[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 36 (Friday, February 23, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8169-8171]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-3040]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services

[CMS-1542-N]


Medicare Program; Announcement of New Members to the Advisory 
Panel on Ambulatory Payment Classification (APC) Groups

AGENCY: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), Department of 
Health and Human Services (DHHS).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: This notice announces five new members selected to serve on 
the Advisory Panel on Ambulatory Payment Classification (APC) Groups 
(the Panel). The purpose of the Panel is to review the APC groups and 
their associated weights and to advise the Secretary, DHHS, (the 
Secretary) and the Administrator, CMS, (the Administrator) concerning 
the clinical integrity of the APC groups and their associated weights. 
We will consider the Panel's advice as we prepare the annual updates of 
the hospital outpatient prospective payment system (OPPS).

FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For inquiries about the Panel, please 
contact

[[Page 8170]]

the Designated Federal Official (DFO): Shirl Ackerman-Ross, DFO, CMS, 
CMM, HAPG, DOC, 7500 Security Boulevard, Mail Stop C4-05-17, Baltimore, 
MD 21244-1850, Phone (410) 786-4474.
    E-Mail Address: The E-mail address for the Panel is as follows: CMS 
[email protected]. News media representatives must contact our 
Public Affairs Office at (202) 690-6145.
    Advisory Committees' Information Lines: The CMS Advisory 
Committees' Information Line is 1-877-449-5659 (toll free) and (410) 
786-9379 (local).
    Web Site: For additional information regarding the APC Panel 
membership, meetings, agendas, and updates to the Panel's activities, 
please search our Web site at the following: http://www.cms.hhs.gov/FACA/05_AdvisoryPanelonAmbulatoryPaymentClassificationGroups.asp. A 
copy of the Panel's Charter is on that Web site. You may also e-mail 
the Panel DFO at the above-mentioned e-mail address for a copy of the 
Charter.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background

    The Secretary is required by section 1833(t)(9)(A) of the Social 
Security Act (the Act), [as amended by section 201(h) of the Medicare, 
Medicaid, and SCHIP Balanced Budget Refinement Act of 1999 (BBRA) (Pub. 
L. 106-113), and redesignated by section 202(a)(2) of the BBRA] to 
consult with an expert outside advisory panel regarding the clinical 
integrity of the APC groups and weights that are components of the 
hospital OPPS.
    The APC Panel meets up to three times annually. The Charter 
requires that the Panel must be fairly balanced in its membership in 
terms of the points of view represented and the functions to be 
performed. The Panel shall consist of up to 15 members who are 
representatives of providers and a Chair. Each Panel member must be 
employed full-time by a hospital, hospital system, or other Medicare 
provider subject to payment under the OPPS. The Secretary or 
Administrator selects the Panel membership based upon either self-
nominations or nominations submitted by Medicare providers and other 
interested organizations. All members must have technical expertise to 
enable them to participate fully in the work of the Panel. This 
expertise encompasses hospital payment systems; hospital medical-care 
delivery systems; provider billing systems; APC groups; Current 
Procedural Terminology and alpha-numeric Healthcare Common Procedure 
Coding System codes; and the use and payment of drugs and medical 
devices in the outpatient setting, as well as other forms of relevant 
expertise.
    The Charter requires that all members have a minimum of 5 years 
experience in their area(s) of expertise, but it is not necessary that 
any member be an expert in all of the areas listed above. For purposes 
of this Panel, consultants or independent contractors are not 
considered to be full-time employees of hospitals, hospital systems, or 
other Medicare providers that are subject to the OPPS. Panel members 
serve up to 4-year terms. A member may serve after the expiration of 
his or her term until a successor has been sworn in. All terms are 
contingent upon the renewal of the Panel's Charter by appropriate 
action before its termination. The Secretary re-chartered the APC Panel 
effective November 21, 2006.

II. Announcement of New Members

    The Panel may consist of a Chair and up to 15 Panel members who 
serve without compensation, according to an advance written agreement. 
Travel, meals, lodging, and related expenses for the meeting are 
reimbursed in accordance with standard Government travel regulations. 
We have a special interest in ensuring that women, minorities, 
representatives from various geographical locations, and the physically 
challenged are adequately represented on the Panel.
    The Secretary, or his designee, appoints new members to the Panel 
from among those candidates determined to have the required expertise. 
New appointments are made in a manner that ensures a balanced 
membership.
    The Panel presently consists of the following 13 members and a 
Chair:

 Edith Hambrick, M.D., J.D., Chair
 Gloryanne Bryant, B.S., R.H.I.A., R.H.I.T., C.C.S.
 Albert Brooks Einstein, Jr., M.D.
 Hazel Kimmel, R.N., C.C.S., C.P.C.
 Sandra J. Metzler, M.B.A., R.H.I.A., C.P.H.Q.
 Frank G. Opelka, M.D., F.A.C.S.
 Louis Potters, M.D., F.A.C.R.
 Lou Ann Schraffenberger, M.B.A., R.H.I.A., C.C.S.-P.
 Judie S. Snipes, R.N., M.B.A., F.A.C.H.E.
 Timothy Gene Tyler, Pharm.D.
 Thomas M. Munger, M.D., F.A.C.C.
 James V. Rawson, M.D.
 Kim Allan Williams, M.D., F.A.C.C., F.A.B.C.
     Robert Matthew Zwolak, M.D., Ph.D., F.A.C.S.
    On November 22, 2006, we published the notice titled ``Request for 
Nominations to the Advisory Panel on Ambulatory Payment Classification 
Groups,'' (CMS-1305-N) in the Federal Register requesting nominations 
to the Panel replacing Panel members whose terms would expire by 
September 30, 2007. As a result of that Federal Register notice, we are 
announcing five new members to the Panel. Two new 3\1/2\-year 
appointments commence on March 1, 2007; two new 3\1/2\-year 
appointments commence on April 1, 2007; and one new 4-year appointment 
commences on October 1, 2007, as indicated below:

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              New panel members                          Terms
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Patricia Spencer-Cisek, M.S.................       03/01/2007-09/30/2010
Russ Ranallo, M.S., B.S.....................       03/01/2007-09/30/2010
Beverly Philip, M.D.........................       04/01/2007-09/30/2010
Michael A. Ross, M.D........................       04/01/2007-09/30/2010
Agatha L. Nolen, M.S., D.Ph.................       10/01/2007-09/30/2011
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    Authority: Section 1833(t) of the Act (42 U.S.C. 1395l(t)). 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: February 15, 2007.
Leslie V. Norwalk,
Acting Administrator, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
 [FR Doc. E7-3040 Filed 2-22-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4120-01-P