[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 229 (Tuesday, November 30, 2004)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Page 69536]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-26356]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services

42 CFR Parts 403, 412, 413, 418, 460, 480, 482, 483, 485, and 489

[CMS-1428-N]
RIN 0938-AM80


Medicare Program; Changes to the Hospital Inpatient Prospective 
Payment Systems and Fiscal Year 2005 Rates; Extension for the Hospital 
Applications To Receive Increases in Full Time Equivalent Resident Caps 
for Graduate Medical Education Payment

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

ACTION: Extension of application deadline.

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SUMMARY: This document extends the deadline for hospitals to submit 
applications to CMS in order to receive increases in full-time 
equivalent (FTE) resident caps for graduate medical education (GME) 
payment purposes under section 1886(h)(7)(B) of the Social Security 
Act, added by section 422 of the Medicare Prescription Drug, 
Improvement, and Modernization Act (MMA) of 2003.

DATES: The deadline for receipt of applications to receive increases in 
FTE resident caps for GME payments is extended to December 15, 2004.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Heath Westcott, (410) 786-4515.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    We published a final rule in the Federal Register (69 FR 48916) 
that revised the Medicare hospital inpatient prospective payments 
systems for operating and capital related costs to implement a number 
of changes made by the MMA.
    Section 422 of the MMA (Pub. L. 108-173) provides for a reduction 
in the statutory resident caps under Medicare for certain hospitals and 
authorizes a ``redistribution'' of those FTE resident slots to other 
hospitals. Qualifying hospitals that submit a timely application may 
receive up to 25 additional FTE resident cap slots for direct GME and 
indirect medical education purposes.

II. Provisions of the Notice

    In the Fiscal Year (FY) 2005 final rule (69 FR 49141 and 69 FR 
49169), we stated that any hospital that wishes to receive an increase 
in its FTE resident cap(s) under section 1886(h)(7)(B) of the Social 
Security Act (the Act) must submit an application to the CMS Central 
Office and to the CMS Regional Office for the region in which the 
applicant hospital is located, and that the application must be 
received on or before December 1, 2004. In order to give hospitals more 
time to complete these applications, we are extending this deadline to 
December 15, 2004.
    Additional information regarding reductions and increases in 
hospitals' FTE resident caps for purposes of direct and indirect GME 
payments under section 1886(h)(7) of the Act can be found in the August 
11, 2004 Federal Register (69 FR 49112).

III. Collection of Information Requirements

    This document does not impose information collection and 
recordkeeping requirements. Consequently, it need not be reviewed by 
the Office of Management and Budget under the authority of the 
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

    Authority: Section 1886(h)(7)(B) of the Social Security Act (42 
U.S.C. 1395ww(h)(7)(B)).

(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Program No. 93.773 
Medicare--Hospital Insurance Program)

    Dated: November 18, 2004.
Mark B. McClellan,
Administrator, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
    Approved: November 23, 2004.
Tommy G. Thompson,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 04-26356 Filed 11-24-04; 9:24 am]
BILLING CODE 4120-01-P