[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 229 (Monday, November 30, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 74772-74774]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-30315]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services

[CMS-1649-N]


Medicare Program; Announcement of the Advisory Panel on Hospital 
Outpatient Payment (HOP Panel) Meeting on March 14-15, 2016

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

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: This notice announces a meeting of the Advisory Panel on 
Hospital Outpatient Payment (the Panel) for March 14-15, 2016. The 
purpose of the Panel is to advise the Secretary of the Department of 
Health and Human Services (DHHS) (the Secretary) and the Administrator 
of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) (the 
Administrator) on the clinical integrity of the Ambulatory Payment 
Classification (APC) groups and their associated weights and hospital 
outpatient therapeutic services supervision issues.

DATES: Meeting Dates: The first semi-annual meeting in 2016 is 
scheduled for the following dates and times. The times listed in this 
notice are Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) and are approximate times;

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consequently, the meetings may last longer or shorter than the times 
listed in this notice, but will not begin before the posted times:
     Monday, March 14, 2016, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. EDT
     Tuesday, March 15, 2016, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. EDT
    Meeting Information Updates:
    The actual meeting hours and days will be posted in the agenda. The 
Panel meeting will be conducted only via teleconference and webcast. 
The teleconference agenda, dial-in instructions, and related webcast 
and webinar details will be posted on the CMS Web site approximately 1 
week prior to the meeting at: http://cms.hhs.gov/Regulations-and-Guidance/Guidance/FACA/AdvisoryPanelonAmbulatoryPaymentClassificationGroups.html.
    We note that this is a teleconference-only meeting. There will not 
be an in-person meeting location for this public Panel meeting.
    Deadlines:
    Deadline for Presentations and Comments:
    Presentations and comments may be submitted by email to the 
Designated Federal Official's (DFO's) email inbox 
([email protected]). If necessary, presentations and comments can 
instead be mailed to the Designated Federal Official at the address 
provided below. Presentations or comments and form CMS-20017, (located 
at http://www.cms.hhs.gov/cmsforms/downloads/cms20017.pdf) must be 
received by 5 p.m. EDT, Friday, January 29, 2016. Presentations and 
comments that are not received by the due date will be considered late 
and will not be included on the agenda. In commenting, please refer to 
file code CMS-1638-N. For this teleconference, we are aiming to have 
all presentations and comments available on the CMS Web site. Materials 
on the CMS Web site must be 508 compliant to ensure access to federal 
employees and members of the public with and without disabilities. We 
therefore encourage presenters and commenters to refer to guidance on 
making documents Section 508 compliant as they draft their submissions, 
and, whenever possible, to submit their presentations and comments in a 
508 compliant form. Such guidance is available at http://www.cms.gov/Research-Statistics-Data-and-Systems/CMS-Information-Technology/Section508/508-Compliant-doc.html. CMS will review presentations and 
comments for 508 compliance, and place compliant materials on its Web 
site. As resources permit, CMS will also convert non-compliant 
submissions to 508 compliant forms, and offer assistance to submitters 
who wish to make their submissions 508 compliant. All non-compliant 
materials will be available to the public upon request. Those wishing 
to access such materials should contact the Designated Federal Official 
and her address, email and phone number are provided below.
    Meeting Registration Timeframe:
    Registration is not required to participate in this teleconference 
public meeting. Interested participants will be able to access the 
teleconference, webcast, and webinar by following the instructions on 
the above referenced CMS Web site.
    Meeting Webinar, Webcast, and Teleconference:
    The public may participate in this meeting via webinar, webcast or 
by teleconference. During the scheduled meeting, webcasting is 
accessible online at: http://cms.gov/live. Webinar and teleconference 
dial-in information will appear on the final meeting agenda, which will 
be posted on the CMS Web site about 1 week prior to the meeting at: 
http://www.cms.gov/Regulations-and-Guidance/Guidance/FACA/AdvisoryPanelonAmbulatoryPaymentClassificationGroups.html.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Designated Federal Official (DFO):
    Carol Schwartz, DFO, 7500 Security Boulevard, Mail Stop: C4-04-25, 
Woodlawn, MD 21244-1850. Phone: (410) 786-3985. Email: 
[email protected].
    Send email copies to the following address: Email: 
[email protected].
    News Media:
    Representatives must contact our Public Affairs Office at (202) 
690-6145.
    Advisory Committees' Information Lines:
    The phone number for the CMS Federal Advisory Committee Hotline is 
(410) 786-3985.
    Web sites:
    For additional information on the Panel and updates to the Panel's 
activities, we refer readers to view our Web site at: http://www.cms.gov/Regulations-and-Guidance/Guidance/FACA/AdvisoryPanelonAmbulatoryPaymentClassificationGroups.html.
    Information about the Panel and its membership in the Federal 
Advisory Committee Act (FACA) database are also located at: http://facadatabase.gov/.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    The Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) 
(the Secretary) is required by section 1833(t)(9)(A) of the Social 
Security Act (the Act) and is allowed by section 222 of the Public 
Health Service Act (PHS Act) to consult with an expert outside panel, 
that is, the Advisory Panel on Hospital Outpatient Payment (the Panel) 
regarding the clinical integrity of the Ambulatory Payment 
Classification (APC) groups and relative payment weights and hospital 
outpatient therapeutic services supervision issues. The Panel is 
governed by the provisions of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (Pub. 
L. 92-463), as amended (5 U.S.C. Appendix 2), to set forth standards 
for the formation and use of advisory panels.
    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 outpatient 
prospective payment system (OPPS).

II. Agenda

    The agenda for the March 14, 2016 through March 15, 2016, meeting 
will provide for discussion and comment on the following topics as 
designated in the Panel's Charter:
     Addressing whether procedures within an APC group are 
similar both clinically and in terms of resource use.
     Evaluating APC group weights.
     Reviewing the packaging of OPPS services and costs, 
including the methodology and the impact on APC groups and payment.
     Removing procedures from the inpatient-only list for 
payment under the OPPS.
     Using single and multiple procedure claims data for CMS' 
determination of APC group weights.
     Addressing other technical issues concerning APC group 
structure.
     Recommending the appropriate supervision level (general, 
direct, or personal) for individual hospital outpatient therapeutic 
services.
    The Agenda will be posted on the CMS Web site at http://cms.hhs.gov/Regulations-and-Guidance/Guidance/FACA/AdvisoryPanelonAmbulatoryPaymentClassificationGroups.html approximately 
1 week before the meeting.

III. Presentations

    The subject matter of any presentation and/or comment matter must 
be within the scope of the Panel designated in the Charter. Any 
presentations or comments outside of the scope of this Panel will be 
returned or requested for amendment. Unrelated topics include, but are 
not limited to, the conversion factor, charge compression, revisions to 
the cost report, pass-through payments,

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correct coding, new technology applications (including supporting 
information/documentation), provider payment adjustments, supervision 
of hospital outpatient diagnostic services and the types of 
practitioners that are permitted to supervise hospital outpatient 
services. The Panel may not recommend that services be designated as 
nonsurgical extended duration therapeutic services.
    The Panel may use data collected or developed by entities and 
organizations other than DHHS and CMS in conducting its review. We 
recommend organizations submit data for CMS staff and the Panel's 
review.
    All presentations are limited to 5 minutes, regardless of the 
number of individuals or organizations represented by a single 
presentation. Presenters may use their 5 minutes to represent either 
one or more agenda items. All 508 compliant presentations and comments 
will be placed on the CMS Web site. For guidance on making documents 
Section 508 compliant, we refer readers to http://www.cms.gov/Research-Statistics-Data-and-Systems/CMS-Information-Technology/Section508/508-Compliant-doc.html. All non-508 compliant presentations and comments 
will be available to the public upon request. Those wishing to access 
such materials should contact the Designated Federal Official and her 
address, email and phone number are provided above in the section that 
provides contact information.
    In order to consider presentations and/or comments, we will need to 
receive the following:
    1. An email copy of the presentation or comments sent to the DFO 
mailbox, [email protected] or, if unable to submit by email, a hard 
copy sent to the Designated Federal Official at the address noted under 
For Further Information Contact.
    2. Form CMS-20017 with complete contact information that includes 
name, address, phone number, and email addresses for all presenters and 
commenters and a contact person that can answer any questions and or 
provide revisions that are requested for the presentation. Presenters 
and commenters must clearly explain the actions that they are 
requesting CMS to take in the appropriate section of the form. A 
presenter's/commenter's relationship with the organization that they 
represent must also be clearly listed.
     The form is now available through the CMS Forms Web site. 
The Uniform Resource Locator (URL) for linking to this form is as 
follows: http://www.cms.hhs.gov/cmsforms/downloads/cms20017.pdf.
     We encourage presenters to make efforts to ensure that 
their presentations and comments are 508 compliant.

IV. Oral Comments

    In addition to formal oral presentations, which are limited to 5 
minutes total per presentation, there will be an opportunity during the 
meeting for public oral comments, which will be limited to 1 minute for 
each individual and a total of 3 minutes per organization.

V. Meeting Participation

    This is a teleconference-only meeting. The Panel meeting format is 
teleconference, webcast, and webinar. There will not be an in-person 
meeting location for this public Panel meeting. In addition, no meeting 
registration is required to access the meeting.

VIII. Panel Recommendations and Discussions

    The Panel's recommendations at any Panel meeting generally are not 
final until they have been reviewed and approved by the Panel on the 
last day of the meeting, before the final adjournment. These 
recommendations will be posted to our Web site after the meeting.

IX. 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: November 12, 2015.
Andrew M. Slavitt,
Acting Administrator, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
[FR Doc. 2015-30315 Filed 11-27-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4120-01-P