[Federal Register: October 7, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 194)]
[Notices]
[Page 60157-60158]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr07oc04-46]
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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
[CMS-1360-CN]
RIN 0938-AM82
Medicare Program; Inpatient Rehabilitation Facility Prospective
Payment System for Fiscal Year 2005; Correction
AGENCY: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), HHS.
ACTION: Notice; correction.
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SUMMARY: This document corrects technical errors that appeared in the
Federal Register notice on July 30, 2004, entitled ``Medicare Program;
Inpatient Rehabilitation Facility Prospective Payment System for Fiscal
Year 2005.'' That notice updated prospective payment rates for
inpatient rehabilitation facilities for Federal fiscal year 2005 as
authorized under section 1886(j)(3)(C) of the Social Security Act (the
Act). In addition, section 1886(j)(5) of the Act requires the Secretary
to publish in the Federal Register, on or before August 1 before each
fiscal year, the classifications and weighting factors for the
inpatient rehabilitation facility case mix groups and a description of
the methodology and data used in computing the prospective payment
rates for that fiscal year.
DATES: Effective for discharges occurring on or after October 1, 2004,
and on or before September 30, 2005.
[[Page 60158]]
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: August Nemec, (410) 786-0612; or
Jeannette Kranacs, (410) 786-9385.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
In CMS-1360-N, FR Doc. 04-17444 of July 30, 2004 (69 FR 45721),
there were three technical errors that are identified and corrected in
the Correction of Errors section below. The provisions in this
correction notice are effective as if they had been included in the
document published July 30, 2004. Accordingly, the corrections are
effective for discharges occurring on or after October 1, 2004, and on
or before September 30, 2005.
We recently determined that several technical errors occurred in
the publication of the wage index values for a number of specific
Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs). A description of those technical
errors is included in the ``Correction of Errors'' section below. We
note that correcting these technical errors is a purely administrative
function that does not result in any change of policy or payment
methodology.
II. Correction of Errors
In CMS-1360-N, FR Doc. 04-17444 of July 30, 2004 (69 FR 45721),
make the following corrections:
A. On page 45734, remove Stanly, NC from Urban Area 1520 Charlotte-
Gastonia-Rock Hill, NC-SC, because it has a rural designation instead
of an urban designation. We note an error in the labeling of the wage
index tables within the Inpatient Rehabilitation Facility Prospective
Payment System (IRF PPS). That labeling error is the listing of Stanly
County, NC as one of the urban areas under MSA 1520 when, in fact, we
consider Stanly County, NC to be a rural area in North Carolina. Stanly
County wage data have always been correctly treated as rural in the
actual creation of the IRF wage index values, and it has only been the
listing of Stanly County under MSA 1520 that was in error.
Consequently, we are correcting our labeling error in the IRF PPS
notice (CMS-1360-N), and have removed Stanly County from the list of
areas that fall under the MSA 1520 wage index. Since this is strictly a
labeling correction that does not affect the actual computation of the
wage index values, IRFs in Stanly County, NC will continue to fall
under, and use, the wage index for rural North Carolina.
B. On page 45746, remove the wage index of 0.0000 for Urban Area
4150 and in its place, add a wage index of 0.8677. This change is made
due the inadvertent insertion of 0.0000 for MSA 4150 when it should
have been 0.8677.
C. On page 45757, remove the wage index of 0.0000 for Urban Area
7000 and in its place, add a wage index of 0.9757. This change is made
due to the inadvertent insertion of 0.0000 for MSA 7000 when it should
have been 0.9757.
III. Waiver of Proposed Rulemaking and Delayed Effective Date
We ordinarily publish a notice of proposed rulemaking in the
Federal Register to provide a period for public comment before the
provisions of a regulation take effect. We can waive this procedure,
however, if we find good cause that notice-and-comment procedure is
impracticable, unnecessary, or contrary to the public interest and
incorporate a statement of the finding and the reasons for it into the
notice issued. 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B). We can also waive the 30-day delayed
effective date of the Administrative Procedure Act (5 U.S.C. 553(d))
when there is good cause to do so and we publish in the rule an
explanation of our good cause.
We find it unnecessary to undertake notice-and-comment rulemaking
because this correction notice merely provides technical corrections to
the July 30, 2004 notice. This correction notice corrects inadvertent
drafting errors (that is, a labeling error with respect to Stanley
County and the insertion of incorrect wage indexes for MSA 4150 and MSA
7000). We are not making substantive changes in policy, but rather, are
simply implementing correctly the payment methodology that we long ago
proposed, received comment on, and subsequently finalized. Thus,
because the public has already had the opportunity to comment on the
payment methodology used to calculate the wage indexes, additional
comment would be unnecessary.
In addition, publication of a substantive rule shall be made not
less than 30 days before its effective date. We can waive this
procedure, however, if we find good cause that a delayed effective date
is impracticable, unnecessary, or contrary to the public interest. 5
U.S.C. 553(d)(3). We believe a delayed effective date is unnecessary
because this correction notice merely corrects inadvertent technical
mistakes (that is, a labeling error with respect to Stanley County and
the insertion of incorrect numbers in the wage indexes for MSA 4150 and
MSA 7000). Further, we believe imposing a 30-day delay in the effective
date would be contrary to the public interest with respect to IRF
providers in MSA 4150 and MSA 7000. As a matter of good public policy,
the rates used in the IRF PPS should not be based on wage indexes that
contain inadvertent errors that, if not corrected, would have very real
impacts on the payments received by providers in MSA 4150 and MSA 7000.
We believe that it is imperative that these providers receive
appropriate IRF PPS payments and that failure to do so would be
contrary to the public interest. Furthermore, the changes noted above
do not make any substantive changes to the IRF PPS payment methodology
or underlying payment policies. Therefore, we find good cause to waive
the 30-day delayed effective date.
(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Program No. 93.773,
Medicare--Hospital Insurance; and Program No. 93.774, Medicare--
Supplementary Medical Insurance Program.)
Dated: September 30, 2004.
Ann C. Agnew,
Executive Secretary to the Department.
[FR Doc. 04-22400 Filed 10-1-04; 11:46 am]
BILLING CODE 4120-01-P