[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 52 (Tuesday, March 18, 2014)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 15030-15031]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-05837]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services

42 CFR Parts 412, 413, 414, 419, 424, 482, 485, and 489

[CMS-1599-& 1455-CN5]
RINs 0938-AR53 and 0938-AR73


Medicare Program; Hospital Inpatient Prospective Payment Systems 
for Acute Care Hospitals and the Long-Term Care Hospital Prospective 
Payment System and Fiscal Year 2014 Rates; Quality Reporting 
Requirements for Specific Providers; Hospital Conditions of 
Participation; Payment Policies Related to Patient Status; Corrections

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

ACTION: Final rules; correction.

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SUMMARY: This document corrects technical errors in the final rules 
that appeared in the August 19, 2013 Federal Register titled ``Medicare 
Program; Hospital Inpatient Prospective Payment Systems for Acute Care 
Hospitals and the Long-Term Care Hospital Prospective Payment System 
and Fiscal Year 2014 Rates; Quality Reporting Requirements for Specific 
Providers; Hospital Conditions of Participation; Payment Policies 
Related to Patient Status.''

DATES: This correcting document is effective on March 18, 2014.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Cindy Tourison (410) 786-1093.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

[[Page 15031]]

I. Background

    In FR Doc. 2013-18956, which appeared in the August 19, 2013 
Federal Register (78 FR 50496) entitled ``Medicare Program; Hospital 
Inpatient Prospective Payment Systems for Acute Care Hospitals and the 
Long-Term Care Hospital Prospective Payment System and Fiscal Year 2014 
Rates; Quality Reporting Requirements for Specific Providers; Hospital 
Conditions of Participation; Payment Policies Related to Patient 
Status'' (hereinafter referred to as the FY 2014 IPPS/LTCH PPS final 
rule) there were technical errors that are identified and corrected in 
the Correction of Errors section of this correcting document.

II. Summary of Errors in the Preamble

    On page 50695, in the table entitled ``Finalized Performance 
Standards for Certain FY 2016 Hospital VBP Program Outcome Domain 
Measures,'' the performance standards for the PSI-90 measure are not 
consistent with the FY 2016 performance standards that we finalized for 
that measure. We also note that we have made similar corrections to the 
FY 2013 IPPS/LTCH PPS final rule published elsewhere in this issue of 
the Federal Register.

III. Waiver of Proposed Rulemaking and Delay of Effective Date

    We ordinarily publish a notice of proposed rulemaking in the 
Federal Register to provide a period for public comment before the 
provisions of a rule take effect in accordance with section 553(b) of 
the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) (5 U.S.C. 553(b)). However, we 
can waive this notice and comment procedure if the Secretary finds, for 
good cause, that the notice and comment process is impracticable, 
unnecessary, or contrary to the public interest, and incorporates a 
statement of the finding and the reasons therefore in the notice.
    Section 553(d) of the APA ordinarily requires a 30-day delay in 
effective date of final rules after the date of their publication in 
the Federal Register. This 30-day delay in effective date can be 
waived, however, if an agency finds for good cause that the delay is 
impracticable, unnecessary, or contrary to the public interest, and the 
agency incorporates a statement of the findings and its reasons in the 
rule issued.
    In our view, this correcting document does not constitute a rule 
that would be subject to the APA notice and comment or delayed 
effective date requirements. This correcting document corrects 
technical errors in certain HVBP tables but does not make substantive 
changes to the HVBP policies that were adopted in the final rule. As a 
result, this correcting document is intended to ensure that the HVBP 
tables accurately reflect the policies previously adopted for the HVBP 
Program.
    In addition, even if this were a rule to which the notice and 
comment procedures and delayed effective date requirements applied, we 
find that there is good cause to waive such requirements. Undertaking 
further notice and comment procedures to incorporate the corrections in 
this document into the final rule or delaying the effective date would 
be contrary to the public interest because it is in the public's 
interest for providers to receive appropriate table values in as timely 
a manner as possible, and to ensure that the FY 2014 IPPS/LTCH PPS 
final rule accurately reflects our HVBP policies. Furthermore, such 
procedures would be unnecessary, as we are not altering our HVBP 
policies, but rather, we are simply implementing correctly the policy 
for calculating certain HVBP table values that we previously proposed, 
received comment on, and subsequently finalized. This correcting 
document is intended solely to ensure that the FY 2014 IPPS/LTCH PPS 
final rule accurately reflects these HVBP policies. Therefore, we 
believe we have good cause to waive the notice and comment and 
effective date requirements.

IV. Correction of Errors

    In FR Doc. 2013-18956 of August 19, 2013 (78 FR 50496), make the 
following corrections:
    1. On page 50695, lower fourth of the page, in the table entitled 
``FINALIZED PERFORMANCE STANDARDS FOR CERTAIN FY 2016 HOSPITAL VBP 
PROGRAM OUTCOME DOMAIN MEASURES,'' the performance standards for the 
PSI-90 measure are corrected to read as follows:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                                                          Achievement
                   Measure ID                                                 Description                                  threshold        Benchmark
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                                                                    Outcome Measures
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PSI-90.........................................  Complication/Patient safety for selected indicators (composite)......        0.616248         0.449988
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(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Program No. 93.778, Medical 
Assistance Program)

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

    Dated: March 6, 2014.
Jennifer M. Cannistra,
Executive Secretary to the Department, Department of Health and Human 
Services.
[FR Doc. 2014-05837 Filed 3-17-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4120-01-P