[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 60 (Friday, March 28, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 15206-15207]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-7495]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services

[CMS-1474-N]


Medicare Program; Town Hall Meeting on the Inpatient 
Rehabilitation Facility Prospective Payment System

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 allow the public 
to discuss the inpatient rehabilitation facility (IRF) prospective 
payment system (PPS). Beneficiaries, providers, physicians, inpatient 
rehabilitation facilities staff, industry representatives, and other 
interested parties are invited to this meeting to present their views 
regarding the IRF PPS. The meeting is open to the public, but 
attendance is limited to space available.

DATES: Meeting Date: The town hall meeting announced in this notice 
will be held on Monday, May 19, 2003, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. (eastern 
daylight saving 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: August Nemec, 410-786-0612. You may 
also send inquiries about this meeting via e-mail to 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background

    On August 7, 2001, we published a final rule entitled ``Medicare 
Program; Prospective Payment System for Inpatient Rehabilitation 
Facilities (CMS-1069-F)'' in the Federal Register (66 FR 41316), that 
established a prospective payment system (PPS) for inpatient 
rehabilitation facilities (IRFs) as authorized under section 1886(j) of 
the Social Security Act (the Act). The IRF PPS regulations are codified 
at 42 CFR part 412, subpart P. In the August 7, 2001 final rule, we set 
forth per discharge Federal prospective payment rates for the fiscal 
year (FY) 2002 that provided payment for inpatient operating and 
capital costs of furnishing covered rehabilitation services (that is, 
routine, ancillary, and capital costs) but not costs of approved 
educational activities, bad debts, and other services or items that are 
outside the scope of the IRF PPS. The provisions of that final rule 
were effective for cost reporting

[[Page 15207]]

periods beginning on or after January 1, 2002. (On July 1, 2002, we 
published a correcting amendment to the final rule in the Federal 
Register (67 FR 44073). Any reference to the August 7, 2001 final rule 
in this proposed rule includes the provisions effective in the 
correcting amendment.)
    Section 1886(j)(5) of the Act and Sec.  412.628 of the regulations 
requires the Secretary to publish in the Federal Register, on or before 
August 1 of the preceding fiscal year, the classifications and 
weighting factors for the IRF case-mix groups (CMGs) and a description 
of the methodology and data used in computing the prospective payment 
rates for the upcoming fiscal year. On August 1, 2002, we published a 
notice in the Federal Register (67 FR 49928) to update the IRF Federal 
prospective payment rates from FY 2002 to FY 2003 using the methodology 
described in Sec.  412.624 of the regulations. As stated in that 
notice, we used the same classifications and weighting factors for the 
IRF CMGs that were set forth in the August 7, 2001 final rule to update 
the IRF Federal prospective payment rates from FY 2002 to FY 2003. The 
FY 2003 Federal prospective payment rates are effective for discharges 
on or after October 1, 2002 and before October 1, 2003.
    After implementing the IRF PPS on January 1, 2002 and through the 
first quarter of calendar year 2002, we held conference calls with the 
IRF industry. These conference calls were beneficial for our staff and 
the IRF industry to understand and address the issues and concerns of 
implementing this new PPS. Since the IRF PPS has been implemented for 
over one year, we believe that this town hall meeting will provide 
interested parties with the opportunity to discuss issues and concerns 
regarding the IRF PPS.
    In the near future, we anticipate publishing a proposed rule to set 
forth proposed updated FY 2004 IRF prospective payment rates and to 
propose other changes to the IRF PPS. It is important to note that if 
the proposed rule is published before the IRF town hall meeting, 
statements and comments made or received during the town hall meeting 
will not be accepted and considered as official comments on the 
proposed rule. To be considered as official comments, the procedures 
described in the DATES, ADDRESSES, and SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION 
sections of the proposed rule must be followed.

II. Meeting Format

    The meeting will begin with an overview of the goals of the 
meeting. The meeting moderator will be introduced along with members of 
the CMS IRF PPS Panel. After a brief overview of the IRF PPS, the 
moderator will lead a discussion of the written statements received 
before the town hall meeting as described below. We have developed an 
agenda (to be posted on the CMS Web site discussed below) for the 
meeting consisting of the following aspects of the IRF PPS: (1) The IRF 
patient classification and payment systems; (2) the IRF patient 
assessment instrument; and (3) the requirements for a hospital or a 
unit of a hospital to be classified as an IRF.
    Beginning on or about April 28, 2003, information about the IRF PPS 
town hall meeting will be posted at the following Web site address: 
www.cms.hhs.gov/providers/irfpps/default.asp. At this address, 
interested parties will find important information on the town hall 
meeting including 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 August Nemec as soon as 
possible. Those individuals must subsequently submit their formal 
statement in writing so that it is received by CMS no later than 5 
p.m., Monday, May 12, 2003. Send written submissions to: August Nemec, 
Division of Institutional Post Acute Care, Centers for Medicare & 
Medicaid Services, 7500 Security Boulevard, Mail Stop C5-06-27, 
Baltimore, Maryland 21244 or [email protected]. If time permits, 
statements from individuals not registered to speak will be heard after 
individuals with scheduled statements.

III. Registration Instructions

    The Division of Institutional Post Acute Care 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 register by writing or e-mailing the actual 
names of the attendees to August Nemec at least 72 hours in advance of 
the meeting date. 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. The meeting is limited to registered persons, and 
seating capacity is limited to the first 250 registrants.
    Individuals requiring sign language interpretation for the hearing 
impaired or other special accommodations should contact August Nemec at 
least 10 days before the meeting.

    Authority: Section 1886(j) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 
1395ww(j)).

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

    Dated: March 24, 2003.
Thomas A. Scully,
Administrator, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
[FR Doc. 03-7495 Filed 3-27-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4120-01-P