DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
7500 Security Boulevard, Mail Stop C4-22-04
Baltimore, Maryland 21244-1850
CENTER FOR MEDICARE
MEDICARE-MEDICAID COORDINATION OFFICE
DATE: October 17, 2019
TO: Current and Future Medicare Advantage Organizations, Medicare-Medicaid Plan
Sponsors, and Prescription Drug Plan Sponsors
FROM: Amy Larrick Chavez-Valdez
Director, Medicare Drug Benefit and C & D Data Group
Kathryn A. Coleman,
Director, Medicare Drug & Health Plan Contract Administration
Lindsay P. Barnette,
Director, Models, Demonstrations, and Analysis Group, Medicare-Medicaid
Coordination Office
SUBJECT: Release of Notice of Intent to Apply for Contract Year 2021 Medicare Advantage
(MA), Medicare-Medicaid Plans (MMP), and Prescription Drug Benefit (Part D) and
Related CY 2021 Application Deadlines
CMS announces the release of the Contract Year (CY) 2021 Notice of Intent to Apply (NOIA)
web tool and key dates for the CY 2021 Medicare Advantage (MA), Medicare-Medicaid Plan
(MMP), and Prescription Drug Benefit (Part D) application cycle.
I. 2021 Application Activity Key Dates
CY 2021 Application Activity
Date
Notice of Intent to Apply (NOIA) deadline to ensure access to the CMS
Health Plan Management System
November 11, 2019
CMS sends Notice of Intent to Apply confirmation e-mails to entities
meeting the November 11 NOIA deadline to ensure timely Health Plan
Management System (HPMS) access
November 30, 2019
CMS User ID connectivity form submissions must be received by this
date to ensure user access to HPMS by January 7, 2020
December 1, 2019
CY 2021 MA, Part D, and MMP applications posted on CMS websites
January 7, 2020
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CY 2021 Application Activity
Date
Final day to submit Notice of Intent to Apply for 2021
January 24, 2020
CY 2022 MA, Part D, and MMP applications submission deadline
February 12, 2020
II. Submitting a Notice of Intent to Apply
The CY 2021 NOIA should be submitted by 5 p.m. Eastern Time on November 11, 2019.
CMS will continue to process NOIAs between November 11, 2019 and January 24, 2020. Please
note that CMS cannot guarantee that applicants submitting a NOIA after November 11 will have
access to the online application when it is released in January 2020; therefore, be advised that
those entities may not have the full period of time to complete their applications.
CMS will send confirmation emails to organizations once the CY 2021 NOIAs are processed,
but no later than November 30, 2019 for those entities that submit a NOIA by November 11,
2019. Entities must submit a NOIA for CY 2021 if any of the following actions are planned:
• Offering a new product type (such as a MA, MA-PD, MMP, or PDP)
• Transitioning an existing non- or partial network Private Fee for Service (PFFS) to a full
network PFFS (a pending contract ID will be issued)
• Expanding the service area of an existing contract (SAE)
• Expanding only an employer-only service area
• Adding prescription drug benefits to an existing contract for the first time
• Adding Employer Group Waiver Plan (EGWP) market to an existing individual-only service
area for the first time
• Adding individual market to an existing EGWP-only service area for the first time
• Adding or expanding the service area of a Special Needs Plan (SNP)
An organization seeking to offer a new product type or an expansion of an existing MA, MMP,
or Part D plan must complete a separate NOIA for each unique application it intends to submit.
For CY 2021, there are four distinct websites for interested organizations. Organizations must
use the following links to access and complete the NOIA web tools:
• New/Initial MA or Part D Plan – https://cmsgov.wufoo.com/forms/m1ifvl7h1inzfsk/
• MA or Part D SAE (including adding a SNP to an existing contract) –
https://cmsgov.wufoo.com/forms/m1o91f300gw29ac/
• New/Initial MMP – https://cmsgov.wufoo.com/forms/m9h5kdb1ie2qdk/
• MMP SAE – https://cmsgov.wufoo.com/forms/m1fpsus911u57q4/
III. CMS Processing of Notices of Intent to Apply and Confirmations
CMS will review and process the NOIA submission, and for entities seeking to offer a new
product type in CY 2021, CMS will use the information submitted to generate pending contract
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IDs. Organizations’ requests for separate contract numbers will only be accommodated when an
existing contract is not allowed to be expanded based on CMS policy.
Please also note the following:
• Other than for Regional PPOs, new contract numbers will not be issued to existing legal
entities for product types they currently contract with CMS to offer in CY 2020. Those
entities should complete SAE applications to achieve the business goals of broadening the
contract’s service area, or adding EGWP or individual plans, to existing contracts.
• Organizations seeking to offer a Regional PPO in a new region may request and file the
application under a new contract number.
• P.O. Boxes will not be accepted as valid addresses for application purposes. Processing will
be delayed for any NOIAs that contain a P.O. Box for the mailing address of the legal entity
while CMS attempts to collect the street address for the legal entity.
• All EGWP (Direct Contract or “Employer Series”) service area expansions will follow the
same application timeline as the individual market applications.
• MMPs seeking to expand into existing MMP counties must submit a NOIA for CY 2021
• Current PFFS contractors with service areas transitioning to network-based coverage starting
in CY 2021 must file a single NOIA for those areas that are transitioning. The network-based
PFFS areas will be assessed under a new contract number. Non-network PFFS plans (those
plans that cover county(ies) not identified by CMS as being a county that must have network-
based PFFS coverage) may continue to operate under their current contract numbers.
IV. CY 2021 Applications
The CY 2021 MA and Part D Initial and SAE, MMP Initial and SAE, and SNP Initial and SAE
applications will be posted on the CMS web pages and in HPMS by January 7, 2020 and will be
due on February 12, 2020.
All CY 2021 Medicare applications and supporting documentation must be submitted
electronically via the HPMS. To ensure timely access to CMS systems, including HPMS,
applicants must complete the NOIA online and the CMS User ID connectivity form (required for
entities seeking a new 2021 contract). Submitting a NOIA does not bind that organization to
submit an application for CY 2021.
If you have questions about the CY 2021 NOIA process, please contact the CMS Part D
Application mailbox at Par[email protected].
If you have questions related to HPMS user access, please send an email to
