[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 135 (Monday, July 15, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 57414-57416]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-15393]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services

[CMS-1826-N]


Medicare Program; Announcement of the Advisory Panel on Hospital 
Outpatient Payment Meeting--August 26-27, 2024

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

ACTION: Notice of meeting.

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SUMMARY: This meeting notice announces the virtual meeting of the 
Advisory Panel on Hospital Outpatient Payment (the Panel) on Monday, 
August 26, 2024 and Tuesday, August 27, 2024. The purpose of the Panel 
is to advise the Secretary on the clinical integrity of the Ambulatory 
Payment Classification groups and their associated weights, which are 
major elements of the Medicare Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment 
System and the Ambulatory Surgical Center payment system, and 
supervision of hospital outpatient therapeutic services.

DATES: 
    Virtual Meeting Dates: Monday, August 26, 2024 and Tuesday, August

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27, 2024, from 9:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) each 
day. The times listed in this notice are EDT and are approximate times. 
Consequently, the meetings may last longer or be shorter than the times 
listed in this notice but will not begin before the posted time.
    Deadline for presentations and comments: Presentations or comment 
letters must be received by 5:00 p.m. EDT on Friday, August 02, 2024. 
Presentations or comment letters must be submitted through the 
``Hospital Outpatient Payment (HOP) Panel Meeting Presentation & 
Comment Letters'' module. To access the module, go to https://mearis.cms.gov to register, log in, and submit your presentation or 
comment letter. CMS can only accept HOP Panel Meeting presentations and 
comment letters that are submitted via MEARIS\TM\. Please note that 
with the submissions in MEARIS\TM\, CMS no longer requires the 
completion or submission of form CMS-20017 as part of the presentation 
or comment letter package. Therefore, submitters do not need to 
complete this form.
    Presentations and comment letters that are not received by the due 
date and time will be considered late or incomplete and will not be 
included on the agenda. Presentations and comment letters may not be 
revised once they are submitted. If a presentation or comment letter 
requires changes, a new submittal must be submitted by August 02, 2024.
    Please see additional information regarding the submission of 
section 508 compliant presentation and comment letter materials in 
section ``III. Presentations and Comment Letters'' of this notice.

ADDRESSES: 
    Virtual meeting location and webinar: The August 26-27, 2024 
meeting will be held virtually via Zoom only. Closed captioning will be 
available on the webinar. Webinar information will appear on the final 
meeting agenda, which will be posted on our website when available at: 
https://www.cms.gov/Regulations-and-Guidance/Guidance/FACA/AdvisoryPanelonAmbulatoryPaymentClassificationGroups.
    Websites: For additional information on the Panel, including the 
Panel charter, and updates to the Panel's activities, we refer readers 
to view our website at: https://www.cms.gov/Regulations-and-Guidance/Guidance/FACA/AdvisoryPanelonAmbulatoryPaymentClassificationGroups. 
Information about the Panel and its membership in the Federal Advisory 
Committee Act database is located at: https://www.facadatabase.gov.
    Virtual meeting registration: While there is no meeting 
registration, presenters must be identified and included as part of the 
MEARIS\TM\ presentation submission process by the presentation and 
comment letter deadline specified in the DATES section of this notice. 
We note that no advanced registration is required for participants who 
plan to view the Panel meeting via Zoom webinar or who wish to make a 
public comment during the meeting.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Nicole Marcos, Designated Federal 
Official at (202) 690-7484 or via email at: [email protected].
    Press inquiries are handled through 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 is allowed by section 222 of the Public Health 
Service Act to consult with an expert outside panel, such as the 
Advisory Panel on Hospital Outpatient Payment (the Panel), regarding 
the clinical integrity of the Ambulatory Payment Classification (APC) 
groups and relative payment weights. 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. We consider the technical advice provided 
by the Panel as we prepare the final rule and the following calendar 
year's proposed rule to update the Hospital Outpatient Prospective 
Payment System (OPPS).

II. Virtual Meeting Agenda

    The agenda for the August 26 and 27, 2024 virtual Panel 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.
     Reconfiguring APCs.
     Evaluating APC group weights.
     Reviewing packaging costs of items and services, including 
drugs and devices, into procedures and services, including the 
methodology for packaging and the impact of packaging the cost of those 
items and services on APC group structure and payment.
     Removing procedures from the inpatient only list for 
payment under the OPPS.
     Using claims and cost report data for the Centers for 
Medicare & Medicaid Services' (CMS) determination of APC group costs.
     Addressing other technical issues concerning APC group 
structure.
     Evaluating the required level of supervision for hospital 
outpatient services.
     OPPS APC rates for covered Ambulatory Surgical Center 
(ASC) procedures.
    The agenda will be posted on our website at: https://www.cms.gov/Regulations-and-Guidance/Guidance/FACA/AdvisoryPanelonAmbulatoryPaymentClassificationGroups approximately 1 
week before the meeting.
    Virtual Meeting Information Updates: The actual meeting hours and 
days will be posted in the agenda. As information and updates regarding 
this webinar and listen-only teleconference, including the agenda, 
become available, they will be posted to our website at: https://www.cms.gov/Regulations-and-Guidance/Guidance/FACA/AdvisoryPanelonAmbulatoryPaymentClassificationGroups.

III. Presentations and Comment Letters

    The subject matter of any presentation and comment letter must be 
within the scope of the Panel as designated in the Charter. Any 
presentations or comments outside of the scope of the 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; 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. Presentations or comment letters that address 
OPPS APC rates as they relate to covered ASC procedures are within the 
scope of the Panel; however, ASC payment rates, ASC payment indicators, 
the ASC covered procedures list, or other ASC payment system matters 
will be considered out of scope. The Panel may use data collected or 
developed by entities and organizations other than the Department of 
Health and Human Services or 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.

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Presenters may use their 5 minutes to represent either one or more 
agenda items.

Section 508 Compliance

    For this meeting, we are aiming to have all presentations and 
comment letters available on our website. Materials on our website must 
be section 508 compliant to ensure access to Federal employees and 
members of the public with and without disabilities. Presenters and 
commenters should reference the guidance on making documents section 
508 compliant as they draft their submissions, and, whenever possible, 
submit their presentations and comment letters in a 508 compliant form. 
The section 508 guidance is available at: https://www.cms.gov/research-statistics-data-and-systems/cms-information-technology/section508. 
Presentations and comment letters should limit the use of graphs or 
pictures. Any use of these visual depictions must include alternate 
text that verbally describes what these visuals convey.
    We will review presentations and comment letters for section 508 
compliance and place compliant materials on our website. As resources 
permit, we will also convert non-compliant submissions to section 508-
compliant forms and offer assistance to submitters who are making their 
submissions section 508-compliant. All section 508-compliant 
presentations and comment letters will be made available on the CMS 
website. If difficulties are encountered accessing the materials, 
please contact the Designated Federal Official in the FOR FURTHER 
INFORMATION CONTACT section of this notice.

IV. Virtual Formal Presentations

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

V. 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, prior to the final adjournment. These 
recommendations will be posted to our website after the meeting.

VI. Membership Appointments to the Advisory Panel on Hospital 
Outpatient Payment

    The Panel 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 update to the calendar year OPPS proposed and final rules. 
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 advises 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 Secretary rechartered the Panel in 2022 for a 2-year 
period effective through November 20, 2024. The current charter is 
available on the CMS website at: https://www.cms.gov/files/document/2022-hop-panel-charter.pdf. New appointments are made in a manner that 
ensures a balanced membership under the Federal Advisory Committee Act 
guidelines. The Panel consists of the following current members and a 
Chair:
     E.L. Hambrick, M.D., J.D., CMS Chairperson.
     Becky Bean, BS, MHA/MBA, PharmD.
     Thomas Capco, BSRT, RRT, CPFT.
     Nancy Dawson, MD, FACP.
     Blake Dirksen, MS, DABR.
     Brandon Fazio, BS.
     Rahul Seth, DO, FASCO.
     Wendi Smith Lloyd, CPC, COC, CPMA, COSC.
     William Tettelbach, MD, FACP, FIDSA, FUHM, MAPWCA, CWSP.

Request and Submission of the Panel Nominations

    The Request for Nominations to the Advisory Panel on Hospital 
Outpatient Payment notice (87 FR 68499) provided for nominations to be 
accepted through February 13, 2023 or after that date at CMS's 
discretion.
    As a result of that notice, we are announcing 3 new members to the 
Panel. These 3 new Panel member appointments will assure that we 
continue to have a Chair and up to 15 members available to attend our 
scheduled meeting.

New Appointments to the Panel

    New members of the Panel and their terms are as follows:
     Jennifer Artigue, RHIT, CCS. Term: May 13, 2024-May 12, 
2028.
     Scott Manaker, MD, Ph.D. Term: July 20, 2024-July 19, 
2028.
     Caroline Zeller, DDS, MPH. Term: May 13, 2024-May 12, 
2028.
    We currently accept nominations on a continuous basis to fill 
upcoming panel vacancies. We encourage additional submissions. Any 
interested person or organization may nominate qualified individuals. 
Self-nominations from qualified individuals are also accepted. 
Nominations must be submitted through the ``Hospital Outpatient Payment 
(HOP) Panel Member Nomination'' module on MEARIS\TM\. To access the 
module, visit https://mearis.cms.gov to register, log in, and submit 
your nomination. We can only accept HOP Panel Member nominations that 
are submitted via MEARIS\TM\.

VII. 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 Vanessa Garcia, who is the Federal Register 
Liaison, to electronically sign this document for purposes of 
publication in the Federal Register.

Vanessa Garcia,
Federal Register Liaison, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
[FR Doc. 2024-15393 Filed 7-12-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4120-01-P