Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 191 / Tuesday, October 3, 2006 / Notices 58415 

Authority: Section 1923(a)(2), (f), and (h) of 

the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1396r–

4(a)(2), (f), and (h), and Pub. L. 105–33). 

(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance 

Program No. 93.778, Medical Assistance 

Program) 

Dated: August 30, 2006. 

Mark B. McClellan, 

Administrator, Centers for Medicare & 

Medicaid Services. 

Dated: September 14, 2006. 

Michael O. Leavitt, 

Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 06–8421 Filed 9–29–06; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4120–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND 

HUMAN SERVICES 

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid 

Services 

[CMS–1535–CN, CMS–8030–CN2] 

RIN 0938–AO26, 0938–AO23 

Medicare Program; Hospice Wage 

Index for Fiscal Year 2007; Medicare 

Part B Monthly Actuarial Rates, 

Premium Rates, and Annual Deductible 

for Calendar Year 2007; Corrections 

AGENCY: Centers for Medicare & 

Medicaid Services (CMS), HHS. 

ACTION: Correction of notices. 

SUMMARY: This document corrects 

technical errors that appeared in the 

notice published in the September 1, 

2006 Federal Register, entitled 

‘‘Hospice Wage Index for Fiscal Year 

2007’’ and a technical error in the notice 

that appeared in the September 18, 2006 

Federal Register entitled ‘‘Medicare Part 

B Monthly Actuarial Rates, Premium 

Rates, and Annual Deductible for 

Calendar Year 2007.’’

DATES: Effective Date: The corrections to 

the Hospice Wage Index for Fiscal Year 

2007 notice are effective on October 1, 

2006. The correction to the Medicare 

Part B Monthly Actuarial Rates, 

Premium Rates, and Annual Deductible 

for Calendar Year 2007 notice is 

effective January 1, 2007. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Terri Deutsch, (410) 786–9462, for 

issues related to the hospital wage index 

for fiscal year 2007. M. Kent Clemens, 

(410) 786–6391, for issues related to the 

Medicare Part B Monthly Actuarial 

Rates, Premium Rates, and Annual 

Deductible for Calendar Year 2007. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Corrections to the Hospice Wage 

Index for Fiscal Year 2007 Notice 

A. Background 

In FR Doc 6–7293, of September 1, 

2006 (71 FR 52080) entitled, ‘‘Hospice 

Wage Index for Fiscal Year 2007,’’ there 

were errors that we identify in section 

I.B. and correct in section I.C of this 

notice. 

B. Summary of Errors 

In the September 1, 2006 notice, on 

page 52087, we published an 

Addendum that list the updated urban 

and rural wage index values for 

hospices utilizing the Core-Based 

Statistical Areas (CBSA) designations. 

To ensure that hospice providers were 

able to identify their current wage 

index, the table contains the CBSA 

codes, CBSA county name, and CBSA 

wage index. However, we inadvertently 

omitted the title of the table. In 

addition, for CBSA code 33460, we 

made a typographical error when we 

entered the wage index value. 

This correction notice is consistent 

with the published hospice wage index 

values that will be used to make 

payment as of October 1, 2006. In 

section I.C. of this notice, we correct 

these errors. 

C. Correction of Errors 

Make the following corrections to the 

September 1, 2006 notice (71 FR 52080): 

1. On page 52087, before the table, 

insert the heading ‘‘TABLE A—

HOSPICE WAGE INDEX FOR URBAN 

AREAS.’’

2. On page 52106, in the third 

column, in line 4, for CBSA code 33460, 

the wage index value ‘‘0.1778’’ is 

corrected to read ‘‘1.1778.’’

D. Waiver of Proposed Rulemaking and 

Delay in Effective Date 

We ordinarily publish a notice of 

proposed rulemaking in the Federal 

Register to provide a period for public 

comment before the provisions of a rule 

take effect in accordance with section 

553(b) of the Administrative Procedure 

Act (APA) (5 U.S.C.553(b)). However, 

we can waive this notice and comment 

procedure if the Secretary finds that the 

notice and comment process is 

impracticable, unnecessary, or contrary 

to the public interest, and incorporates 

a statement of the finding and the 

reasons therefore in the notice. 

The revisions contained in this 

document merely correct omissions and 

typographical errors in the addendum 

for Table A. These corrections are 

necessary to ensure that the notice 

accurately reflects the correct hospice 

wage index values. Since they are not 

substantive, but merely technical, we 

find that public comments on these 

revisions are unnecessary. Therefore, we 

find good cause to waive notice and 

comment procedures. 

In addition, the Administrative 

Procedure Act (APA) normally requires 

a 30-day delay in the effective date of 

a notice. Since this notice simply makes 

technical modifications to a notice that 

has previously gone through notice-andcomment rulemaking, we believe good 

cause also exists under the APA to 

waive the 30-day delay in the effective 

date and that a delay in the correction’s 

effective date is also unnecessary. Thus, 

these corrections are effective October 1, 

2006. 

II. Corrections to the Medicare Part B 

Monthly Actuarial Rates, Premium 

Rates, and Annual Deductible for 

Calendar Year 2007 Notice 

A. Background 

In FR Doc. 06–7709 of September 18, 

2006 (71 FR 54665), there was a 

technical error in the calculation of the 

income-related monthly adjustment 

amounts. This error is identified and 

corrected in section II.B. of this notice. 

The provisions of this correction notice 

are effective as if they had been 

included in the document that appeared 

in the Federal Register on September 

18, 2006. Accordingly, the corrections 

are effective January 1, 2007. 

Under section 5111 of the Deficit 

Reduction Act of 2005 (Pub. L. 109–171) 

(DRA), in 2007 beneficiaries will be 

responsible for 33 percent of any 

applicable income-related monthly 

adjustment to the Part B premium. In 

the September 18, 2006 notice, we 

inadvertently stated that beneficiaries 

would only be responsible for ‘‘onethird of any applicable income-related 

monthly adjustment amount,’’ and we 

used a value of 331⁄3 percent to calculate 

the income-related monthly adjustment 

amounts. In the September 22, 2006 

correction notice, we corrected the 

income-related adjustment amounts to 

reflect a value of ‘‘33 percent’’ as the 

basis for the calculation of these rates. 

In this correction notice, we are 

correcting a value that we inadvertently 

missed in the correction notice we 

published in the September 22, 2006 

Federal Register (71 FR 55480). 

B. Correction of Error 

In FR Doc. 06–7709 of September 18, 

2006 (71 FR 54665), make the following 

correction: 

On page 54672, in the first table, in 

the third column, in the fourth row, the 

amount ‘‘$49.90’’ is corrected to read 

‘‘$49.40.’’


rwilkins on PROD1PC63 with NOTICES
58416 Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 191 / Tuesday, October 3, 2006 / Notices 

C. Waiver of Proposed Rulemaking 

We ordinarily publish a notice of 

proposed rulemaking in the Federal 

Register to provide a period for public 

comment before the provisions of a rule 

take effect in accordance with section 

553(b) of the Administrative Procedure 

Act (APA) (5 U.S.C. 553(b)). However, 

we can waive this notice and comment 

procedure if the Secretary finds, for 

good cause, that the notice and 

comment process is impracticable, 

unnecessary, or contrary to the public 

interest, and incorporates a statement of 

the finding and the reasons therefore in 

the notice. 

The Medicare statute requires the 

publication of the monthly actuarial 

rates and the Part B premium amounts 

in September. We ordinarily use general 

notices, rather than notice and comment 

rulemaking procedures, to make such 

announcements. In doing so, we note 

that, under the Administrative 

Procedure Act, interpretive rules, 

general statements of policy, and rules 

of agency organization, procedure, or 

practice are excepted from the 

requirements of notice and comment 

rulemaking. 

This notice corrects an inadvertent 

error in the notice that appeared in the 

Federal Register on September 18, 2006, 

entitled ‘‘Medicare Part B Monthly 

Actuarial Rates, Premium Rates, and 

Annual Deductible for Calendar Year 

2007.’’ In that notice, we also 

determined that notice and comment 

was unnecessary because the formulas 

used to calculate the Part B premium 

and the income-related monthly 

adjustment amounts are statutorily 

directed and we can exercise no 

discretion in applying those formulas. 

Moreover, the statute establishes the 

time period for which the premium 

rates will apply, and delaying 

publication of the Part B premium rate 

such that it would not be published 

before that time would be contrary to 

the public interest. 

For the same reasons, we find good 

cause to waive notice and comment 

procedures with respect to this 

correction notice. In addition, this 

correction notice includes the changes 

necessary to correct a technical error in 

the computation of the income-related 

monthly adjustment amount under the 

statutory formula. Because these 

changes affect the amount of the Part B 

income-related monthly adjustment that 

will be paid by certain beneficiaries, it 

is in the public interest to ensure that 

these changes are made as soon after the 

publication of the original notice as 

possible. 

(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance 

Program No. 93.773, Medicare—Hospital 

Insurance; and Program No. 93.774, 

Medicare—Supplementary Medical 

Insurance Program) 

Dated: September 28, 2006. 

Ann C. Agnew, 

Executive Secretary to the Department. 

[FR Doc. 06–8430 Filed 9–29–06; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4120–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND 

HUMAN SERVICES 

Food and Drug Administration 

Immunology Devices Panel of the 

Medical Devices Advisory Committee; 

Notice of Meeting 

AGENCY: Food and Drug Administration, 

HHS. 

ACTION: Notice. 

This notice announces a forthcoming 

meeting of a public advisory committee 

of the Food and Drug Administration 

(FDA). The meeting will be open to the 

public. 

Name of Committee: Immunology 

Devices Panel of the Medical Devices 

Advisory Committee. 

General Function of the Committee: 

To provide advice and 

recommendations to the agency on 

FDA’s regulatory issues. 

Date and Time: The meeting will be 

held on November 16, 2006, from 8 a.m. 

to 5 p.m. 

Location: Holiday Inn, Walker/ 

Whetstone Rooms, Two Montgomery 

Village Ave., Gaithersburg, MD. 

Contact Person: Rufina Carlos, Office 

of In Vitro Diagnostic Device Evaluation 

and Safety (HFZ–440), Food and Drug 

Administration, 2098 Gaither Rd., 

Rockville, MD. 20850, 240–276–0493 

ext. 167, or FDA Advisory Committee 

Information Line, 1–800–741–8138 

(301–443–0572 in the Washington, DC 

area), code 3014512516. Please call the 

Information Line for up-to-date 

information on this meeting. 

Agenda: The committee will discuss, 

make recommendations, and vote on a 

premarket approval application for a 

laboratory assay designed for the rapid 

detection of clinically relevant (greater 

than 0.2 millimeters) metastases in 

lymph node tissue removed from breast 

cancer patients. Results from the assay 

can be used to guide the surgeon’s 

decision to excise additional lymph 

nodes and aid in staging. 

Background information for the topic, 

including the agenda and questions for 

the committee, will be available to the 

public 1 business day before the 

meeting on the Internet at http:// 

www.fda.gov/cdrh/panel (click on 

Upcoming CDRH Advisory Panel/ 

Committee Meetings). 

Procedure: Interested persons may 

present data, information, or views, 

orally or in writing, on issues pending 

before the committee. Written 

submissions may be made to the contact 

person on or before October 30, 2006. 

Oral presentations from the public will 

be scheduled for approximately 30 

minutes at the beginning of committee 

deliberations and for approximately 30 

minutes near the end of the 

deliberations. Time allotted for each 

presentation may be limited. Those 

desiring to make formal oral 

presentations should notify the contact 

person and submit a brief statement of 

the general nature of the evidence or 

arguments they wish to present, the 

names and addresses of proposed 

participants, and an indication of the 

approximate time requested to make 

their presentation on or before October 

30, 2006. 

Persons attending FDA’s advisory 

committee meetings are advised that the 

agency is not responsible for providing 

access to electrical outlets. 

FDA welcomes the attendance of the 

public at its advisory committee 

meetings and will make every effort to 

accommodate persons with physical 

disabilities or special needs. If you 

require special accommodations due to 

a disability, please contact Shirley 

Meeks, Conference Management Staff, at 

301–827–7292, at least 7 days in 

advance of the meeting. 

Notice of this meeting is given under 

the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 

U.S.C. app. 2). 

Dated: September 25, 2006. 

Randall W. Lutter, 

Associate Commissioner for Policy and 

Planning. 

[FR Doc. E6–16319 Filed 10–2–06; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4160–01–S 

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND 

HUMAN SERIVCES 

Health Resources and Services 

Administration 

Agency Information Collection 

Activities: Proposed Collection: 

Comment Request 

In compliance with the requirement 

for opportunity for public comment on 

proposed data collection projects 

(section 3506 (c)(2)(A) of Title 44, 

United States Code, as amended by the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Pub. 

L. 104–13), the Health Resources and 

Services Administration (HRSA) 


rwilkins on PROD1PC63 with NOTICES