[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 18 (Friday, January 26, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 3715-3716]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-01474]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services

[CMS-1703-N]


Medicare Program; Request for Nominations to the Advisory Panel 
on Hospital Outpatient Payment

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

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is 
requesting nominations to fill vacancies on the Advisory Panel (the 
Panel) on Hospital Outpatient Payment (HOP). The purpose of the Panel 
is to advise the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human 
Services (the Secretary) and the Administrator of the Centers for 
Medicare & Medicaid Services (the Administrator) on the clinical 
integrity of the Ambulatory Payment Classification (APC) groups and 
their associated weights, and supervision of hospital outpatient 
therapeutic services.

DATES: The agency will receive nominations on a continuous basis.

ADDRESSES: Please submit nominations electronically to the following 
email address: [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Persons wishing to nominate 
individuals to serve on the Panel or to obtain further information may 
submit an email to the following email address: [email protected].
    News Media: Representatives should contact the CMS Press Office at 
(202) 690-6145.
    Website: For additional information on the HOP Panel, updates to 
the Panel's activities, and submission of nominations to the HOP Panel, 
we refer readers to our website at: http://www.cms.gov/Regulations-and-Guidance/Guidance/FACA/AdvisoryPanelonAmbulatoryPaymentClassificationGroups.html.

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 allowed by section 222 of the Public Health Service 
Act (PHS Act) to consult with an expert outside panel, that is, the 
Advisory Panel (the Panel) on Hospital Outpatient Payment (HOP) 
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 
outpatient therapeutic services. 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.
    We consider the technical advice provided by the Panel as we 
prepare both the proposed and final rulemaking to update the OPPS for 
the following calendar year (CY).
    On May 20, 2016, we published a notice in the Federal Register that 
announced the August 2016 summer

[[Page 3716]]

panel meeting and the transition to one meeting of the panel per year 
(81 FR 31941).

II. Request for Nominations; Criteria for Nominees

    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 HOP Panel currently consists of 13 panel members. Two 
additional vacancies will occur in CY 2018. The list of HOP Panel 
members is located in the FACA database, Advisory Panel on Hospital 
Outpatient Payment Committee page, on the FACA database website at: 
https://www.facadatabase.gov/committee/committee.aspx?cid=1791&aid=76.
    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. 
Appointment to the HOP Panel shall be made without discrimination on 
the basis of age, race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, 
disability, and cultural, religious, or socioeconomic status.
    Based upon either self-nominations or nominations submitted by 
providers or interested organizations, the Secretary, or his 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. 
This notice requests nominations for HOP Panel members on a continuous 
basis. Nominations for a person not serving on the committee may be 
reconsidered as committee vacancies arise, but should be updated and 
resubmitted no later than 3 years after the original nomination 
submittal to continue to be considered for committee vacancies. CMS 
will consider the nominations submitted in response to the notice 
published in the Federal Register on December 23, 2016, entitled 
``Medicare Program; Renewal of the Advisory Panel on Hospital 
Outpatient Payment and Solicitation of Nominations to the Advisory 
Panel on Hospital Outpatient Payment'' (81 FR 94378), unless they are 
withdrawn or the nominees' qualifications have changed. Nominations 
will be considered as vacancies occur.
    The Panel must be 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 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 of 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 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 employed.
    Future updates or changes to the panel nomination process may be 
published in the Federal Register or posted on the CMS Advisory Panel 
for Hospital Outpatient Payment website, referenced in section II, 
``Request for Nominations; Criteria for Nominees,'' of this notice.

IV. Copies of the Charter

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

V. 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: January 12, 2018.
Seema Verma,
Administrator, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
[FR Doc. 2018-01474 Filed 1-25-18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4120-01-P