Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 56 / Friday, March 23, 2007 / Notices 13797 

Individuals not wishing to make a 

presentation may submit written 

comments to Ms. Johnson at the address 

listed in the ADDRESSES section of this 

notice by the date listed in the DATES

section of this notice. 

Individuals requiring sign language 

interpretation or other special 

accommodations should contact Ms. 

Johnson at the address listed in the 

ADDRESSES section of this notice by the 

date listed in the DATES section of this 

notice. 

Authority: Sec. 222 of the Public Health 

Service Act (42 U.S.C. 217a) and sec. 10(a) 

of Pub. L. 92–463 (5 U.S.C. App. 2, sec. 10(a) 

and 41 CFR 102–3). 

(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance 

Program No. 93.733, Medicare—Hospital 

Insurance Program; and Program No. 93.774, 

Medicare—Supplementary Medical 

Insurance Program) 

Dated: March 15, 2007. 

Leslie V. Norwalk, 

Acting Administrator, Centers for Medicare 

& Medicaid Services. 

[FR Doc. E7–5299 Filed 3–22–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4120–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND 

HUMAN SERVICES 

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid 

Services 

[CMS–1398–NC] 

Medicare and Medicaid Programs; 

Announcement of an Application From 

a Hospital Requesting Waiver for 

Organ Procurement Service Area 

AGENCY: Centers for Medicare & 

Medicaid Services (CMS), HHS. 

ACTION: Notice with comment period. 

SUMMARY: This notice announces a 

hospital’s request for a waiver from 

entering into an agreement with its 

designated organ procurement 

organization (OPO), in accordance with 

section 1138(a)(2) of the Social Security 

Act (the Act). This notice requests 

comments from OPOs and the general 

public for our consideration in 

determining whether we should grant 

the requested waiver. 

DATES: Comment Date: To be assured 

consideration, comments must be 

received at one of the addresses 

provided below, no later than 5 p.m. on 

May 22, 2007. 

ADDRESSES: In commenting, please refer 

to file code CMS–1398–NC. Because of 

staff and resource limitations, we cannot 

accept comments by facsimile (FAX) 

transmission. 

You may submit comments in one of 

four ways (no duplicates, please): 

1. Electronically. You may submit 

electronic comments on specific issues 

in this regulation to http:// 

www.cms.hhs.gov/eRulemaking. Click 

on the link ‘‘Submit electronic 

comments on CMS regulations with an 

open comment period.’’ (Attachments 

should be in Microsoft Word, 

WordPerfect, or Excel; however, we 

prefer Microsoft Word.) 

2. By regular mail. You may mail 

written comments (one original and two 

copies) to the following address Only: 

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid 

Services, Department of Health and 

Human Services, Attention: CMS–1398–

NC, P.O. Box 8017, Baltimore, MD 

21244–8017. 

Please allow sufficient time for mailed 

comments to be received before the 

close of the comment period. 

3. By express or overnight mail. You 

may send written comments (one 

original and two copies) to the following 

address only: Centers for Medicare & 

Medicaid Services, Department of 

Health and Human Services, Attention: 

CMS–1398–NC, Mail Stop C4–26–05, 

7500 Security Boulevard, Baltimore, MD 

21244–1850. 

4. By hand or courier. If you prefer, 

you may deliver (by hand or courier) 

your written comments (one original 

and two copies) before the close of the 

comment period to one of the following 

addresses. If you intend to deliver your 

comments to the Baltimore address, 

please call telephone number (410) 786–

9994 in advance to schedule your 

arrival with one of our staff members. 

Room 445–G, Hubert H. Humphrey 

Building, 200 Independence Avenue, 

SW., Washington, DC 20201; or 7500 

Security Boulevard, Baltimore, MD 

21244–1850. 

(Because access to the interior of the 

HHH Building is not readily available to 

persons without Federal Government 

identification, commenters are 

encouraged to leave their comments in 

the CMS drop slots located in the main 

lobby of the building. A stamp-in clock 

is available for persons wishing to retain 

a proof of filing by stamping in and 

retaining an extra copy of the comments 

being filed.) 

Comments mailed to the addresses 

indicated as appropriate for hand or 

courier delivery may be delayed and 

received after the comment period. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Mark A. Horney, (410) 786–4554. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Submitting Comments: We welcome 

comments from the public on all issues 

set forth in this proposed notice to assist 

us in fully considering the issues. You 

can assist us by referencing the file code 

CMS–1398–NC and the specific ‘‘issue 

identifier’’ that precedes the section on 

which you choose to comment. 

Inspection of Public Comments: All 

comments received before the close of 

the comment period are available for 

viewing by the public, including any 

personally identifiable or confidential 

business information that is included in 

a comment. We post all electronic 

comments received before the close of 

the comment period on the public Web 

site as soon as possible after they have 

been received: http://www.cms.hhs.gov/ 

eRulemaking. Click on the link 

‘‘Electronic Comments on CMS 

Regulations’’ on that Web site to view 

public comments. 

Comments received timely will also 

be available for public inspection as 

they are received, generally beginning 

approximately 3 weeks after publication 

of a document, at the headquarters of 

the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid 

Services, 7500 Security Boulevard, 

Baltimore, Maryland 21244, Monday 

through Friday of each week from 8:30 

a.m. to 4 p.m. To schedule an 

appointment to view public comments, 

phone 1–800–743–3951. 

I. Background 

[If you choose to comment on issues 

in this section, please include the 

caption BACKGROUND at the beginning 

of your comments.] 

Organ Procurement Organizations 

(OPOs) are not-for-profit organizations 

that are responsible for the 

procurement, preservation, and 

transport of transplantable organs to 

transplant centers throughout the 

country. Qualified OPOs are designated 

by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid 

Services (CMS) to recover or procure 

organs in CMS-defined exclusive 

geographic service areas, according to 

section 371(b)(1)(F) of the Public Health 

Service Act (42 U.S.C. 273(b)(1)(F)) and 

our regulations at 42 CFR 486.306. Once 

an OPO has been designated for an area, 

hospitals in that area that participate in 

Medicare and Medicaid are required to 

work with that OPO in providing organs 

for transplant, according to section 

1138(a)(1)(C) of the Social Security Act 

(the Act), and our regulations at 42 CFR 

482.45. 

Section 1138(a)(1)(A)(iii) of the Act 

provides that a hospital must notify the 

designated OPO (for the service area in 

which it is located) of potential organ 

donors. Under section 1138(a)(1)(C) of 

the Act, every participating hospital 

must have an agreement to identify 

potential donors only with its 

designated OPO. 

However, section 1138(a)(2)(A) of the 

Act provides that a hospital may obtain 


sroberts on PROD1PC70 with NOTICES
13798 Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 56 / Friday, March 23, 2007 / Notices 

from the Secretary, a waiver of the 

above requirements under certain 

specified conditions. A waiver allows 

the hospital to have an agreement with 

an OPO other than the one initially 

designated by CMS, if the hospital 

meets certain conditions specified in 

section 1138(a)(2)(A) of the Act. In 

addition, the Secretary may review 

additional criteria described in section 

1138(a)(2)(B) of the Act to evaluate the 

hospital’s request for a waiver. 

Section 1138(a)(2)(A) of the Act states 

that in granting a waiver, the Secretary 

must determine that the waiver—(1) is 

expected to increase organ donations; 

and (2) will ensure equitable treatment 

of patients referred for transplants 

within the service area served by the 

designated OPO and within the service 

area served by the OPO with which the 

hospital seeks to enter into an 

agreement under the waiver. In making 

a waiver determination, section 

1138(a)(2)(B) of the Act provides that 

the Secretary may consider, among 

other factors: (1) Cost-effectiveness; (2) 

improvements in quality; (3) whether 

there has been any change in a 

hospital’s designated OPO due to the 

changes made in definitions for 

metropolitan statistical areas; and (4) 

the length and continuity of a hospital’s 

relationship with an OPO other than the 

hospital’s designated OPO. Under 

section 1138(a)(2)(D) of the Act, the 

Secretary is required to publish a notice 

of any waiver application received from 

a hospital within 30 days of receiving 

the application, and to offer interested 

parties an opportunity to comment in 

writing during the 60-day period 

beginning on the publication date in the 

Federal Register. 

The criteria that the Secretary uses to 

evaluate the waiver in these cases are 

the same as those described above under 

sections 1138(a)(2)(A) and (B) of the Act 

and have been incorporated into the 

regulations at 42 CFR 486.308(e) and (f). 

II. Waiver Request Procedures 

[If you choose to comment on issues 

in this section, please include the 

caption ‘‘Waiver Request Procedures’’ at 

the beginning of your comments.] 

In October 1995, we issued a Program 

Memorandum (Transmittal No. A–95–

11) detailing the waiver process and 

discussing the information that 

hospitals must provide in requesting a 

waiver. We indicated that upon receipt 

of a waiver request, we would publish 

a Federal Register notice to solicit 

public comments, as required by section 

1138(a)(2)(D) of the Act. 

According to these requirements, we 

will review the request and comments 

received. During the review process, we 

may consult on an as-needed basis with 

the Public Health Service’s Division of 

Transplantation, the United Network for 

Organ Sharing, and our regional offices. 

If necessary, we may request additional 

clarifying information from the applying 

hospital or others. We will then make a 

final determination on the waiver 

request and notify the hospital and the 

designated and requested OPOs. 

III. Hospital Waiver Request 

[If you choose to comment on issues 

in this section, please include the 

caption ‘‘Hospital Waiver Request’’ at 

the beginning of your comments.] 

As permitted by 42 CFR 486.308(e), 

Select Specialty Hospital-Quad Cities, of 

Davenport, Iowa has requested a waiver 

in order to enter into an agreement with 

a designated OPO other than the OPO 

designated for the service area in which 

the hospital is located. Select Specialty 

Hospital-Quad Cities is requesting a 

waiver to work with: 

Iowa Donor Network, 550 Madison 

Avenue, North Liberty, Iowa 52317. 

Select Specialty Hospital’s Designated 

OPO is: 

Gift of Hope Organ and Tissue Donor 

Network, 660 North Industrial Drive, 

Elmhurst, IL 60126–1520. 

Authority: Section 1138 of the Social 

Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1320b–8). 

(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance 

Program No. 93.773, Medicare—Hospital 

Insurance; Program No. 93.774, Medicare—

Supplementary Medical Insurance, and 

Program No. 93.778, Medical Assistance 

Program.) 

Dated: March 16, 2007. 

Leslie V. Norwalk, 

Acting Administrator, Centers for Medicare 

& Medicaid Services. 

[FR Doc. E7–5328 Filed 3–22–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4120–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND 

HUMAN SERVICES 

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid 

Services 

[CMS–1488–CN3] 

RIN 0938–A012 

Medicare Program; Changes to the 

Hospital Inpatient Prospective 

Payment Systems and Fiscal Year 2007 

Rates; Final Fiscal Year 2007 Wage 

Indices and Payment Rates After 

Application of Revised Occupational 

Mix Adjustment to the Wage Index; 

Corrections 

AGENCY: Centers for Medicare & 

Medicaid Services (CMS), HHS. 

ACTION: Correction of notice. 

SUMMARY: This document corrects wage 

index values and a relative weighting 

factor error that appeared in the 

correction notice published in the 

Federal Register on January 5, 2007 

entitled ‘‘Medicare Program; Changes to 

the Hospital Inpatient Prospective 

Payment Systems and Fiscal Year 2007 

Rates; Final Fiscal Year 2007 Wage 

Indices and Payment Rates After 

Application of Revised Occupational 

Mix Adjustment to Wage Index; 

Corrections’’. 

DATES: Effective Dates. The corrections 

to the wage index values listed in items 

1a, 1b, and 2 of section III. of this notice 

are effective as of November 3, 2006. 

The corrections to the wage index 

values listed in item 1c of section III. of 

this notice are effective November 21, 

2006. The correction to the relative 

weighting factor listed in item 3 of 

section III. of this notice is effective 

October 1, 2006. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Brian Slater, (410) 786–5229. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background 

In the October 11, 2006 Federal 

Register (71 FR 59886), we published a 

notice entitled ‘‘Hospital Inpatient 

Prospective Payment Systems and Fiscal 

Year 2007 Rates; Final Fiscal Year 2007 

Wage Indices and Payment Rates After 

Application of Revised Occupational 

Mix Adjustment to Wage Index’’

(hereinafter referred to as the ‘‘FY 2007 

IPPS notice’’). After publication of the 

October 11, 2006 notice, we became 

aware of errors in the wage indices. 

Section 412.64(k)(1) of the regulations 

requires that wage index corrections 

made after October 1 are effective 

prospectively for the remainder of the 

fiscal year from the date the fiscal 

intermediaries are informed of the 

correction. We recalculated the wage 

indices for the affected hospitals, and on 

November 3, 2006, sent a Joint Signature 

Memorandum to the fiscal 

intermediaries informing them to pay 

hospitals using the corrected wage 

indices. Subsequent to the November 3, 

2006 Joint Signature Memorandum, 

additional errors in the wage indices 

were brought to our attention and were 

corrected through a November 21, 2006 

Joint Signature Memorandum. In the 

January 5, 2007 Federal Register (FR 

Doc. 06–9976, 72 FR 569), we then 

published a correction notice entitled 

‘‘Changes to the Hospital Inpatient 

Prospective Payment Systems and Fiscal 

Year 2007 Rates; Final Fiscal Year 2007 

Wage Indices and Payment Rates After 

Application of Revised Occupational 

Mix Adjustment to Wage Index; 


sroberts on PROD1PC70 with NOTICES