[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 137 (Wednesday, July 17, 2002)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 46949-46950]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-18149]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services

42 CFR Chapter IV

[CMS-1227-N]
RIN 0938-ZA40


Medicare Program; Town Hall Meeting on the Outcome Assessment 
Information Set (OASIS)

AGENCY: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), HHS.

ACTION: Notice of meeting.

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SUMMARY: This notice announces a town hall meeting to discuss and 
obtain general comments from the public about the items contained in 
the OASIS home health assessment instrument. Specifically, the meeting 
will attempt to elicit the individual comments and experiences of home 
health stakeholders in using the OASIS and any burden associated with 
its completion, and their comments about the necessity of individual 
assessment items. Beneficiaries, providers, physicians, home health 
agencies and industry representatives, encoding specialists, and other 
interested parties are invited to this meeting to present their 
individual views on these issues. We will consider the individual 
opinions provided during this meeting as we proceed with our efforts to 
update the OASIS assessment instrument and reduce the burden of OASIS 
data collection by home health care providers. The meeting is open to 
the public, but attendance is limited to space available.

DATE: Meeting Date: The town hall meeting announced in this notice will 
be held on Wednesday, July 31, 2002, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. (eastern 
standard time).

ADDRESSES: The town hall meeting will be held in the auditorium at the 
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, 7500 Security Boulevard, 
Baltimore, MD 21244.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Katie Laschinger, 410-786-2119. You 
may also send inquiries about this meeting via e-mail to 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    On June 10, 2002, the Secretary of Health and Human Services 
announced the launching of a new effort to streamline Medicare's 
paperwork requirements for home health nurses and therapists so that 
they can focus more on providing quality care to their patients.
    The action is one of several steps announced to address interim 
recommendations from the Secretary's Advisory Committee on Regulatory 
Reform. Secretary Thompson created the panel of consumers, physicians, 
and other health care professionals to help guide HHS' broader efforts 
to streamline unnecessarily burdensome or inefficient regulations that 
interfere with the quality of health care for Americans.
    Since 1999, Medicare has required home health agencies to complete 
the OASIS (Outcome Assessment Information Set) at regular intervals 
both to ensure Medicare pays appropriately and to assess and improve 
the quality of care provided by the home health agency. Committee 
members, however, made several recommendations for streamlining the 
assessment to achieve those goals more efficiently, allowing home 
health agencies to spend more resources providing care to their 
patients.
    Acting on the committee's recommendations to date, we have already 
taken steps to revise the OASIS form and its use, and will begin 
implementation of the changes. These changes will be described at the 
OASIS town hall meeting. We are now interested in providing interested 
parties with the opportunity to propose additional changes to OASIS as 
part of

[[Page 46950]]

the process for the regular update of the OASIS instrument, its format, 
and use.

II. Meeting Format

    The meeting will begin with an overview of the goals of the 
meeting, the recommendations made by the Secretary's Advisory Committee 
on Regulatory Reform, the Secretary's Committee on Government Reform, 
and our efforts to implement those recommendations to revise the OASIS 
and its administration by home health agencies. The meeting moderator 
will be introduced along with members of the OASIS Technical Expert 
Panel, which is working with us on the long-term review and update of 
OASIS. The moderator will elicit the individual comments and 
recommendations of the audience about OASIS, its content, and ways to 
further reduce the burden of OASIS data collection.
    Beginning on July 12, 2002, information about the OASIS town hall 
meeting will be posted at the following website address: 
www.cms.hhs.gov/oasis/hhnew.asp. At this address, interested parties 
will find an agenda for the meeting and handouts to be used during the 
discussions.
    We will limit the time for participants to make formal statements 
according to the number of registered participants. Individuals who 
wish to make formal statements must contact Katie Laschinger as soon as 
possible. Those individuals must subsequently submit their formal 
statement in writing no later than 5 p.m., Wednesday, July 24, 2002. 
Send written submissions to: Katie Laschinger, Division of Ambulatory 
and Post Acute Care (DAPAC), Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, 
7500 Security Boulevard, Mail Stop S3-06-26, Baltimore, Maryland 21244 
or [email protected]. Comments from individuals not registered to 
speak will be heard after individuals with scheduled statements, if 
time permits.

III. Registration Instructions

    The DAPAC is coordinating meeting registration. While there is no 
registration fee, all individuals must register to attend. Because this 
meeting will be located on Federal property, for security reasons, any 
persons wishing to attend this meeting must call or e-mail Katie 
Laschinger to register at least 72 hours in advance. Attendees must 
show photographic identification to the Federal Protective Service or 
Guard Service personnel before they will be permitted to enter the 
building. Individuals who have not registered in advance will not be 
allowed to enter the building to attend the meeting. Seating capacity 
is limited to the first 250 registrants.
    Individuals requiring sign language interpretation for the hearing 
impaired or other special accommodations should contact Katie 
Laschinger at least 10 days before the meeting.

    Authority: Section 1891 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 
1395bbb)


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

    Dated: July 15, 2002.
Thomas A. Scully,
Administrator, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
[FR Doc. 02-18149 Filed 7-16-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4120-01-P