CHRONICALLY ILL MEDICARE BENEFICIARY RESEARCH, DATA, DEMONSTRATION STRATEGY.

SEC. 723. CHRONICALLY ILL MEDICARE BENEFICIARY RESEARCH, DATA, DEMONSTRATION STRATEGY.(a) Development of Plan.—Not later than 6 months after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall develop a plan to improve quality of care and reduce the cost of care for chronically ill medicare beneficiaries.117 STAT. 2349(b) Plan Requirements.—The plan will utilize existing data and identify data gaps, develop research initiatives, and propose intervention demonstration programs to provide better health care for chronically ill medicare beneficiaries. The plan shall—(1) integrate existing data sets including, the Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey (MCBS), Minimum Data Set (MDS), Outcome and Assessment Information Set (OASIS), data from Quality Improvement Organizations (QIO), and claims data;(2) identify any new data needs and a methodology to address new data needs;(3) plan for the collection of such data in a data warehouse; and(4) develop a research agenda using such data.(c) Consultation.—In developing the plan under this section, the Secretary shall consult with experts in the fields of care for the chronically ill (including clinicians).(d) Implementation.—Not later than 2 years after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall implement the plan developed under this section. The Secretary may contract with appropriate entities to implement such plan.(e) Authorization of Appropriations.—There are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary such sums as may be necessary in fiscal years 2004 and 2005 to carry out this section.