New center to spur innovation in health care

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is looking for help in setting up a new innovation center created under the health reform legislation.

Under the reform package, CMS is expected to develop new models for care reimbursements to allow for reduction of costs while also preserving quality of care. This may involve accommodating new practices such as telehealth.

The law required establishing a Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation in CMS by January 2011. The center will serve as a research and development arm of CMS.

To meet that deadline, CMS published a sources sought notice on the Federal Business Opportunities Web site on May 14 seeking companies that can assist in the design, planning, organizational development and implementation of the center.

The assistance would include identifying new models and solutions to solve existing problems in health care delivery, designing and assigning pilot projects to evaluate and test those ideas and forming policy proposals to carry out the initiatives in Medicare and Medicaid, the notice said.

The agency is seeking responses by May 28. The notice is specifically aimed at small businesses.