[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 143 (Friday, July 25, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 44089-44090]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-18857]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services

[CMS-1260-N]


Medicare Program; Meeting of the Advisory Panel on Ambulatory 
Payment Classification Groups--August 22, 2003

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

ACTION: Notice of meeting.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with section 10(a) of the Federal Advisory 
Committee Act (5 U.S.C. Appendix 2), this notice announces the second 
biannual meeting of the Advisory Panel on Ambulatory Payment 
Classification (APC) Groups (the Panel) for 2003.
    The purpose of the Panel is to review the APC groups and their 
associated weights and to advise the Secretary of Health and Human 
Services (the Secretary) and the Administrator of the Centers for 
Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) (the Administrator) concerning the 
clinical integrity of the APC groups and their associated weights. The 
advice provided by the Panel will be considered as CMS prepares its 
annual updates of the hospital outpatient prospective payment system 
(OPPS) through rulemaking.

DATES: The second biannual meeting for 2003 is scheduled for Friday, 
August 22, 2003, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. (e.d.t.).

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held in the Multipurpose Room, 1st 
Floor, at the CMS Central Office, 7500 Security Boulevard, Baltimore, 
Maryland 21244-1850.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For copies of the charter, for 
inquiries regarding these meetings, for meeting registration, and for 
submitting oral presentations or written agenda items, contact Shirl 
Ackerman-Ross, the meeting coordinator and Designated Federal Official, 
CMS, Center for Medicare Management, Hospital Ambulatory Policy Group, 
Division of Outpatient Care, 7500 Security Boulevard, Mail Stop C4-05-
17, Baltimore, MD 21244-1850 or phone (410) 786-4474. Also, please 
refer to the CMS Advisory Committees' Information Line at 1-877-449-
5659 (toll free) and (410) 786-9379 (local).
    For additional information on the APC meeting agenda topics and/or 
updates to the Panel's activities, search our Internet Web site: http://www.cms.hhs.gov/faca/apc/default.asp.
    To submit a request for a copy of the charter, search the Internet 
at http://

[[Page 44090]]

www.cms.hhs.gov/faca or e-mail [email protected].
    Written materials may also be sent electronically to 
[email protected].
    News media representatives should contact our Public Affairs Office 
at (202) 690-6145.

Background

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Secretary of the Department of Health 
and Human Services (the Secretary) is required by section 1833(t)(9)(A) 
of the Social Security Act (the Act), as amended by section 
201(h)(1)(B) and redesignated by section 202(a)(2) of the Balanced 
Budget Refinement Act (BBRA) of 1999 (Pub. L. 106-113), to establish 
and consult with an expert, outside advisory panel on Ambulatory 
Payment Classification (APC) groups. The Advisory Panel on Ambulatory 
Payment Classification Groups (the Panel) meets up to three times 
annually to review the APC groups and to provide technical advice to 
the Secretary and to the Administrator of the Centers for Medicare & 
Medicaid Services (CMS) (the Administrator) concerning the clinical 
integrity of the groups and their associated weights. We will consider 
the technical advice provided by the Panel as we prepare the proposed 
rule that proposes changes to the Outpatient Prospective Payment System 
(OPPS) for the next calendar year.
    The Panel may consist of up to 15 representatives of Medicare 
providers that are subject to the OPPS and a Chair. The Administrator 
selected the Panel membership based upon either self-nominations or 
nominations submitted by providers or organizations.
    The Panel presently consists of the following members and a Chair: 
Paul Rudolf, M.D., J.D., Chair, a CMS medical officer; Geneva Craig, 
R.N., M.A.; Lora DeWald, M.Ed.; Robert E. Henkin, M.D.; Stephen T. 
House, M.D.; Kathleen Kinslow, C.R.N.A., Ed.D.; Mike Metro, R.N., B.S.; 
Gerald V. Naccarelli, M.D.; and Beverly K. Philip, M.D.
    The new members recently appointed to the Panel are: Marilyn 
Bedell, M.S., R.N., O.C.N.; Albert Brooks Einstein, Jr., M.D.; Lee H. 
Hilborne, M.D., M.P.H. (reappointment); Frank G. Opelka, M.D., 
F.A.C.S.; Lynn R. Tomascik, R.N., M.S.N., C.N.A.A.; Timothy Gene Tyler, 
Pharm.D.; and William Van Decker, M.D. (reappointment).
    The agenda for the August 2003 meeting will provide for discussion 
and comment on the following topics:
    [sbull] Reconfiguration of APCs (for example, splitting of APCs, 
moving Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System (HCPCS) codes from one 
APC to another, and moving HCPCS codes from New Technology APCs to 
Clinical APCs).
    [sbull] Evaluation of APC weights.
    [sbull] Packaging devices and drug costs into APCs: methodology, 
effect on APCs, and need for reconfiguring APCs based upon device and 
drug packaging.
    [sbull] Removal of procedures from the inpatient list for payment 
under the OPPS.
    [sbull] Use of single and multiple procedure claims data.
    [sbull] Packaging of HCPCS codes.
    [sbull] Other technical issues concerning APC structure.
    We are soliciting comments from the public on specific proposed 
items falling within these agenda topics for the August 2003 Panel 
meeting. We will consider agenda topics for this meeting if they are 
submitted in writing and fall within the agenda topics listed above. We 
urge those who wish to comment to send comments as soon as possible, 
but no later than 5 p.m. (e.d.t.) on Thursday, August 14, 2003.
    The meeting is open to the public, but attendance is limited to the 
space available. Individuals or organizations wishing to make 5-minute 
oral presentations should contact the meeting coordinator by 5 p.m. 
(e.d.t.) on Thursday, August 14, 2003, in order to be scheduled. The 
number of oral presentations may be limited by the time available. Oral 
presentations should not exceed 5 minutes.
    Persons wishing to present must submit a copy of the presentation 
and the name, address, and telephone number of the presenter. In 
addition, all presentations must contain, at a minimum, the following 
supporting information and data:
    [sbull] The presenter's financial relationship(s), if any, with any 
company whose products, services, or procedures are under 
consideration.
    [sbull] Physicians' Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) codes 
involved.
    [sbull] APC(s) affected.
    [sbull] Description of the issue(s).
    [sbull] Clinical description of the service under discussion (with 
comparison to other services within the APC).
    [sbull] Recommendations and rationale for change.
    [sbull] Expected outcome of change and potential consequences of 
not making the change.
    Submit a written copy of the oral remarks or written agenda items 
to the meeting coordinator listed above or electronically to the 
address: [email protected]. Because of staffing and resource 
limitations, we cannot accept comments by facsimile (FAX) transmission 
and cannot acknowledge or respond individually to comments we receive.
    In addition to formal presentations, there will be an opportunity 
during the meeting for public comment, limited to 1 minute for each 
individual or organization.
    Persons wishing to attend this meeting, which is located on Federal 
property, must call the meeting coordinator, Shirl Ackerman-Ross, at 
(410) 786-4474, to register in advance no later than Thursday, August 
14, 2003. Persons attending must present a photographic identification 
to the Federal Protective Service or Guard Service personnel before 
they will be allowed to enter the building.
    Persons who are not registered in advance will not be permitted 
into the building and will not be permitted to attend the meeting.
    A member of our staff will be stationed at the Central Building, 
first-floor lobby, to provide assistance to attendees. Please remember 
that all visitors must be escorted if they have business in areas other 
than the lower and first floor levels in the Central Building. Parking 
permits and instructions are issued upon arrival by the guards at the 
main entrance.
    Special Accommodation: Individuals requiring sign language 
interpretation or other special accommodations should send a request 
for these services to the meeting coordinator by Thursday, August 14, 
2003.

    Authority: Section 1833(t) of the Act (42 U.S.C. 1395l(t), as 
amended by section 201(h) of the BBRA of 1999 (Pub. L. 106-113). The 
Panel is governed by the provisions of Pub. L. 92-463, as amended (5 
U.S.C. Appendix 2).

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


    Dated: July 11, 2003.
Thomas A. Scully,
Administrator, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
[FR Doc. 03-18857 Filed 7-24-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4120-01-P