On Friday, CDC proposed an initiative to collect and analyze cost data from participants in HHS' Community Transformation Grant program, Modern Healthcare reports.
Earlier this fall, HHS awarded 61 government agencies and not-for-profit organizations more than $103 million under the program, which is designed to help develop initiatives that address chronic disease management, healthy eating, smoking cessation and other wellness issues (McKinney, Modern Healthcare, 12/11).
Twenty-six of the grant recipients are working on capacity development initiatives, while 35 are working to implement broader policy and infrastructure changes to improve public health (Federal Register notice, 12/9).
CDC's five-year data collection and analysis project aims to focus on 30 of the 35 groups that are working to implement community interventions.
According to CDC, results of the collected and analyzed data "will be used to assist (Community Transformation Grant) awardees, CDC and HHS in choosing intervention approaches for particular populations that are both beneficial to public health and cost-effective."
The Office of Management and Budget must approve the project, which could start collecting data in July 2012 (Modern Healthcare, 12/11).