[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 219 (Tuesday, November 15, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 68499-68500]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-24811]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services

[CMS-1789-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, supervision of hospital outpatient 
therapeutic services, and hospital outpatient prospective payment 
system (OPPS) OPPS APC rates for covered ambulatory surgical centers 
(ASC) procedures.

DATES: We are accepting HOP Panel member nominations submitted by 
February 13, 2023 5 p.m. eastern time. We may consider accepting 
submissions that are received after that date at our discretion.

ADDRESSES: Nominations must be submitted through the ``Hospital 
Outpatient Payment (HOP) Panel Member Nomination'' module on 
MEARISTM. To access the module, visit https://mearis.cms.gov 
to register, log in, and submit your nomination. CMS can only accept 
HOP Panel Member nominations that are submitted via 
MEARISTM.
    Persons wishing 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), the appropriate supervision level for hospital 
outpatient therapeutic services, and OPPS APC rates for covered 
ambulatory surgical center (ASC) procedures.
    The Panel is governed by the provisions of the Federal Advisory 
Committee Act (FACA) (Pub. L. 92-463, enacted October 6, 1972), 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 the proposed and final rules to update the OPPS for the 
following calendar year (CY).
    The current members of the Panel are:

 E.L. Hambrick, M.D., J.D., CMS Chairperson
 Terry Bohlke, C.P.A., C.M.A, M.H.A., C.A.S.C
 Carmen Cooper-Oguz, P.T., D.P.T, M.B.A, C.W.S, W.C.C
 Paul Courtney, M.D.
 Peter Duffy, M.D.
 Lisa Gangarosa, M.D.
 Bo Gately, M.B.A.
 Michael Kuettel, M.D., M.B.A, Ph.D.
 Scott Manaker, M.D., Ph.D.
 Matthew Wheatley, M.D., F.A.C.E.P

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. The Panel may also include a 
representative of a provider with ASC expertise, who shall advise CMS 
only on OPPS APC rates, as appropriate, impacting ASC covered 
procedures within the context and purview of the Panel's scope. The 
Secretary or a designee selects the Panel membership based upon either 
self-nominations or nominations submitted by Medicare providers and 
other interested organizations of candidates determined to have the 
required expertise. For supervision deliberations, the Panel may 
include members that represent the interests of Critical Access 
Hospitals, who advise CMS only regarding the level of supervision for 
hospital outpatient therapeutic services. New appointments are made in 
a manner that ensures a balanced membership under the Federal Advisory 
Committee Act guidelines.
    The HOP Panel currently consists of 9 panel members. Six additional 
vacancies will occur in CY 2023. The list of current HOP Panel members 
are located in the Background section of this notice, as well as on the 
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 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 through 
MEARISTM 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.
    Nominations for a person not serving on the committee may be 
reconsidered as committee vacancies arise, but should be updated and 
resubmitted no

[[Page 68500]]

later than 3 years after the original nomination submittal to continue 
to be considered for committee vacancies. CMS will consider the 
submitted nominations unless they are withdrawn or the nominees' 
qualifications have changed. Nominations will be considered as 
vacancies occur. Nominations that were submitted through 
MEARISTM prior to the publication of this notice, or in 
response to the Medicare Program; Request for Nominations to the 
Advisory Panel on Hospital Outpatient Payment notice (83 FR 3715) 
published in the January 26, 2018 Federal Register, will be given 
consideration, and do not need to be resubmitted in response to this 
notice.
    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 critical access hospital (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 
submitted in MEARISTM 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, posted on the CMS Advisory Panel for 
Hospital Outpatient Payment website, or included in updates to the 
MEARISTM HOP Panel Member Nomination module.

III. The Charter

    The Secretary rechartered the Panel in 2020 for a 2-year period 
effective through November 20, 2022. The current charter is accessible 
on the CMS website at https://www.cms.gov/Regulations-and-Guidance/Guidance/FACA/AdvisoryPanelonAmbulatoryPaymentClassificationGroups.

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.).
    The Administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services 
(CMS), Chiquita Brooks-LaSure, having reviewed and approved this 
document, authorizes Lynette Wilson, who is the Federal Register 
Liaison, to electronically sign this document for purposes of 
publication in the Federal Register.

    Dated: November 9, 2022.
Lynette Wilson,
Federal Register Liaison, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
[FR Doc. 2022-24811 Filed 11-14-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4120-01-P