57028 Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 188 / Thursday, September 28, 2006 / Notices 

Request for Comments: Comments 

submitted in response to this notice will 

be summarized and/or included in the 

request for OMB approval. All 

comments will become a matter of 

public record. Comments are invited on: 

(a) Whether the collection of 

information is necessary for the proper 

performance of the functions of the 

agency, including whether the 

information shall have practical utility; 

(b) the accuracy of the agency’s estimate 

of the burden of the collection of 

information; (c) ways to enhance the 

quality, utility, and clarity of the 

information to be collected; (d) ways to 

minimize the burden of the collection of 

information on respondents, including 

through the use of automated collection 

techniques or other forms of information 

technology; and (e) estimates of capital 

or start-up costs and costs of operation, 

maintenance, and purchase of services 

to provide information. 

Approved: August 11, 2006. 

Glenn Kirkland, 

IRS Reports Clearance Officer. 

[FR Doc. E6–15912 Filed 9–27–06; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4830–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS 

AFFAIRS 

Reasonable Charges for Inpatient DRG 

(Diagnosis Related Groups) and SNF 

(Skilled Nursing Facility) Medical 

Services; 2007 Fiscal Year Update 

AGENCY: Department of Veterans Affairs. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: Section 17.101 of Title 38 of 

the Code of Federal Regulations sets 

forth the Department of Veterans Affairs 

(VA) medical regulations concerning 

‘‘reasonable charges’’ for medical care or 

services provided or furnished by VA to 

a veteran: 

—For a nonservice-connected disability 

for which the veteran is entitled to 

care (or the payment of expenses of 

care) under a health plan contract; 

—For a nonservice-connected disability 

incurred incident to the veteran’s 

employment and covered under a 

worker’s compensation law or plan 

that provides reimbursement or 

indemnification for such care and 

services; or 

—For a nonservice-connected disability 

incurred as a result of a motor vehicle 

accident in a State that requires 

automobile accident reparations 

insurance. 

The regulations include 

methodologies for establishing billed 

amounts for the following types of 

charges: Acute inpatient facility charges; 

skilled nursing facility (SNF)/sub-acute 

inpatient facility charges; partial 

hospitalization facility charges; 

outpatient facility charges; physician 

and other professional charges, 

including professional charges for 

anesthesia services and dental services; 

pathology and laboratory charges; 

observation care facility charges; 

ambulance and other emergency 

transportation charges; and charges for 

durable medical equipment, drugs, 

injectables, and other medical services, 

items, and supplies identified by 

Healthcare Common Procedure Coding 

System (HCPCS) Level II codes. The 

regulations also provide that data for 

calculating actual charge amounts at 

individual VA facilities based on these 

methodologies will either be published 

in a notice in the Federal Register or 

will be posted on the Internet site of the 

Veterans Health Administration Chief 

Business Office, currently at http:// 

www.va.gov/cbo, under ‘‘Charge Data.’’

Certain of these charges are hereby 

updated as described in the 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of 

this notice. These changes are effective 

October 1, 2006. 

When charges for medical care or 

services provided or furnished at VA 

expense by either VA or non-VA 

providers have not been established 

under other provisions of the 

regulations, the method for determining 

VA’s charges is set forth at 38 CFR 

17.101(a)(8). 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Romona Greene, Chief Business Office 

(168), Veterans Health Administration, 

Department of Veterans Affairs, 810 

Vermont Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 

20420, (202) 254–0361. (This is not a 

toll free number.) 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Of the 

charge types listed in the Summary 

section of this notice, only the acute 

inpatient facility charges and skilled 

nursing facility/sub-acute inpatient 

facility charges are being changed. 

Charges for the following charge types: 

Partial hospitalization facility charges; 

outpatient facility charges; physician 

and other professional charges, 

including professional charges for 

anesthesia services and dental services; 

pathology and laboratory charges; 

observation care facility charges; 

ambulance and other emergency 

transportation charges; and charges for 

durable medical equipment, drugs, 

injectables, and other medical services, 

items, and supplies identified by 

HCPCS Level II codes are not being 

changed. These Outpatient facility 

charges and Professional charges remain 

the same as set forth in a notice 

published in the Federal Register on 

January 6, 2006 (71 FR 982). 

Based on the methodologies set forth 

in 38 CFR 17.101, this document 

provides an update to acute inpatient 

charges based on 2007 Diagnosis 

Related Groups (DRGs). Acute inpatient 

facility charges by DRGs are set forth in 

Table A in the September 28, 2005 

Federal Register notice. Table A in the 

September 28 notice document is being 

replaced by Table A in this notice, 

which provides updated charges based 

on 2007 DRGs. 

Also, this document provides for an 

updated skilled nursing facility/subacute inpatient facility all-inclusive per 

diem charge that, using the 

methodologies set forth in 38 CFR 

17.101, is adjusted by a geographic area 

factor based on the location where the 

care is provided. The skilled nursing 

facility/sub-acute inpatient facility per 

diem charge is set forth in Table B in the 

September 28, 2005 Federal Register 

notice. Table B in the September 28 

notice document is being replaced by 

Table B in this notice, which provides 

the updated all-inclusive nationwide 

skilled nursing facility/sub-acute 

inpatient facility per diem charge. 

The charges in this update for acute 

inpatient facility and skilled nursing 

facility/sub-acute inpatient facility 

services are effective October 1, 2006. 

In this update, we are retaining the 

table designations used for acute 

inpatient facility charges by DRGs in the 

notice published in the Federal Register 

on September 28, 2005 (70 FR 56772). 

We also are retaining the table 

designation used for skilled nursing 

facility/sub-acute inpatient facility 

charges in the notice published in the 

Federal Register on September 28, 2005 

(70 FR 56772). Accordingly, the tables 

identified as being updated by this 

notice correspond to the applicable 

tables published in the September 28 

notice, beginning with Table A through 

Table B. 

We have updated the list of data 

sources presented in Supplementary 

Table 1 to reflect the updated data 

sources used to establish the updated 

charges described in this notice. 

We have also updated the list of VA 

medical facility locations. As a 

reminder, in Supplementary Table 3 

published in the Federal Register dated 

January 6, 2006, we set forth the list of 

VA medical facility locations, which 

includes their three-digit ZIP Codes and 

provider-based/non-provider-based 

designations. In accordance with the 

final rule, subsequent updates to 

Supplementary Table 3 will be posted 

on the Internet site of the Veterans 


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Health Administration Chief Business 

Office. 

Consistent with the regulations, the 

updated data tables and supplementary 

tables containing the changes described 

in this notice are published with this 

notice and will be posted on the Internet 

site of the Veterans Health 

Administration Chief Business Office, 

currently at http://www.va.gov/cbo, 

under ‘‘Charge Data.’’

Approved: September 8, 2006. 

Gordon H. Mansfield, 

Deputy Secretary of Veterans Affairs. 

BILLING CODE 8320–01–P 


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[FR Doc. 06–8352 Filed 9–27–06; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8320–01–C 


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