[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 15 (Friday, January 23, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 3370-3371]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-1516]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services

[CMS-1375-N]


Medicare Program; Request for Nominations to the Advisory Panel 
on Ambulatory Payment Classifications Groups

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

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: This notice invites nominations of members to the Advisory 
Panel on Ambulatory Payment Classification (APC) Groups (the Panel). 
There will be four vacancies on the Panel as of March 31, 2004. 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) concerning the clinical integrity of these groups and 
weights, which are major elements of the hospital outpatient 
prospective payment system. The Panel is chartered through November 21, 
2004.

Nominations

    Nominations will be considered if received at the appropriate 
address, which is provided below, no later than 5 p.m. e.s.t. February 
13, 2004. Mail or deliver nominations to the following address: CMS, 
Center for Medicare Management, Hospital & Ambulatory Policy Group, 
Division of Outpatient Care, Attention: Shirl Ackerman Ross, Designated 
Federal Official (FACA), Advisory Panel on APC Groups, 7500 Security 
Boulevard, Mail Stop C4-05-17, Baltimore, MD 21244-1850.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Persons wishing to nominate 
individuals to serve on the Panel or to obtain further information can 
also contact the Panel coordinator, Shirl Ackerman-Ross by e-mail at 
[email protected] or by telephone at (410) 786-4474.
    For additional information and updates on the Panel's activities, 
please refer to the Internet at http://www.cms.gov/faca.
    You may also refer to the CMS Advisory Committee Information 
Hotlines at 1-877-449-5659 (toll-free) or 410-786-9379(local) for 
additional information.
    News media representatives should contact the CMS Press Office, 
(202) 690-6145.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    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) to consult with an advisory panel on Ambulatory Payment 
Classification (APC) Groups (the Panel). The Panel will meet 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) concerning the clinical integrity of 
the groups and their associated weights. The groups and their weights 
are major elements of the hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment 
System (OPPS). We will consider the technical advice provided by the 
Panel as we prepare the annual Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that will 
propose changes to the OPPS for the next calendar year.
    The current members of the Panel are: Marilyn Bedell, M.S., R.N., 
O.C.N.; Geneva Craig, R.N., M.A.; Lora DeWald, M.Ed.; Albert Brooks 
Einstein, Jr., M.D.; Robert E. Henkin, M.D.; Lee H. Hilborne, M.D., 
M.P.H.; Stephen T. House, M.D.; Kathleen Kinslow, C.R.N.A., Ed.D.; Mike 
Metro, R.N., B.S.; Gerald V. Naccarelli, M.D.; Frank G. Opelka, M.D., 
F.A.C.S.; Beverly K. Philip, M.D.; Lynn R. Tomascik, R.N., M.S.N.; 
Timothy Gene Tyler, Pharm.D.; and William Van Decker, M.D. The Panel 
Chair position, which must be a CMS Federal official, is vacant.
    The Charter allows for up to 15 members plus a Chair, and we will 
have four openings as of March 31, 2004. Therefore, we are requesting 
nominations for members to serve on the Panel. Panel members serve 
without compensation, pursuant to advance written agreement; however, 
travel, meals, lodging, and related expenses will be reimbursed in 
accordance with standard Government travel regulations. We have a 
special interest for ensuring that women, minorities, and the 
physically challenged are adequately represented on the Panel, and we

[[Page 3371]]

encourage nominations of qualified candidates from those groups.
    The Secretary, or his designee, will appoint new members to the 
Panel from among those candidates determined to have the required 
expertise; new appointments will be done in a manner that will ensure 
an appropriate balance of membership.

II. Criteria for Nominees

    Qualified nominees will meet those requirements necessary to be a 
Panel member. Panel members must be full-time employees and 
representatives of Medicare providers subject to the OPPS, with 
technical and/or clinical expertise in any of the following areas:
    [sbull] Hospital payment systems.
    [sbull] Hospital medical care delivery systems.
    [sbull] Outpatient payment requirements.
    [sbull] Ambulatory payment classification groups.
    [sbull] Use of, and payment for, drugs and medical devices in an 
outpatient setting.
    [sbull] Provision of, and payment for, partial hospitalization 
services.
    [sbull] Any other relevant expertise.
    It is not necessary that any nominee possess expertise in all of 
the areas listed, but each must have a minimum of 5 years experience 
and currently be employed full-time in his or her area of expertise. 
(Please Note: Consultants do not qualify for Panel membership under the 
nominee criteria.)
    Members of the Panel serve overlapping 4-year terms, contingent 
upon the rechartering of the Panel on or before November 21, 2004.
    Any interested person may nominate one or more qualified 
individuals. Self-nominations will also be accepted. Each nomination 
must include a letter of nomination, a curriculum vita of the nominee, 
and a statement from the nominee that the nominee is willing to serve 
on the Panel under the conditions described in this notice and further 
specified in the Charter.

III. Copies of the Charter

    You may obtain a copy of the charter for the Panel by submitting a 
request to: Shirl Ackerman-Ross, CMS, Center for Medicare Management, 
Hospital & Ambulatory Policy Group, Division of Outpatient Care, 7500 
Security Boulevard, Mail Stop C4-05-17, Baltimore, MD 21244, by 
telephone at (410) 786-4474 or by e-mail to [email protected]. 
A copy of the charter is also available on the Internet at http://www.cms.hhs.gov/faca.

    Authority: Section 1833(t)(9)(A) of the Social Security Act (42 
U.S.C. 13951(t)(9)(A)) and Pub. L. 92-463 (5 U.S.C. App. 2).

    Dated: January 16, 2004.
Dennis G. Smith,
Acting Administrator, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
[FR Doc. 04-1516 Filed 1-22-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4120-01-P