[Federal Register: February 23, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 36)]
[Notices]
[Page 8169-8171]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr23fe07-54]
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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
[CMS-1542-N]
Medicare Program; Announcement of New Members to the Advisory
Panel on Ambulatory Payment Classification (APC) Groups
AGENCY: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), Department of
Health and Human Services (DHHS).
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: This notice announces five new members selected to serve on
the Advisory Panel on Ambulatory Payment Classification (APC) Groups
(the Panel). The purpose of the Panel is to review the APC groups and
their associated weights and to advise the Secretary, DHHS, (the
Secretary) and the Administrator, CMS, (the Administrator) concerning
the clinical integrity of the APC groups and their associated weights.
We will consider the Panel's advice as we prepare the annual updates of
the hospital outpatient prospective payment system (OPPS).
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For inquiries about the Panel, please
contact
[[Page 8170]]
the Designated Federal Official (DFO): Shirl Ackerman-Ross, DFO, CMS,
CMM, HAPG, DOC, 7500 Security Boulevard, Mail Stop C4-05-17, Baltimore,
MD 21244-1850, Phone (410) 786-4474.
E-Mail Address: The E-mail address for the Panel is as follows: CMS
APCPanel@cms.hhs.gov. News media representatives must contact our
Public Affairs Office at (202) 690-6145.
Advisory Committees' Information Lines: The CMS Advisory
Committees' Information Line is 1-877-449-5659 (toll free) and (410)
786-9379 (local).
Web Site: For additional information regarding the APC Panel
membership, meetings, agendas, and updates to the Panel's activities,
please search our Web site at the following: http://www.cms.hhs.gov/FACA/05_AdvisoryPanelonAmbulatoryPaymentClassificationGroups.asp.
A
copy of the Panel's Charter is on that Web site. You may also e-mail
the Panel DFO at the above-mentioned e-mail address for a copy of the
Charter.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
The Secretary is required by section 1833(t)(9)(A) of the Social
Security Act (the Act), [as amended by section 201(h) of the Medicare,
Medicaid, and SCHIP Balanced Budget Refinement Act of 1999 (BBRA) (Pub.
L. 106-113), and redesignated by section 202(a)(2) of the BBRA] to
consult with an expert outside advisory panel regarding the clinical
integrity of the APC groups and weights that are components of the
hospital OPPS.
The APC Panel meets up to three times annually. The Charter
requires that the Panel must be fairly balanced in its membership in
terms of the points of view represented and the functions to be
performed. The Panel shall consist of up to 15 members who are
representatives of providers and a Chair. Each Panel member must be
employed full-time by a hospital, hospital system, or other Medicare
provider subject to payment under the OPPS. The Secretary or
Administrator selects the Panel membership based upon either self-
nominations or nominations submitted by Medicare providers and other
interested organizations. All members must have technical expertise to
enable them to participate fully in the work of the Panel. This
expertise encompasses hospital payment systems; hospital medical-care
delivery systems; provider billing systems; APC groups; Current
Procedural Terminology and alpha-numeric Healthcare Common Procedure
Coding System codes; and the use and payment of drugs and medical
devices in the outpatient setting, as well as other forms of relevant
expertise.
The Charter requires that all members have a minimum of 5 years
experience in their area(s) of expertise, but it is not necessary that
any member be an expert in all of the areas listed above. For purposes
of this Panel, consultants or independent contractors are not
considered to be full-time employees of hospitals, hospital systems, or
other Medicare providers that are subject to the OPPS. Panel members
serve up to 4-year terms. A member may serve after the expiration of
his or her term until a successor has been sworn in. All terms are
contingent upon the renewal of the Panel's Charter by appropriate
action before its termination. The Secretary re-chartered the APC Panel
effective November 21, 2006.
II. Announcement of New Members
The Panel may consist of a Chair and up to 15 Panel members who
serve without compensation, according to an advance written agreement.
Travel, meals, lodging, and related expenses for the meeting are
reimbursed in accordance with standard Government travel regulations.
We have a special interest in ensuring that women, minorities,
representatives from various geographical locations, and the physically
challenged are adequately represented on the Panel.
The Secretary, or his 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.
The Panel presently consists of the following 13 members and a
Chair:
Edith Hambrick, M.D., J.D., Chair
Gloryanne Bryant, B.S., R.H.I.A., R.H.I.T., C.C.S.
Albert Brooks Einstein, Jr., M.D.
Hazel Kimmel, R.N., C.C.S., C.P.C.
Sandra J. Metzler, M.B.A., R.H.I.A., C.P.H.Q.
Frank G. Opelka, M.D., F.A.C.S.
Louis Potters, M.D., F.A.C.R.
Lou Ann Schraffenberger, M.B.A., R.H.I.A., C.C.S.-P.
Judie S. Snipes, R.N., M.B.A., F.A.C.H.E.
Timothy Gene Tyler, Pharm.D.
Thomas M. Munger, M.D., F.A.C.C.
James V. Rawson, M.D.
Kim Allan Williams, M.D., F.A.C.C., F.A.B.C.
Robert Matthew Zwolak, M.D., Ph.D., F.A.C.S.
On November 22, 2006, we published the notice titled ``Request for
Nominations to the Advisory Panel on Ambulatory Payment Classification
Groups,'' (CMS-1305-N) in the Federal Register requesting nominations
to the Panel replacing Panel members whose terms would expire by
September 30, 2007. As a result of that Federal Register notice, we are
announcing five new members to the Panel. Two new 3\1/2\-year
appointments commence on March 1, 2007; two new 3\1/2\-year
appointments commence on April 1, 2007; and one new 4-year appointment
commences on October 1, 2007, as indicated below:
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New panel members Terms
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Patricia Spencer-Cisek, M.S................. 03/01/2007-09/30/2010
Russ Ranallo, M.S., B.S..................... 03/01/2007-09/30/2010
Beverly Philip, M.D......................... 04/01/2007-09/30/2010
Michael A. Ross, M.D........................ 04/01/2007-09/30/2010
Agatha L. Nolen, M.S., D.Ph................. 10/01/2007-09/30/2011
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Authority: Section 1833(t) of the Act (42 U.S.C. 1395l(t)). The
Panel is governed by the provisions of Pub. L. 92-463, as amended (5
U.S.C. Appendix 2).(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Program
No. 93.773, Medicare-Hospital Insurance; and Program No. 93.774,
Medicare-Supplementary Medical Insurance Program).
Dated: February 15, 2007.
Leslie V. Norwalk,
Acting Administrator, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
[FR Doc. E7-3040 Filed 2-22-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4120-01-P