### 29647 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 97 / Friday, May 18, 2012 / Notices

Paperwork@cms.hhs.gov, or call the Reports Clearance Office on (410) 786–
1326.

To be assured consideration, comments and recommendations for the proposed information collections must be received by the OMB desk officer at the address below, no later than 5 p.m. on June 18, 2012. OMB, Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Attention: CMS Desk Officer, Fax Number: (202) 395–6974, Email: OIRA

_submission@omb.eop.gov.

Dated: May 15, 2012. Martique Jones, Director, Regulations Development Group, Division B, Office of Strategic Operations and Regulatory Affairs.
[FR Doc. 2012–12108 Filed 5–16–12; 11:15 am]

**BILLING CODE 4120–01–P**

**DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES** 

**Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services** 

**[CMS–5052–N2]**

**Medicare Program; Solicitation for Proposals for the Medicare Graduate**  **Nurse Education Demonstration— Deadline Extension** 

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

**ACTION :**  Notice of extension of deadline.

**SUMMARY :**  This notice extends the deadline for submission of proposals to apply to participate in the Medicare Graduate Nurse Education (GNE) Demonstration.

**DATES :**  Proposals will be considered timely if they are received on or before 5 p.m., Eastern Standard Time (E.S.T.) on May 25, 2012.

**ADDRESSES :**  Proposals should be mailed to the following address: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Center for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation, Attention: Alexandre Laberge, Mail Stop: WB–06–05, 7500 Security Boulevard, Baltimore, Maryland 21244–
1850.

**FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT :**  Alexandre Laberge (410) 786–8625 or by email at GNE@cms.hhs.gov.

**SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION :** 

General Information: Please refer to file code (CMS–5052–N2) on the application. Proposals (an unbound original and 10 electronic copies on CD– ROM) must be typed for clarity and should not exceed 50 double-spaced pages, exclusive of cover letter, the executive summary, resumes, forms, and no more than 15 pages supporting documentation. Because of staffing and resource limitations, we cannot accept proposals by facsimile (FAX) transmission. Applicants may, but are not required to, submit a total of 10 copies to assure that each reviewer receives a proposal in the manner intended by the applicant (for example, collated, tabulated color copies). Hard copies and CD–ROM electronic copies must be identical.

Eligible Organizations: As set forth in section 5509 of the Affordable Care Act an ‘‘eligible hospital’’ may apply to perform the responsibilities specified. Section 5509(e)(5) of the Affordable Care Act defines an ‘‘eligible hospital’’ to mean a hospital (as defined in section 1861(e) of the Social Security Act (the Act) (42 U.S.C. 1395x)) or a critical access hospital (as defined in section 1861(mm)(1) of the Act) that has a written agreement in place with—(A) 1 or more applicable schools of nursing;and (B) 2 or more applicable nonhospital community-based care settings. The written agreement must meet specific requirements set forth in section 5509 of the Affordable Care Act including—(1) The obligations of the eligible partners with respect to the provision of qualified training; and (2) the obligation of the eligible hospital to reimburse such eligible partners applicable (in a timely manner) for the costs of such qualified training attributable to partner. The Demonstration will include up to five eligible hospitals. I. Background

We are seeking eligible hospital applicants, which includes critical access hospitals, to partner with one or more applicable schools of nursing (SONs) and two or more applicable nonhospital community-based care settings (CCSs) to provide advanced practice registered nurse (APRN) students with qualified training. See section 5509(e) of the Affordable Care Act for the definitions of the terms used in the preceding sentence. At least half of the clinical training must be provided in non-hospital CCSs which may include federally qualified health centers (FQHCs), rural health clinics (RHCs), and other nonhospital settings as determined appropriate by the Secretary. However, the Secretary may waive the requirement under section 5509(e)(7)(A)(ii) of the Affordable Care Act with respect to eligible hospitals located in rural or medically underserved areas.

On March 22, 2012, we posted a solicitation for proposals on the Innovation Center Web site. In addition, in the March 22, 2012 Federal Register (77 FR 16841) we published a notice of solicitation for proposals to participate in the Graduate Nurse Education (GNE) Demonstration. The Demonstration provides a source of Medicare funding for the reasonable costs for clinical training attributable to the incremental increase in the number of APRN students enrolled in participating SONs during the Demonstration relative to an established baseline. Section 5509 of the Affordable Care Act sets forth limitations on the reasonable costs reimbursable under the Demonstration. We will make interim payments to selected hospitals with a cost settlement process using Medicare reasonable cost principles. Participating eligible hospitals must establish written agreements with one or more applicableSONs and two or more applicable nonhospital CCSs that define the obligations of each partner with respect to the provision of qualified training and the corresponding eligible hospital’s obligation to reimburse eligible partners applicable (in a timely manner) for the costs of such qualified training attributable to the partner and the mechanism for partner reimbursement. As outlined in the GNE Solicitation, applicant hospitals may partner with other hospitals in the Demonstration and we will support an expanded configuration of hospital relationships under certain circumstances. For more details, see the Solicitation, which is available on the Innovation Center Web site at http://www.innovations.cms.gov/ initiatives/GNE/index.html.

II. Provisions of This Notice

The CMS Innovation Center has received much interest and a large number of inquires about the GNE Demonstration announced on the CMS Web site and in the Federal Register . In response to requests from the community of potential applicants to allow for some additional time to prepare the proposals for participation in the Demonstration, and in light of our continued commitment to work in partnership with our stakeholders, the Innovation Center has modified the deadline for proposals so that the applications from eligible hospital applicants are due by the date specified in the **DATES** section of this notice.

III. Information Collection Requirements

In accordance with section 5509(a)(4) of the Affordable Care Act, this information collection requirement is not subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. Consequently, it need not be reviewed by the Office of Management and Budget under the


### 29648 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 97 / Friday, May 18, 2012 / Notices

authority of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. chapter 35).

Authority: Section 5509 of the Affordable
Care Act. (Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Program No. 93.773, Medicare—Hospital Insurance; and Program No. 93.774, Medicare—Supplementary Medical Insurance Program)

Dated: May 15, 2012. Marilyn Tavenner, Acting Administrator, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
[FR Doc. 2012–12131 Filed 5–17–12; 8:45 am]

**BILLING CODE 4120–01–P DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND**  **HUMAN SERVICES**

**Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services** 

**[CMS–9073–N]**

**Medicare and Medicaid Programs; Quarterly Listing of Program**  **Issuances—January Through March 2012** 

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

**ACTION :**  Notice.

**SUMMARY :**  This quarterly notice lists CMS manual instructions, substantive and interpretive regulations, and other Federal Register notices that were published from January through March 2012, relating to the Medicare and Medicaid programs and other programs administered by CMS.

**FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT :**  It is possible that an interested party may need specific information and not be able to determine from the listed information whether the issuance or regulation would fulfill that need. Consequently, we are providing contact persons to answer general questions concerning each of the addenda published in this notice.

Addenda Contact Phone No.

I CMS Manual Instructions ................................................................................................ Ismael Torres .............................. (410) 786–1864 II Regulation Documents Published in the **Federal Register** ........................................... Terri Plumb ................................. (410) 786–4481 III CMS Rulings .................................................................................................................. Tiffany Lafferty ............................ (410) 786–7548 IV Medicare National Coverage Determinations ............................................................... Wanda Belle ............................... (410) 786–7491 V FDA-Approved Category B IDEs .................................................................................... John Manlove ............................. (410) 786–6877 VI Collections of Information .............................................................................................. Mitch Bryman .............................. (410) 786–5258 VII Medicare-Approved Carotid Stent Facilities ................................................................. Sarah J. McClain ........................ (410) 786–2294 VIII American College of Cardiology-National Cardiovascular Data Registry Sites .......... JoAnna Baldwin, MS .................. (410) 786–7205 IX Medicare’s Active Coverage-Related Guidance Documents ........................................ Lori Ashby ................................... (410) 786–6322 X One-time Notices Regarding National Coverage Provisions ......................................... Lori Ashby ................................... (410) 786–6322 XI National Oncologic Positron Emission Tomography Registry Sites ............................. Stuart Caplan, RN, MAS ............ (410) 786–8564 XII Medicare-Approved Ventricular Assist Device (Destination Therapy) Facilities .......... JoAnna Baldwin, MS .................. (410) 786–7205 XIII Medicare-Approved Lung Volume Reduction Surgery Facilities ................................ JoAnna Baldwin, MS .................. (410) 786–7205 XIV Medicare-Approved Bariatric Surgery Facilities .......................................................... Kate Tillman, RN, MAS .............. (410) 786–9252 XV Fluorodeoxyglucose Positron Emission Tomography for Dementia Trials .................. Stuart Caplan, RN, MAS ............ (410) 786–8564 All Other Information ............................................................................................................ Annette Brewer ........................... (410) 786–6580

I. Background

Among other things, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is responsible for administering the Medicare and Medicaid programs and coordination and oversight of private health insurance. Administration and oversight of these programs involves the following: (1) Furnishing information to Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries, health care providers, and the public; and (2) maintaining effective communications with CMS regional offices, State governments, State Medicaid agencies, State survey agencies, various providers of health care, all Medicare contractors that process claims and pay bills, National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC), health insurers, and other stakeholders. To implement the various statutes on which the programs are based, we issue regulations under the authority granted to the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services under sections 1102, 1871, 1902, and related provisions of the Social Security Act (the Act) and Public Health Service Act. We also issue various manuals, memoranda, and statements necessary to administer and oversee the programs efficiently.

Section 1871(c) of the Act requires that we publish a list of all Medicare manual instructions, interpretive rules, statements of policy, and guidelines of general applicability not issued as regulations at least every 3 months in the Federal Register

. II. Revised Format for the Quarterly Issuance Notices

While we are publishing the quarterly notice required by section 1871(c) of the Act, we will no longer republish duplicative information that is available to the public elsewhere. We believe this approach is in alignment with CMS’ commitment to the general principles of the President’s Executive Order 13563 released January 2011entitled ‘‘Improving Regulation and Regulatory Review,’’ which promotes modifying and streamlining an agency’s regulatory program to be more effective in achieving regulatory objectives. Section 6 of Executive Order 13563 requires agencies to identify regulations that may be ‘‘outmoded, ineffective, insufficient, or excessively burdensome, and to modify, streamline, expand or repeal them in accordance with what has been learned.’’ This approach is also in alignment with the President’s Open Government and Transparency Initiative that establishes a system of transparency, public participation, and collaboration.

Therefore, this quarterly notice provides only the specific updates that have occurred in the 3-month period along with a hyperlink to the full listing that is available on the CMS Web site or the appropriate data registries that are used as our resources. This information is the most current up-to-date information and will be available earlier than we publish our quarterly notice. We believe the Web site list provides more timely access for beneficiaries, providers, and suppliers. We also believe the Web site offers a more convenient tool for the public to find the full list of qualified providers for these specific services and offers more flexibility and ‘‘real time’’ accessibility. In addition, many of the Web sites have listservs; that is, the public can subscribe and receive immediate notification of any updates to the Web site. These listservs avoid the need to check the Web site, as notification of