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Health Care Innovation Awards Round Two: ObamaCare, the Gift that Keeps Giving for Grant Seekers and Writers

Another week, another huge ACA / ObamaCare RFP announced. This time it’s Health Care Innovations Awards Round Two. There’s $900,000,000 up for grabs, with grants to $25,000,000. These eye popping numbers are big enough to seize the attention of even this grizzled grant writer.

The purpose of this very attractive RFP is to:

The second round of Health Care Innovation Awards will fund applicants who propose new payment and service delivery models that have the greatest likelihood of driving health care system transformation and delivering better outcomes for Medicare, Medicaid, and CHIP beneficiaries in four Innovation Categories.

This string of policy buzz words doesn’t really say anything other than that applicants are supposed to do something that will somehow lower undefined health care costs born by public insurance programs, while at the same time magically improving undefined outcomes. This is great news for applicants because almost anything can be proposed. It’s even better news for grant writers, as we can wax eloquently in health policy mumbo jumbo while spinning grant Tales of Brave Ulysses (I used this quote before, as well, but it just seems so damn perfect here). Speaking of quotes, I’ve cited the late, lamented Senator Everett Disksen before, but it applies here too: “A billion here, a billion there, and pretty soon you’re talking about real money.” This program is another example of the talk about sequestration and budget deficits having little effect on actual federal grant funding: the grant spigot is on at ObamaCare and it’s a gusher.

Every type of applicant is eligible: nonprofits, IHEs (Institutions of Higher Education, otherwise known as “colleges or university” but in bureaucrat-speak), Indian tribes, businesses and your Aunt Martha, as individuals are eligible applicants. Think of it as another Oklahoma Land Rush of grant opportunities.

As faithful readers know, I’ve been writing grant proposals since dinosaurs walked the earth and I can’t remember another grant program that has had so much money available, so little direction, and so broad an eligible applicant pool.

If your organization or your Aunt Martha have any bright ideas on improving Medicare, Medicaid and/or CHIP service delivery and costs, you should not let this opportunity pass. The deadline is August 15, so, for a change, there’s plenty of time to plan the project concept and write the proposal. A word of caution, however: a mandatory letter of intent to apply must be submitted by June 28. LOIs are easy to draft, so you should work most di di mau on the letter to reserve your place at this incredibly tasty grant trough.