24670 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 82 / Thursday, April 27, 2000 / Proposed Rules

weight wheelchairs. Although there are

perhaps 100 large DME suppliers, there

is a total of more than 100,000 dealers.

It is impossible to estimate the

distribution of assigned claims that

involve upgraded DME across either the

smaller or the larger group. Based on the

industry’s own assertions, however, we

do not believe that any one supplier will

incur a significant burden. If we receive

additional information as a result of this

proposed rule, we would revisit the idea

of calculating the burden arising from

this provision.

We are not preparing an analysis for

section 1102(b) of the Act because this

rule is not a major rule as defined at 5

U.S.C. 804(2), nor will it have a

significant economic impact on the

operations of a substantial number of

small rural hospitals.

We have reviewed this proposed rule

under the threshold criteria of Executive

Order 13132, Federalism. We have

determined that it does not significantly

affect the rights, roles and responsibility

of States. In accordance with the

provisions of Executive Order 12866,

this regulation was reviewed by the

Office of Management and Budget.

List of Subjects in 42 CFR Part 414

Administrative practice and

procedure, Health facilities, Health

professions, Kidney diseases, Medicare,

Reporting and recordkeeping

requirements, Rural areas, X-rays.

For the reasons stated in the

preamble, the Health Care Financing

Administration proposes to amend 42

CFR part 414 as follows:

PART 414—PAYMENT FOR PART B

MEDICAL AND OTHER HEALTH

SERVICES

1. The authority citation for part 414

continues to read as follows:

Authority: 42 U.S.C. 1302, and 1395hh.

2. Add the acronym ‘‘DME’’ to the

definition of durable medical equipment

in § 414.202 to read as follows:

§ 414.202 Definitions.

* * * * *

Durable medical equipment (DME)

means equipment, furnished by a

supplier or a home health agency that—

* * * * *

3. Add § 414.231 to subpart D to read

as follows:

§ 414.231 Upgraded durable medical

equipment.

(a) Definition. Upgraded durable

medical equipment means DME that

contains features that are not reasonable

and necessary for the treatment of an

illness or an injury, or to improve the

functioning of a malformed body

member.

(b) General rules. (1) HCFA pays for

DME that meets the coverage

requirements in § 410.38.

(2) For upgraded DME, HCFA pays a

supplier an amount equal to the

Medicare-approved amount that it pays

for DME that does not contain upgraded

features under § 414.210, less any

applicable beneficiary deductible and

coinsurance.

(3) If a beneficiary purchases or rents

upgraded DME, the beneficiary is

responsible for the difference in the

payment between the supplier’s charge

for the upgraded DME and the

Medicare-approved amount for the DME

without the upgraded features, in

addition to any applicable beneficiary

deductible and coinsurance.

(c) Rules for suppliers—(1) Disclosure

of information. Before furnishing

upgraded DME to a beneficiary, a

supplier must meet the following

requirements:

(i) Give to the beneficiary (or the

representative renting or purchasing the

DME on the beneficiary’s behalf) a

disclosure form prescribed by HCFA

containing the following information:

(A) The DME without the upgraded

features effectively meets the

beneficiaries medical needs and is as

available as the upgraded DME.

(B) The name of the manufacturer that

made the upgraded DME.

(C) The manufacturer’s model number

for the upgraded DME.

(D) The manufacturer’s suggested

retail price for the upgraded DME.

(E) The supplier’s usual or customary

charge for the upgraded DME.

(F) The estimated charge, and the

beneficiary’s out-of-pocket costs for the

DME without the upgraded features.

(G) The supplier’s charge to the

beneficiary for the upgraded DME and

the beneficiary’s out-of pocket cost for

the upgraded DME.

(ii) The supplier must obtain the

beneficiary’s or representative’s

signature on the disclosure form,

attesting that the beneficiary or

representative has read and understands

the information provided on the form.

(iii) The supplier must furnish a copy

of the signed disclosure form to the

prescribing physician, provided the

beneficiary elects to notify the

prescribing physician, retain the signed

disclosure form in its file and, upon

request, submit the signed disclosure

form to the DMEPOS carrier.

(2) Charge limitations. The suppliers

charge for upgraded DME must not

exceed the applicable Medicare fee

schedule amount (if any) for the

upgraded DME. If there is no fee

schedule amount for the upgraded DME,

the supplier’s charge for the upgraded

DME must not exceed the lower of its

customary charge to the general public,

or the manufacturer’s suggested retail

price.

(3) Billing requirements. A supplier

must meet the following billing

requirements:

(i) Follow the payment and billing

requirements for the DME without the

upgraded features.

(ii) Submit a claim, with a code

modifier indicating that upgraded DME

was furnished to a Medicare beneficiary.

(4) Returns of upgraded DME. (i) A

supplier must refund any payments

made by a beneficiary, for the upgraded

portion of an item of upgraded DME if

the beneficiary, or representative,

returns the upgraded DME to the

supplier within 30 days of receiving the

upgraded DME.

(ii) The supplier must furnish the

DME without the upgrade to the

beneficiary at no additional cost.

(5) Conditions of participation.

Suppliers submitting claims for

upgraded DME must comply with the

special payment rules for DMEPOS

suppliers at § 424.57 of this chapter.

(d) Supplier sanctions. If a supplier

engages in coercive or abusive practices

regarding the sale or rental of upgraded

DME, HCFA may apply to the supplier

the same sanctions found in part 402 of

this subchapter that it may apply to a

physician.

(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance

Program No. 93.774, Medicare—

Supplementary Medical Insurance Program)

Dated: January 24, 2000.

Nancy-Ann Min DeParle,

Administrator, Health Care Financing

Administration.

Approved: March 17, 2000.

Donna E. Shalala,

Secretary.

[FR Doc. 00–10482 Filed 4–26–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4120–01–P

FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS

COMMISSION

47 CFR Part 73

[DA–00–890, MM Docket No. 00–68, RM–

9854]

Digital Television Broadcast Service;

Norfolk, VA

AGENCY: Federal Communications

Commission.

ACTION: Proposed rule.

SUMMARY: The Commission requests

comments on a petition filed by WTKRVerDate 26<APR>2000 17:42 Apr 26, 2000 Jkt 190000 PO 00000 Frm 00015 Fmt 4702 Sfmt 4702 E:\FR\FM\27APP1.SGM pfrm02 PsN: 27APP1
Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 82 / Thursday, April 27, 2000 / Proposed Rules 24671

TV, Inc. licensee of station WTKR-TV,

NTSC Channel 3, Norfolk, Virginia,

requesting the substitution of DTV

Channel 40 for station WTKR-TV’s

assigned DTV Channel 58. DTV Channel

40 can be allotted to Norfolk, Virginia,

in compliance with the principle

community coverage requirements of

Section 73.625(a) at reference

coordinates 36–48–56 N. and 76–28–00

W. As requested, we propose to allot

DTV Channel 40 to Norfolk with a

power of 1000 (kW) and a height above

average terrain (HAAT) of 313 meters.

DATES: Comments must be filed on or

before June 12, 2000, and reply

comments on or before June 27, 2000.

ADDRESSES: Federal Communications

Commission, 445 12th Street, S.W.,

Room TW-A325, Washington, DC

20554. In addition to filing comments

with the FCC, interested parties should

serve the petitioner, or its counsel or

consultant, as follows: Arthur B

Goodkind, Koteen & Naftalin, L.L.P.,

1150 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Suite

1000, Washington, DC 20036 (Counsel

for WTKR-TV, Inc.).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Pam

Blumenthal, Mass Media Bureau, (202)

418–1600.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This is a

synopsis of the Commission’s Notice of

Proposed Rule Making, MM Docket No.

00–68, adopted April 19, 2000, and

released April 21, 2000. The full text of

this Commission decision is available

for inspection and copying during

normal business hours in the FCC

Reference Center 445 12th Street, S.W.,

Washington, DC. The complete text of

this decision may also be purchased

from the Commission’s copy contractor,

International Transcription Services,

Inc., (202) 857–3800, 1231 20th Street,

NW, Washington, DC 20036.

Provisions of the Regulatory

Flexibility Act of 1980 do not apply to

this proceeding.

Members of the public should note

that from the time a Notice of Proposed

Rule Making is issued until the matter

is no longer subject to Commission

consideration or court review, all ex

parte contacts are prohibited in

Commission proceedings, such as this

one, which involve channel allotments.

See 47 CFR 1.1204(b) for rules

governing permissible ex parte contacts.

For information regarding proper

filing procedures for comments, see 47

CFR 1.415 and 1.420.

List of Subjects in 47 CFR Part 73

Digital television broadcasting.

Federal Communications Commission.

Barbara A. Kreisman,

Chief, Video Services Division, Mass Media

Bureau.

[FR Doc. 00–10542 Filed 4–26–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6712–01–P

FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS

COMMISSION

47 CFR Part 76

[PP Docket No. 00–67; FCC 00–137]

Compatibility Between Cable Systems

and Consumer Electronics Equipment

AGENCY: Federal Communications

Commission.

ACTION: Proposed rule.

SUMMARY: The Federal Communications

Commission has adopted a Notice of

Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) on

compatibility between cable television

systems and consumer electronics

equipment. The NPRM is designed to

resolve outstanding compatibility

issues, in particular requirements for

labeling digital television (DTV)

receivers to describe their capabilities to

operate with digital cable television

systems and questions regarding

licensing terms for copy protection

technology. Resolving these issues will

not only insure that consumers make

informed purchasing decisions with

respect to DTV equipment but also

promote the overall transition from

analog to digital television.

DATES: Comments must be received on

or before May 24, 2000, and reply

comments on or before June 8, 2000.

Written comments by the public on the

proposed information collections are

due May 24, 2000. Written comments

must be submitted by the Office of

Management and Budget (OMB) on the

proposed information collection(s) on or

before June 26, 2000.

ADDRESSES: Federal Communications

Commission, 445 12th Street, SW,

Washington, DC 20554. In addition to

filing comments with the Secretary, a

copy of any comments on the

information collections contained

herein should be submitted to Judy

Boley, Federal Communications

Commission, Room 1-C804, 445 12th

Street, SW, Washington, DC 20554, or

via the Internet to jboley@fcc.gov, and to

Edward C. Springer, OMB Desk Officer,

Room 10236 NEOB, 725 17th Street,

NW, Washington, DC 20503 or via the

Internet to

edward.springer@omb.eop.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Jonathan Levy (202–418–2030), Office of

Plans and Policy. For additional

information concerning the information

collection(s) contained in this

document, contact Judy Boley at 202–

418–0214, or via the Internet at

jboley@fcc.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This

Notice of Proposed Rulemaking,

adopted April 13, 2000 and released

April 14, 2000, addresses compatibility

between cable television systems and

digital television receivers, set top

boxes, and other consumer electronics

equipment, in accordance with Section

624A of the Communications Act of

1934, 47 U.S.C. 544A. The NPRM seeks

comment on two issues: How to label

digital television receivers with

different features, including the proper

designation for receivers providing twoway interactive capability; and licensing

terms for copy protection technology.

The NPRM recognizes that DTV

receivers both with and without the

IEEE 1394 two-way connector will be

able to access an array of cable services.

Hence the labeling challenge is to

provide descriptions that are

informative to consumers, rather than to

distinguish among receivers that are and

are not ‘‘cable-ready.’’ The NPRM does

not propose specific nomenclature, but

simply asks for comment on appropriate

equipment labeling terminology, in

accordance with the requirements of

Section 624A. The NPRM also asks for

comment on whether the transition from

analog to digital requires any changes in

Commission requirements for cable

operators to offer supplemental

equipment to subscribers to enable them

to use special features of their television

receivers (e.g., picture-in-picture).

With respect to copy protection

technology licensing, the NPRM asks if

there are unresolved hardware issues

that might prevent consumer electronics

manufacturers from designing DTV

receivers that will operate with cable

systems delivering copy protected

digital content. The NPRM also seeks

comment on an issue related to the

Commission’s navigation devices rules.

Whether the inclusion of copy

protection technology provisions in

question of whether certain proposed

copy protection technology licensing

terms violate the Commission’s

navigation devices rules.

Pursuant to the navigation devices

rules, cable operators are required by

July 1, 2000 to offer separate security

modules for use with commerciallyavailable navigation devices, including

television receivers and set top boxes.

See 47 CFR 76.1200–1210. In order to

build a DTV receiver that can receive

and display encrypted cable