[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 8 (Tuesday, January 14, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 3223-3224]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2025-00391]
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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
[CMS-3472-N]
Medicare Program; Request for Nominations for Members for the
Medicare Evidence Development & Coverage Advisory Committee
AGENCY: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), Department of
Health and Human Services (HHS).
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: This notice announces the request for nominations for
membership on the Medicare Evidence Development & Coverage Advisory
Committee (MEDCAC). Among other duties, the MEDCAC provides advice and
guidance to the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human
Services (the Secretary) and the Administrator of the Centers for
Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) concerning the adequacy of
scientific evidence available to CMS in making coverage determinations
under the Medicare program.
The MEDCAC's fundamental purpose is to support the principles of an
evidence-based determination process for Medicare's coverage policies.
MEDCAC panels provide advice to CMS on the strength of the evidence
available for specific medical treatments and technologies through a
public, participatory, and accountable process.
DATES: Nominations must be received by Monday, February 17, 2025.
ADDRESSES: You may send in nominations for membership via email to
[email protected].
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Leah Cromwell, 410-786-2243, MEDCAC
Coordinator, via email at [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
The Secretary signed the initial charter for the Medicare Coverage
Advisory Committee (MCAC) on November 24, 1998. A notice in the Federal
Register (63 FR 68780) announcing establishment of the MCAC was
published on December 14, 1998. The MCAC name was updated to more
accurately reflect the purpose of the committee and on January 26,
2007, the Secretary published a notice in the Federal Register (72 FR
3853), announcing that the Committee's name changed to the Medicare
Evidence Development & Coverage Advisory Committee (MEDCAC). The
current Secretary's Charter for the MEDCAC is available on the CMS
website at: https://www.cms.gov/Regulations-and-Guidance/Guidance/FACA/Downloads/medcaccharter.pdf or you may obtain a copy of the charter by
submitting a request to the contact listed in the FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION section of this notice.
The MEDCAC is governed by provisions of the Federal Advisory
Committee Act, Pub. L. 92-463, as amended (5 U.S.C. App. 2), which sets
forth standards for the formulation and use of advisory committees, and
is authorized by section 222 of the Public Health Service Act as
amended (42 U.S.C. 217A).
We are requesting nominations for candidates to serve on the
MEDCAC. Nominees are selected based upon their individual
qualifications and not solely as representatives of professional
associations or societies. We wish to ensure adequate representation of
those enrolled in the Medicare program including but not limited to,
racial and ethnic groups, individuals with disabilities, and from
across the gender spectrum. Therefore, we encourage nominations of
qualified candidates who can represent these lived experiences.
The MEDCAC consists of a pool of 100 appointed members including:
90 at-large standing members (20 of whom are patient advocates), and 10
representatives of industry interests. Members generally are recognized
authorities in clinical medicine including subspecialties,
administrative medicine, public health, biological and physical
sciences, epidemiology and biostatistics, clinical trial design, health
care data management and analysis, patient advocacy, health care
economics, health disparities, medical ethics, geriatrics those with an
understanding of sociodemographic bias and resulting limitations of
scientific evidence, or other relevant professions.
The MEDCAC works from an agenda provided by the Designated Federal
Official. The MEDCAC reviews and evaluates medical literature and
technology assessments, and hears public testimony on the evidence
available to address the impact of medical items and services on health
outcomes of Medicare beneficiaries. The MEDCAC may also advise the
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) as part of Medicare's
``coverage with evidence development'' initiative.
II. Provisions of the Notice
As of December 2025, there will be a total of 20 membership terms
expiring. Of the 20 memberships expiring, 2 are industry
representatives, 10 are patient advocates and the remaining 8
membership openings are for the at-large standing MEDCAC membership.
All nominations must be accompanied by curricula vitae. Nomination
packages should be addressed to Leah Cromwell and sent to the email
address listed in the ADDRESSES section of this notice. Nominees are
selected based upon their individual qualifications.
Nominees for membership must have expertise and experience in one
or more of the following fields:
Clinical medicine including subspecialties
Administrative medicine
Public health
Health disparities
Biological and physical sciences
Epidemiology and biostatistics
Clinical trial design
Health care data management and analysis
Patient advocacy
Health care economics
Medical ethics
Geriatrics
Other relevant professions
We are looking particularly for experts in a number of fields.
These include health disparities, cancer screening, genetic testing,
clinical epidemiology, psychopharmacology, screening and diagnostic
testing analysis, and vascular surgery. We also need experts in
biostatistics in clinical settings, dementia treatment, observational
research design, stroke epidemiology, geriatrics, and women's health.
The nomination letter must include a statement that the nominee is
willing to serve as a member of the MEDCAC and
[[Page 3224]]
appears to have no conflict of interest that would preclude membership.
We are requesting that all curricula vitae include the following:
List of areas of expertise
Title and current position
Professional affiliation
Home and business address
Telephone numbers (Please specify if the number is for: home,
office, or cell phone)
Email address (Please specify if the email address is for
work/personal)
In the nomination letter, we are requesting that nominees specify
whether they are applying for a patient advocate position, an at-large
standing position, or as an industry representative. Potential
candidates will be asked to provide detailed information concerning
such matters as financial holdings, consultancies, and research grants
or contracts in order to permit evaluation of possible sources of
financial conflict of interest. Department policy prohibits multiple
committee memberships. A federal advisory committee member may not
serve on more than one committee within an agency at the same time.
Members may be invited to serve for overlapping 2-year terms. A
member may continue to serve after the expiration of the member's term
until a successor is named. Any interested person may nominate one or
more qualified persons. Self-nominations are also accepted. Individuals
interested in the representative positions are encouraged to include a
letter of support from the organization or interest group they would
represent.
III. Collection of Information
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 Chief Medical Officer and Director of the Center for Clinical
Standards and Quality for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
(CMS), Dora Hughes, having reviewed and approved this document,
authorizes Chyana Woodyard, who is the Federal Register Liaison, to
electronically sign this document for purposes of publication in the
Federal Register.
Chyana Woodyard,
Federal Register Liaison, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
[FR Doc. 2025-00391 Filed 1-13-25; 8:45 am]
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