Very soon, all CMSA chapters will be receiving a second kit from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) called the Help is Here Kit.  This set of materials supplements the original Outreach Toolkit CMSA chapters received in September (blue box).  Also note, you may have received a CD Rom version of the kit instead of the boxed version (or in addition to it).  The Help Is Here Kit is designed to file neatly inside the Outreach Toolkit box.  If you received one of the original kits on CD Rom, please note the materials are identical to those contained in the boxed kit. 

We are including a link to an introductory note we received from CMS, which provides a nice overview to the Help is Here Kit.  The kits were mailed to the official contact person of each affiliate chapter, and you can expect it to arrive at any time.  If you have recently become the chapter contact person, you may need to connect with your predecessor.  Similarly, if you are no longer the chapter contact person, please forward this information to the appropriate person who is now holds this responsibility.

Since there are penalties for late enrollment, we hope CMSA chapter representatives can provide significant support to the local SHIPs representatives.  Please note participation is strictly a voluntary effort.  CMSA has not committed our local affiliate chapters to this project, however, we do hope you will find this an opportunity worthy of your consideration. Together, we hope you will serve as ambassadors throughout your communities and particularly in some of the hard-to-reach areas. 

Also remember in exchange for CMSA member participation, CMS plans to send official notification to your state Senators and Representatives highlighting the chapter's role in the initial enrollment for Medicare Part D.  As you may recall, CMSA launched its first Health Policy program in June 2005; consequently, this type of recognition is priceless to our initial efforts in the Health Policy arena.

On behalf of the CMSA Board of Directors, please accept our most sincere thanks for your assistance with this important project.  As I'm sure you know, CMSA is extremely excited to have this ground-breaking opportunity to work directly with CMS.  For the first time, CMS reached out to CMSA recognizing the enormous reach case managers have in the Medicare market.  Partnering with CMS on this project provides CMSA with a level of visibility unavailable in the past.  Keep us in the loop.  We would love to hear feedback on how your activities are proceeding.

Regards,

Susan Rogers
President
CMSA