63986 Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 207 / Friday, October 25, 2013 / Notices 

++ The composition of the survey 

team, surveyor qualifications, and the 

ability of the organization to provide 

continuing surveyor training. 

++ The comparability of the Joint 

Commission’s processes to those of state 

agencies, including survey frequency, 

and the ability to investigate and 

respond appropriately to complaints 

against accredited facilities. 

++ The Joint Commission’s processes 

and procedures for monitoring an HHA 

found out of compliance with the Joint 

Commission’s program requirements. 

These monitoring procedures are used 

only when the Joint Commission 

identifies noncompliance. If 

noncompliance is identified through 

validation reviews or complaint 

surveys, the state survey agency 

monitors corrections as specified at 

§ 488.7(d). 

++ The Joint Commission’s capacity 

to report deficiencies to the surveyed 

facilities and respond to the facility’s 

plan of correction in a timely manner. 

++ The Joint Commission’s capacity 

to provide CMS with electronic data and 

reports necessary for effective validation 

and assessment of the organization’s 

survey process. 

++ The adequacy of the Joint 

Commission’s staff and other resources, 

and its financial viability. 

++ The Joint Commission’s capacity 

to adequately fund required surveys. 

++ The Joint Commission’s policies 

with respect to whether surveys are 

announced or unannounced, to assure 

that surveys are unannounced. 

++ The Joint Commission’s 

agreement to provide CMS with a copy 

of the most current accreditation survey 

together with any other information 

related to the survey as CMS may 

require (including corrective action 

plans). 

IV. Collection of Information 

Requirements 

This document does not impose 

information collection and 

recordkeeping requirements. 

Consequently, it need not be reviewed 

by the Office of Management and 

Budget under the authority of the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 

U.S.C. 35). 

V. Response to Public Comments 

Because of the large number of public 

comments we normally receive on 

Federal Register documents, we are not 

able to acknowledge or respond to them 

individually. We will consider all 

comments we receive by the date and 

time specified in the DATES section of 

this preamble, and, when we proceed 

with a subsequent document, we will 

respond to the comments in the 

preamble to that document. 

Upon completion of our evaluation, 

including evaluation of comments 

received as a result of this notice, we 

will publish a final notice in the Federal 

Register announcing the result of our 

evaluation. 

Authority: (Catalog of Federal Domestic 

Assistance Program No. 93.778, Medical 

Assistance Program; No. 93.773 Medicare— 

Hospital Insurance Program; and No. 93.774, 

Medicare—Supplementary Medical 

Insurance Program) 

Dated: September 27, 2013. 

Marilyn Tavenner, 

Administrator, Centers for Medicare & 

Medicaid Services. 

[FR Doc. 2013–25010 Filed 10–24–13; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4120–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND 

HUMAN SERVICES 

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid 

Services 

[CMS–3289–N] 

Medicare Program; Request for 

Nominations for Members for the 

Medicare Evidence Development & 

Coverage Advisory Committee 

AGENCY: Centers for Medicare & 

Medicaid Services, HHS. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: This notice announces the 

request for nominations for membership 

on the Medicare Evidence Development 

& Coverage Advisory Committee 

(MEDCAC). Among other duties, the 

MEDCAC provides advice and guidance 

to the Secretary of the Department of 

Health and Human Services (the 

Secretary) and the Administrator of the 

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid 

Services (CMS) concerning the 

adequacy of scientific evidence 

available to CMS for ‘‘reasonable and 

necessary’’ determinations under 

Medicare. 

We are requesting nominations for 

both voting and nonvoting members to 

serve on the MEDCAC. Nominees are 

selected based upon their individual 

qualifications and not as representatives 

of professional associations or societies. 

We wish to ensure adequate 

representation of the interests of both 

women and men, members of all ethnic 

groups and physically challenged 

individuals. Therefore, we encourage 

nominations of qualified candidates 

who can represent these interests. 

The MEDCAC reviews and evaluates 

medical literature, technology 

assessments, and hears public testimony 

on the evidence available to address the 

impact of medical items and services on 

health outcomes of Medicare 

beneficiaries. 

DATES: Nominations must be received 

by Monday, December 9, 2013. 

ADDRESSES: You may mail nominations 

for membership to the following 

address: Centers for Medicare & 

Medicaid Services, Center for Clinical 

Standards and Quality, Attention: Maria 

Ellis, 7500 Security Boulevard, Mail 

Stop: S3–02–01, Baltimore, MD 21244. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Maria Ellis, Executive Secretary for the 

MEDCAC, Centers for Medicare & 

Medicaid Services, Center for Clinical 

Standards and Quality, Coverage and 

Analysis Group, S3–02–01, 7500 

Security Boulevard, Baltimore, MD 

21244 or contact Ms. Ellis by phone 

(410–786–0309) or via email at 

Maria.Ellis@cms.hhs.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background 

The Secretary signed the initial 

charter for the Medicare Coverage 

Advisory Committee (MCAC) on 

November 24, 1998. A notice in the 

Federal Register (63 FR 68780) 

announcing establishment of the MCAC 

was published on December 14, 1998. 

The MCAC name was updated to more 

accurately reflect the purpose of the 

committee and on January 26, 2007, the 

Secretary published a notice in the 

Federal Register (72 FR 3853), 

announcing that the Committee’s name 

changed to the Medicare Evidence 

Development & Coverage Advisory 

Committee (MEDCAC). The charter for 

the committee was renewed by the 

Secretary on November 24, 2012. The 

current charter is effective for 2 years. 

The MEDCAC is governed by 

provisions of the Federal Advisory 

Committee Act, Public Law 92–463, as 

amended (5 U.S.C. App. 2), which sets 

forth standards for the formulation and 

use of advisory committees, and is 

authorized by section 222 of the Public 

Health Service Act as amended (42 

U.S.C. 217A). 

The MEDCAC consists of a pool of 

100 appointed members including: 94 

voting members of whom 6 are 

designated patient advocates, and 6 

nonvoting representatives of industry 

interests. Members generally are 

recognized authorities in clinical 

medicine including subspecialties, 

administrative medicine, public health, 

biological and physical sciences, 

epidemiology and biostatistics, clinical 

trial design, health care data 

management and analysis, patient 

advocacy, health care economics, 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 207 / Friday, October 25, 2013 / Notices 63987 

medical ethics or other relevant 

professions. 

The MEDCAC works from an agenda 

provided by the Designated Federal 

Official. The MEDCAC reviews and 

evaluates medical literature, technology 

assessments, and hears public testimony 

on the evidence available to address the 

impact of medical items and services on 

health outcomes of Medicare 

beneficiaries. The MEDCAC may also 

advise Centers for Medicare and 

Medicaid Services (CMS) as part of 

Medicare’s ‘‘coverage with evidence 

development’’ initiative. 

II. Provisions of the Notice 

As of June 2014, there will be 30 

membership terms expiring. Of the 30 

memberships expiring, 1 is nonvoting 

industry representative, 3 are voting 

patient advocates and the remaining 26 

membership openings are for the 

general MEDCAC voting membership. 

Accordingly, we are requesting 

nominations for both voting and 

nonvoting members to serve on the 

MEDCAC. Nominees are selected based 

upon their individual qualifications and 

not as representatives of professional 

associations or societies. We wish to 

ensure adequate representation of the 

interests of both women and men, 

members of all ethnic groups and 

physically challenged individuals. 

Therefore, we encourage nominations of 

qualified candidates from these groups. 

All nominations must be 

accompanied by curricula vitae. 

Nomination packages must be sent to 

Maria Ellis at the address listed in the 

ADDRESSES section of this notice. 

Nominees for voting membership must 

also have expertise and experience in 

one or more of the following fields: 

• Clinical medicine including 

subspecialties 

• Administrative medicine 

• Public health 

• Biological and physical sciences 

• Epidemiology and biostatistics 

• Clinical trial design 

• Health care data management and 

analysis 

• Patient advocacy 

• Health care economics 

• Medical ethics 

• Other relevant professions 

We are looking particularly for 

experts in a number of fields. These 

include cancer screening, genetic 

testing, clinical epidemiology; 

psychopharmacology; screening and 

diagnostic testing analysis; and vascular 

surgery. We also need experts in 

biostatistics in clinical settings, 

dementia treatment, minority health, 

observational research design, stroke 

epidemiology, and women’s health. 

The nomination letter must include a 

statement that the nominee is willing to 

serve as a member of the MEDCAC and 

appears to have no conflict of interest 

that would preclude membership. We 

are requesting that all curricula vitae 

include the following: 

• Date of birth 

• Place of birth 

• Social security number 

• Title and current position 

• Professional affiliation 

• Home and business address 

• Telephone and fax numbers 

• Email address 

• List of areas of expertise 

In the nomination letter, we are 

requesting that the nominee specify 

whether they are applying for a voting 

patient advocate position, for another 

voting position or a nonvoting industry 

representative. Potential candidates will 

be asked to provide detailed information 

concerning such matters as financial 

holdings, consultancies, and research 

grants or contracts in order to permit 

evaluation of possible sources of 

conflict of interest. 

Members are invited to serve for 

overlapping 2-year terms. A member 

may serve after the expiration of the 

member’s term until a successor is 

named. Any interested person may 

nominate one or more qualified persons. 

Self-nominations are also accepted. The 

current Secretary’s Charter for the 

MEDCAC is available on the CMS Web 

site at: http://www.cms.hhs.gov/FACA/

Downloads/medcaccharter.pdf, or you 

may obtain a copy of the charter by 

submitting a request to the contact listed 

in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

CONTACT section of this notice. 

Authority: 5 U.S.C. App. 2, section 10(a)(1) 

and (a)(2). 

(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance 

Program No. 93.773, Medicare—Hospital 

Insurance; and Program No. 93.774, 

Medicare—Supplementary Medical 

Insurance Program.) 

Dated: October 18, 2013. 

Patrick Conway, 

CMS Chief Medical Officer and Director, 

Center for Clinical Standards and Quality, 

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. 

[FR Doc. 2013–25008 Filed 10–24–13; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE P 

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND 

HUMAN SERVICES 

Administration for Children and 

Families 

Submission for OMB Review; 

Comment Request 

Title: Parents and Children Together 

(PACT) Evaluation. 

OMB No.: 0970–0403. 

Description: The Office of Planning, 

Research and Evaluation (OPRE), 

Administration for Children and 

Families (ACF), U.S. Department of 

Health and Human Services (HHS), is 

proposing data collection activity as 

part of the Parents and Children 

Together (PACT) Evaluation. The 

objective of the PACT evaluation is to 

document and provide initial 

assessment of selected Responsible 

Fatherhood and Healthy Marriage grant 

programs that were authorized under 

the 2010 Claims Resolution Act. This 

information will be critical to informing 

decisions related to future investments 

in programming as well as the design 

and operation of such services. 

PACT is utilizing three major, 

interrelated evaluation strategies: 

Impact evaluation; implementation 

evaluation; and qualitative evaluation. 

To collect data for these strategies, 

eighteen instruments have been 

approved to-date. This 30-Day Federal 

Register Notice covers two new 

instruments: 

(19) Follow-up Survey (for Responsible 

Fatherhood study participants) 

(20) Follow-up Survey (for Healthy 

Marriage study participants) 

A more thorough description of the 

study and instruments was provided in 

a 60 Day Federal Register Notice posted 

in Vol. 78, No. 102, p. 31942 on May 28, 

2013. 

Respondents: Program applicants, 

program participants, program staff, and 

staff at referral agencies. 

Annual Burden Estimates 

This current 30-Day Federal Register 

Notice covers two new instruments: 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with NOTICES