The Panel advises and makes recommendations to the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the Administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) concerning optimal strategies for the following:
- Developing and implementing education and outreach programs for individuals enrolled in, or eligible for, the Health Insurance Marketplace, Medicare, Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP).
- Enhancing the federal government’s effectiveness in informing Health Insurance Marketplace, Medicare, Medicaid and CHIP consumers, providers and stakeholders pursuant to education and outreach programs of issues regarding these and other health coverage programs, including the appropriate use of public-private partnerships to leverage the resources of the private sector in educating beneficiaries, providers and stakeholders.
- Expanding outreach to vulnerable and underserved communities, including racial and ethnic minorities, in the context of the Health Insurance Marketplace, Medicare, Medicaid and CHIP education programs.
- Assembling and sharing an information base of "best practices" for helping consumers evaluate health plan options.
- Building and leveraging existing community infrastructures for information, counseling and assistance.
- Drawing the program link between outreach and education, promoting consumer understanding of health care coverage choices and facilitating consumer selection/enrollment, which in turn support the overarching goal of improved access to quality care, including prevention services, envisioned under health care reform.
