[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 192 (Tuesday, October 5, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 54030-54031]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-25789]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Health Care Financing Administration
[HCFA-1056-CN]
RIN 0938-AJ65


Medicare Program; Prospective Payment System and Consolidated 
Billing for Skilled Nursing Facilities--Update; Correction

AGENCY: Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA), HHS.

ACTION: Notice; correction.

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SUMMARY: This document corrects technical errors that appeared in the 
notice published in the Federal Register on July 30, 1999 entitled 
``Medicare Program; Prospective Payment System and Consolidated Billing 
for Skilled Nursing Facilities--Update.''

EFFECTIVE DATE: These corrections are effective October 1, 1999.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Bill Ullman, (410) 786-5667.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    In FR Doc. 99-19479 of July 30, 1999 (64 FR 41684), there were a 
number of technical errors. The errors relate to the update factor that 
appears in the discussion of one issue, and to a column of incorrect 
figures displayed in one table.
    Regarding the former, section III. of the preamble (64 FR 41697) 
discusses the statutory three-year, phased transition under which 
payment is based in part on a facility-specific per diem rate (which 
reflects an individual facility's historical cost experience) and in 
part on a Federal per diem rate. For facilities that received payment 
under the RUG-III demonstration during a cost reporting period that 
began in calender year 1997, the notice sets forth a three-step 
procedure for determining the facility-specific rate, in which the 
final step is an adjustment of the rate by an inflation factor of 
1.031532. However, this factor inadvertently failed to reflect an 
update; as a consequence, the figure of 1.031532 as shown in the notice 
discussion should instead be 1.062244.
    The other correction relates to a technical error in Table 8.C of 
the preamble (64 FR 41698-99), entitled ``Update Factors for Facility-
Specific Portion of the SNF PPS Rates.'' This table provides numerical 
factors for use in updating a facility's base year costs through fiscal 
year (FY) 2000 (i.e., the period beginning October 1, 1999, and ending 
September 30, 2000) by the SNF market basket percentage, as required 
under section 1888(e)(3)(D) of the Social Security Act (the Act). 
However, these update factors inadvertently reflected updates to the 
base period amounts only up to the midpoint of FY 2000 itself, rather 
than to the midpoint of the corresponding cost reporting periods that 
begin during FY 2000. This error resulted in incorrect figures being 
displayed for the update factors that appear in the right-hand column 
of Table 8.C.
    Accordingly, we are reprinting this table below, with the corrected 
figures displayed in the right-hand column. Additionally, we note that 
while this correction causes all of the figures displayed in this 
column of the table to increase, this does not affect the associated 
budgetary projections, since they were made based on employing the 
correct methodology for calculating the update factors, as described in 
the SNF PPS interim final rule (63 FR 26252, May 12, 1998). The 
corrections appear in this document under the heading ``Correction of 
Errors.''
    The provisions in this correction notice are effective as if they 
had been included in the document published in the Federal Register on 
July 30, 1999, that is, October 1, 1999.

Correction of Errors

    In FR Doc. 99-19479 of July 30, 1999 (64 FR 41684), we are making 
the following corrections:

Corrections

Page 41697

    In the second column, in the paragraph entitled ``Step 3.,'' the 
first sentence is revised to read as follows: ``Adjust the amount in 
Step 2. by 1.062244 (inflation factor)--Do not use 8.C.''

Page 41698

    Corrected Table 8.C (Update Factors for Facility-Specific Portion 
of the SNF PPS Rates) is set forth below:

[[Page 54031]]



 Table 8.C--Update Factors \1\ for Facility--Specific Portion of the SNF
  PPS Rates--Adjust to 12-Month Cost Reporting Periods Beginning on or
  After October 1, 1999 and Before October 1, 2000 From Cost Reporting
                Periods Beginning in FY 1995 (Base Year)
 
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                   Adjust from 12-month
   If 12-month cost reporting     cost reporting period    Using update
period in initial period begins     in base year that        factor of
                                          begins
------------------------------------------------------------------------
October 1, 1999................  October 1, 1994........         1.09929
November 1, 1999...............  November 1, 1994.......         1.09897
December 1, 1999...............  December 1, 1994.......         1.09855
January 1, 2000................  January 1, 1995........         1.09831
February 1, 2000...............  February 1, 1995.......         1.09827
March 1, 2000..................  March 1, 1995..........         1.09841
April 1, 2000..................  April 1, 1995..........         1.09853
May 1, 2000....................  May 1, 1995............         1.09861
June 1, 2000...................  June 1, 1995...........         1.09866
July 1, 2000...................  July 1,1995............         1.09879
August 1, 2000.................  August 1, 1995.........         1.09900
September 1, 2000..............  September 1, 1995......         1.09929
------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Source: Standard & Poor's DRI, 1st Qtr 1999; @USSIM/
  TREND25YR0299@CISSIM/CONTROL991

(Authority: Section 1888 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 
1395yy))

(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Program No. 93.773, 
Medicare--Hospital Insurance; and Program No. 93.774, Medicare--
Supplementary Medical Insurance Program)

    Dated: September 27, 1999.
Brian P. Burns,
Deputy Assistant, Secretary for Information Resources Management.
[FR Doc. 99-25789 Filed 10-4-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4120-01-P