The Health and Human Services (HHS) Department announced that it will fund a second round of grants for health care innovation projects designed to lower costs and improve care delivery and outcomes. The program is part of the Affordable Care Act’s Health Care Innovation Awards, which was launched in November 2011 with a first round of 107 award recipients. The award funding is typically for a three-year period. For the second round, CMS said it would look for proposals to:

  • Enhance care for populations with specialized needs;
  • Improve the health of populations through prevention care;
  • Test approaches for specific types of providers to change their financial and clinical models; and
  • Quickly lower Medicare, Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program outpatient and post-acute settings costs.

Potential applicants  must submit a letter of intent for round two by between June 1 and June 28. CMS will accept applications between June 14 and Aug. 15, and it plans to announce award recipients early next year.