks. This applies to both paid and unpaid SHIP counselors. All approved grant recipients shall receive a listing of SHIP sites and corresponding SHIP counselors in their geographical area to use in monitoring criminal background check compliance. Deliverables or Milestones The Grantee shall be responsible for ensuring all sites adhere to the standard requirements of SHIP, including reporting in the SHIP Data Tracking and Reporting System (STARS). The performance measures are mandated by the Administration for Community Living (ACL) and are comprised of data entries of client contacts and public and media forms that are entered into a web- based system for SHIP Data Tracking and Reporting System (STARS) that is used by all SHIP programs in the United States and its territories. SHIP certified counselors who have successfully completed SHIP training and certification and are registered on the SHIP Data Tracking and Reporting System (STARS), are mandated to enter work performed in this data collection system. All data entered by SHIP counselors is monitored using five performance measures established by ACL. The SHIP training manual includes an instructional section within Chapter 14 which provides information on reporting, including an outline of the types of counseling activities that should be reported, instructions for logging phone calls, one-on-one counseling services and the demographics of each person served. Any work performed within a month should be reported into the STARS Data System as a beneficiary contact (counseling) or a group or media outreach event, (health fair, webinar, teleconference, etc.), in a timely manner. Counseling conducted in one month, must be entered in the STARS Data System by the end of the following month the counseling was rendered, as outlined in ACLs’ Reporting Schedule. The Grantee shall be responsible for ensuring all sites adhere to the standard requirements of SHIP, including reporting in the SHIP Data Tracking and Reporting System (STARS). See attachment of STARS Reporting timelines in Question submission attachment area. Grant Administration Grantor Contact Name: Sandy Leith Grantor Contact Title: SHIP Director Grantor Contact Address: 1 Natural Resources Way, Suite 100, Springfield, IL 62702 Grantor Contact Phone: 217-900-0004 Grantor Contact TTY#: 711 Grantor Contact Email Address: Sandy.Leith@Illinois.Gov Performance Measures and Standards (Program Level) In addition, Beneficiary Contact Forms and Group Outreach and Education or Media Outreach and Education forms contain a ‘special use’ field for MIPPA (Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act) and these fields are mandatory for all SHIP reporting. The MIPPA data includes coding for application assistance for Part D Extra Help or Low-Income Subsidy (LIS); Medicare Savings Programs such as QMB, SLIB, and QI1; and Medicaid applications. See instructions for reporting MIPPA activities in the SHIP training manual. Performance Measures Specific Conditions (Program Level) Programmatic data will be used to track progress against the four MIPPA Performance Measures (PM): • PM1: Overall MIPPA Contacts - percentage of total beneficiary contact forms completed per Medicare beneficiaries under 150% FPL in the state • PM2: Overall Persons Reached through Outreach - total number of people reached as reported on group outreach and education form • PM3: MIPPA Target Populations - total number of beneficiary contact forms completed for target beneficiary groups (Under 65, Rural, Native American, English as a Secondary Language • PM4: Contacts with Applications Submitted - percentage of forms with applications submitted compared to overall MIPPA contacts reported in PM1. In addition, Beneficiary Contact Forms and Group Outreach and Education or Media Outreach and Education forms contain a ‘special use’ field for MIPPA (Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act) and use of these fields are mandatory for all SHIP reporting. The MIPPA data includes coding for application assistance for Part D Extra Help or Low-Income Subsidy (LIS); Medicare Savings Programs such as QMB, SLIB, and QI1; and Medicaid applications. See instructions for reporting MIPPA activities in the SHIP training manual.

A review panel of at least three individuals will evaluate applications that pass the screening and meet the responsiveness criteria. These reviewers are experts in their field and are drawn from the current Illinois Department on Aging staff. Based on the application review criteria the reviewers will comment on and score the applications, focusing their comments and scoring decisions on the identified criteria. Final award decisions will be made based upon a point system. In making these decisions, the SHIP Director will take into consideration recommendations of the review, of reviews from programmatic and grants management compliance, and the likelihood that the proposed project will result in the benefits expected. A Notice of State Award (NOSA) shall be sent to each successful applicant using the GATA web-portal. A Uniform Grant Agreement shall be sent to the Grantee once the awarded entity has signed the NOSA. The NOSA shall include estimated project start date, programmatic and financial special conditions.

The NOSAs shall include all necessary information regarding terms, conditions, and additional requirements of the resulting grants.

Grantees shall be required to submit monthly financial and programmatic reports. Reports are due by the 15th of the following month of the grant. (i.e., Reports for expenditures incurred during the month of October are due by November 15th). Information from the SHIP Reporting System shall be included in each monthly grant report. Grant reports shall be submitted using GATAs Periodic Performance Report and Periodic Financial Report, and SHIP MIPPA Supplemental report. Reports will be submitted via e-mail to the SHIP Grant Manager.

Questions regarding this NOFO shall be made to: Rachael Baskett Office: (217) 782-3816 Email: Rachael.Baskett@illinois.gov OR Matthew.Rousey2@illinois.gov

1. https://ilaging.illinois.gov/ship.html 2. The Department reserves the right to award to all, some, or none of the applicant entities for this funding opportunity. All awards are contingent upon funding. 3. Availability of Appropriation; Sufficiency of Funds. This Agreement is contingent upon and subject to the availability of sufficient funds. Grantor may terminate or suspend this Agreement, in whole or in part, without penalty or further payment being required, if a. sufficient funds for this Agreement have not been appropriated or otherwise made available to the Grantor by the State or the Federal funding source, b. the Governor or Grantor reserves funds, or c. the Governor or Grantor determines that funds will not or may not be available for payment. Grantor shall provide notice, in writing, to Grantee of any such funding failure and its election to terminate or suspend this Agreement as soon as practicable. Any suspension or termination pursuant to this Section will be effective upon the date of the written notice unless otherwise indicated.