[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 146 (Monday, July 30, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Page 39372]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-18933]


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MEDICARE PAYMENT ADVISORY COMMISSION


Commission Meeting

AGENCY: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission.

ACTION: Notice of meeting.

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given of the Medicare Payment Advisory 
Commission (MedPAC) public meeting on Thursday, September 13, 2001, and 
Friday, September 14, 2001, at the Ronald Reagan Building, 
International Trade Center, 1300 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, 
DC. The meeting will begin at 10 a.m. on September 1, and at 9 a.m. on 
September 14.
    Congress directed MedPAC in the Balanced Budget Refinement Act of 
1999 (BBRA) to evaluate the level of burden placed on providers through 
federal regulations and make recommendations to reduce the regulatory 
complexity of the Medicare program. On Thursday, September 13, MedPAC 
will discuss the regulatory complexity of the Medicare program. During 
this meeting, invited witnesses will address how changes in law and 
regulation may improve the program, including improvement of the rules 
regarding quality of care requirements, billing, compliance, fraud and 
abuse, and beneficiary protections. Witnesses will also be asked to 
provide recommendations on how the Congress and the Secretary of Health 
and Human Services can reduce regulatory burden and complexity for 
Medicare beneficiaries, providers, and health plans. Further 
information on the full agenda for the two day meeting and list of 
participating witnesses will be posted on the MedPAC website at 
www.medpac.gov prior to the meeting. We will publish another federal 
register notice in August.
    To inform the Commission, MedPAC invites the public to provide 
written comments on regulatory burden related to Medicare. Respondents 
are asked to address the following questions:
    1. Do current regulations help Medicare fulfill its responsibility 
to be a prudent purchaser of health care services and to promote access 
to quality care for its beneficiaries? What approaches do other payers 
use that could be useful for Medicare?
    2. How do Medicare's regulatory requirements (and the resources you 
need to comply with them) compare with those of other payers?
    3. How has the regulatory complexity of the Medicare program 
changed in recent years? How have these changes affected the delivery 
of care, including clinical innovation?
    4. Have increased fraud and abuse investigative actions affected 
your service to Medicare beneficiaries? How can Medicare deter improper 
billing in a non-punitive environment?
    5. What is the frequency and nature of your interactions with 
administrative personnel from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid 
Services (CMS), formerly known as the Health Care Financing 
Administration (HCFA), its fiscal intermediaries and carriers as well 
as other Medicare contractors? How do these interactions compare with 
other insurers?
    6. What aspects of Medicare do you find most/least burdensome?
    7. What specific steps would you recommend to decrease regulatory 
complexity and burden in Medicare? How could those steps be 
implemented?
    People or organizations wishing to submit a written statement for 
the printed record of the hearing should submit no more than five (5) 
one-sided, single-spaced pages of their statement, along with an IBM 
compatible 3.5-inch diskette in WordPerfect or MS Word format with 
their name, address, and hearing date noted on the label, by close of 
business, Friday, August 17, 2001, to Murray N. Ross, Ph.D., Executive 
Director, Medicare Payment Advisory Commission, 1730 K Street, NW., 
Suite 800, Washington, DC 20006. No attachments will be accepted.

Murray N. Ross,
Executive Director.
[FR Doc. 01-18933 Filed 7-27-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6820-BW-M