[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 167 (Friday, August 28, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 52294-52295]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-21419]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services

[CMS-1643-N]


Medicare Program; Solicitation of Nominations to the Advisory 
Panel on Hospital Outpatient Payment

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

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: This notice solicits nominations for up to seven new members 
to the Advisory Panel on Hospital Outpatient Payment (HOP, the Panel). 
There will be vacancies on the Panel for four-year terms that begin 
during Calendar Year 2016.
    The purpose of the Panel is to advise the Secretary of the 
Department of Health and Human Services (Secretary) and the 
Administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services on the 
clinical integrity of the Ambulatory Payment Classification groups and 
their associated weights, and supervision of hospital outpatient 
therapeutic services.
    The Secretary re-chartered the Panel in 2014 for a 2-year period 
effective through November 6, 2016.

DATES: Submission of Nominations: We will consider nominations if they 
are received no later than 5 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (E.S.T) October 
27, 2015.

ADDRESSES: Please submit nominations electronically to the following 
email address: [email protected].
    Web site: For additional information on the Panel and updates to 
the Panel's activities, we refer readers to our Web site at the 
following address: http://www.cms.gov/Regulations-and-Guidance/Guidance/FACA/AdvisoryPanelonAmbulatoryPaymentClassificationGroups.html.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 
    Persons wishing to nominate individuals to serve on the Panel or to 
obtain further information may contact Carol Schwartz at the following 
email address: [email protected] or call (410) 786-3985.
    News Media: Representatives should contact the CMS Press Office at 
(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), and section 222 of the Public Health Service Act (PHS 
Act) to consult with an expert outside advisory panel regarding the 
clinical integrity of the Ambulatory Payment Classification (APC) 
groups and relative payment weights that are components of the Medicare 
Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS), and the 
appropriate supervision level for hospital therapeutic outpatient 
services. The Advisory Panel on Hospital Outpatient Payment (HOP, the 
Panel) is governed by the provisions of the Federal Advisory Committee 
Act (FACA) (Pub. L. 92-463), as amended (5 U.S.C. Appendix 2), which 
sets forth standards for the formation and use of advisory panels. The 
Panel may consider data collected or developed by entities and 
organizations (other than the Department of Health and Human Services) 
as part of their deliberations.
    The Charter provides that the Panel shall meet up to 3 times 
annually. We consider the technical advice provided by the Panel as we 
prepare the proposed and final rules to update the OPPS for the 
following Calendar Year (CY).
    The Panel shall consist of a chair and up to 15 members who are 
full-time employees of hospitals, hospital systems, or other Medicare 
providers that are subject to the OPPS. For supervision deliberations, 
the Panel shall also include members that represent the interests of 
Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs), who advise the Centers for Medicare & 
Medicaid Services (CMS) only regarding the level of supervision for 
hospital outpatient therapeutic services. (For purposes of the Panel, 
consultants or independent contractors are not considered to be full-
time employees in these organizations.)
    The current Panel members are as follows:
    (Note: The asterisk [*] indicates the Panel members whose terms end 
during CY 2016, along with the month that the term ends.)
     E.L. Hambrick, M.D., J.D., Chair, a CMS Medical Officer.
     Karen Borman, M.D., F.A.C.S.* (July 2016)
     Dawn L. Francis, M.D., M.H.S.
     Ruth Lande
     Jim Nelson, M.B.A., C.P.A., F.H.F.M.A.* (January 2016)
     Leah Osbahr, M.A., M.P.H.* (January 2016)
     Jacqueline Phillips* (February 2016)
     Johnathan Pregler, M.D.
     Traci Rabine* (January 2016)
     Michael Rabovsky, M.D.
     Wendy Resnick, F.H.F.M.A.
     Michael K. Schroyer, R.N.
     Marianna V. Spanaki-Varelas M.D., Ph.D., M.B.A.* (February 
2016)
     Norman Thomson, III, M.D.
     Gale Walker* (January 2016)
     Kris Zimmer
    Panel members serve on a voluntary basis, without compensation, 
according to an advance written agreement; however, for the meetings, 
CMS reimburses travel, meals, lodging, and related expenses in 
accordance with standard Government travel regulations. CMS has a 
special interest in ensuring, while taking into account the nominee 
pool, that the Panel is diverse in all respects of the following: 
Geography; rural or urban practice; race, ethnicity, sex, and 
disability; medical or technical specialty; and type of hospital, 
hospital health system, or other Medicare provider subject to the OPPS.
    Based upon either self-nominations or nominations submitted by 
providers or interested organizations, the Secretary, or her 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 under the FACA guidelines. 
For 2016, we anticipate doing one solicitation for nominees. Our 
appointment schedule will assure that we have the full complement of 
members for each Panel meeting. Current members' terms expire at 
different times throughout the year; therefore, we will add new members 
throughout the year as terms expire.

II. Criteria for Nominees

    The Panel must be fairly balanced in its membership in terms of the 
points of view represented and the functions to be performed. Each 
panel member must be employed full-time by a hospital, hospital system, 
or other Medicare provider subject to payment under the OPPS (except 
for the CAH members, since CAHs are not paid under the OPPS). All 
members must have technical expertise to enable them to participate 
fully in the Panel's work. Such expertise encompasses hospital payment 
systems; hospital medical care delivery systems; provider billing 
systems; APC groups; Current Procedural Terminology codes; and alpha-
numeric Health Care Common Procedure Coding System codes; and the use 
of, and payment for, drugs, medical devices, and other services in

[[Page 52295]]

the outpatient setting, as well as other forms of relevant expertise. 
For supervision deliberations, the Panel shall have members that 
represent the interests of CAHs, who advise CMS only regarding the 
level of supervision for hospital outpatient therapeutic services.
    It is not necessary for a nominee to possess expertise in all of 
the areas listed, but each must have a minimum of 5 years experience 
and currently have full-time employment in his or her area of 
expertise. Generally, members of the Panel serve overlapping terms up 
to 4 years, based on the needs of the Panel and contingent upon the 
rechartering of the Panel. A member may serve after the expiration of 
his or her term until a successor has been sworn in.
    Any interested person or organization may nominate one or more 
qualified individuals. Self-nominations will also be accepted. Each 
nomination must include the following:
     Letter of Nomination stating the reasons why the nominee 
should be considered.
     Curriculum vitae or resume of the nominee that includes an 
email address where the nominee can be contacted.
     Written and signed 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.
     The hospital or hospital system name and address, or CAH 
name and address, as well as all Medicare hospital and or Medicare CAH 
billing numbers of the facility where the nominee is employee.

III. Copies of the Charter

    To obtain a copy of the Panel's Charter, we refer readers to our 
Web site at http://www.cms.gov/Regulations-and-Guidance/Guidance/FACA/AdvisoryPanelonAmbulatoryPaymentClassificationGroups.html.

IV. Collection of Information Requirements

    This document does not impose information collection requirements, 
that is, reporting, recordkeeping or third-party disclosure 
requirements. Consequently, there is no need for review by the Office 
of Management and Budget under the authority of the Paperwork Reduction 
Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.).

    Dated: August 17, 2015.
Andrew M. Slavitt,
Acting Administrator, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
[FR Doc. 2015-21419 Filed 8-27-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4120-01-P