[Federal Register: January 23, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 15)]
[Notices]
[Page 3370-3371]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr23ja04-59]
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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
[CMS-1375-N]
Medicare Program; Request for Nominations to the Advisory Panel
on Ambulatory Payment Classifications Groups
AGENCY: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), HHS.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: This notice invites nominations of members to the Advisory
Panel on Ambulatory Payment Classification (APC) Groups (the Panel).
There will be four vacancies on the Panel as of March 31, 2004. The
purpose of the Panel is to review the APC groups and their associated
weights and to advise the Secretary of Health and Human Services (the
Secretary) and the Administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid
Services (CMS) concerning the clinical integrity of these groups and
weights, which are major elements of the hospital outpatient
prospective payment system. The Panel is chartered through November 21,
2004.
Nominations
Nominations will be considered if received at the appropriate
address, which is provided below, no later than 5 p.m. e.s.t. February
13, 2004. Mail or deliver nominations to the following address: CMS,
Center for Medicare Management, Hospital & Ambulatory Policy Group,
Division of Outpatient Care, Attention: Shirl Ackerman Ross, Designated
Federal Official (FACA), Advisory Panel on APC Groups, 7500 Security
Boulevard, Mail Stop C4-05-17, Baltimore, MD 21244-1850.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Persons wishing to nominate
individuals to serve on the Panel or to obtain further information can
also contact the Panel coordinator, Shirl Ackerman-Ross by e-mail at
SAckermanross@cms.hhs.gov or by telephone at (410) 786-4474.
For additional information and updates on the Panel's activities,
please refer to the Internet at http://www.cms.gov/faca.
You may also refer to the CMS Advisory Committee Information
Hotlines at 1-877-449-5659 (toll-free) or 410-786-9379(local) for
additional information.
News media representatives should contact the CMS Press Office,
(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) to consult with an advisory panel on Ambulatory Payment
Classification (APC) Groups (the Panel). The Panel will meet up to
three times annually to review the APC groups and to provide technical
advice to the Secretary and to the Administrator of the Centers for
Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) concerning the clinical integrity of
the groups and their associated weights. The groups and their weights
are major elements of the hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment
System (OPPS). We will consider the technical advice provided by the
Panel as we prepare the annual Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that will
propose changes to the OPPS for the next calendar year.
The current members of the Panel are: Marilyn Bedell, M.S., R.N.,
O.C.N.; Geneva Craig, R.N., M.A.; Lora DeWald, M.Ed.; Albert Brooks
Einstein, Jr., M.D.; Robert E. Henkin, M.D.; Lee H. Hilborne, M.D.,
M.P.H.; Stephen T. House, M.D.; Kathleen Kinslow, C.R.N.A., Ed.D.; Mike
Metro, R.N., B.S.; Gerald V. Naccarelli, M.D.; Frank G. Opelka, M.D.,
F.A.C.S.; Beverly K. Philip, M.D.; Lynn R. Tomascik, R.N., M.S.N.;
Timothy Gene Tyler, Pharm.D.; and William Van Decker, M.D. The Panel
Chair position, which must be a CMS Federal official, is vacant.
The Charter allows for up to 15 members plus a Chair, and we will
have four openings as of March 31, 2004. Therefore, we are requesting
nominations for members to serve on the Panel. Panel members serve
without compensation, pursuant to advance written agreement; however,
travel, meals, lodging, and related expenses will be reimbursed in
accordance with standard Government travel regulations. We have a
special interest for ensuring that women, minorities, and the
physically challenged are adequately represented on the Panel, and we
[[Page 3371]]
encourage nominations of qualified candidates from those groups.
The Secretary, or his designee, will appoint new members to the
Panel from among those candidates determined to have the required
expertise; new appointments will be done in a manner that will ensure
an appropriate balance of membership.
II. Criteria for Nominees
Qualified nominees will meet those requirements necessary to be a
Panel member. Panel members must be full-time employees and
representatives of Medicare providers subject to the OPPS, with
technical and/or clinical expertise in any of the following areas:
[sbull] Hospital payment systems.
[sbull] Hospital medical care delivery systems.
[sbull] Outpatient payment requirements.
[sbull] Ambulatory payment classification groups.
[sbull] Use of, and payment for, drugs and medical devices in an
outpatient setting.
[sbull] Provision of, and payment for, partial hospitalization
services.
[sbull] Any other relevant expertise.
It is not necessary that any nominee possess expertise in all of
the areas listed, but each must have a minimum of 5 years experience
and currently be employed full-time in his or her area of expertise.
(Please Note: Consultants do not qualify for Panel membership under the
nominee criteria.)
Members of the Panel serve overlapping 4-year terms, contingent
upon the rechartering of the Panel on or before November 21, 2004.
Any interested person may nominate one or more qualified
individuals. Self-nominations will also be accepted. Each nomination
must include a letter of nomination, a curriculum vita of the nominee,
and a 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.
III. Copies of the Charter
You may obtain a copy of the charter for the Panel by submitting a
request to: Shirl Ackerman-Ross, CMS, Center for Medicare Management,
Hospital & Ambulatory Policy Group, Division of Outpatient Care, 7500
Security Boulevard, Mail Stop C4-05-17, Baltimore, MD 21244, by
telephone at (410) 786-4474 or by e-mail to SAckermanross@cms.hhs.gov.
A copy of the charter is also available on the Internet at http://www.cms.hhs.gov/faca
.
Authority: Section 1833(t)(9)(A) of the Social Security Act (42
U.S.C. 13951(t)(9)(A)) and Pub. L. 92-463 (5 U.S.C. App. 2).
Dated: January 16, 2004.
Dennis G. Smith,
Acting Administrator, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
[FR Doc. 04-1516 Filed 1-22-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4120-01-P