Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 19 / Wednesday, January 29, 2014 / Notices 4727 

previously approved collection; Title of 

Information Collection: Medicare 

Advantage and Prescription Drug 

Program: Final Marketing Provisions; 

Use: We require that Medicare 

Advantage (MA) organizations and Part 

D sponsors use standardized documents 

to satisfy disclosure requirements 

mandated by section 1851(d)(3)(A) of 

the Social Security Act (Act) and 42 

CFR 422.111(b) for MA organizations, 

and section 1860D–1(c) of the Act and 

42 CFR 423.128(a)(3) for Part D 

sponsors. The regulatory provisions 

require that MA organizations and Part 

D sponsors disclose plan information, 

including: Service area, benefits, access, 

grievance and appeals procedures, and 

quality improvement and quality 

assurance requirements by September 

30th of each year. The MA organizations 

and Part D sponsors use the information 

to comply with the disclosure 

requirements. We will use the approved 

standardized documents to ensure that 

correct information is disclosed to 

current and potential enrollees. The 

package has been revised subsequent to 

the publication of the 60-day notice (78 

FR 63208). Form Number: CMS–10260 

(OCN: 0938–1051); Frequency: Yearly; 

Affected Public: Private sector (Business 

or other for-profits); Number of 

Respondents: 770; Total Annual 

Responses: 770; Total Annual Hours: 

9,240. (For policy questions regarding 

this collection contact Timothy Roe at 

410–786–2006.) 

Dated: January 24, 2014. 

Martique Jones, 

Deputy Director, Regulations Development 

Group, Office of Strategic Operations and 

Regulatory Affairs. 

[FR Doc. 2014–01775 Filed 1–28–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4120–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND 

HUMAN SERVICES 

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid 

Services 

[CMS–3290–PN] 

Medicare and Medicaid Programs: 

Application From the Joint 

Commission for Continued Approval of 

Its Hospital Accreditation Program 

AGENCY: Centers for Medicare and 

Medicaid Services, HHS. 

ACTION: Proposed notice. 

SUMMARY: This proposed notice 

acknowledges the receipt of an 

application from the Joint Commission 

for continued recognition as a national 

accrediting organization for hospitals 

that wish to participate in the Medicare 

or Medicaid programs. Section 

1865(b)(3)(A) of the Social Security Act 

(the Act) requires that within 60 days of 

receipt of an organization’s complete 

application, CMS publish a notice that 

identifies the national accrediting body 

making the request, describes the nature 

of the request, and provides at least a 

30-day public comment period. 

DATES: To be assured consideration, 

comments must be received at one of 

the addresses provided below, no later 

than 5 p.m. on February 28, 2014. 

ADDRESSES: In commenting, please refer 

to file code CMS–3290–PN. Because of 

staff and resource limitations, we cannot 

accept comments by facsimile (FAX) 

transmission. 

You may submit comments in one of 

four ways (please choose only one of the 

ways listed): 

1. Electronically. You may submit 

electronic comments on specific issues 

in this regulation to http://

www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

‘‘Submit a comment’’ instructions. 

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–3290– 

PN, P.O. Box 8016, Baltimore, MD 

21244–8010. 

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 to the 

following address ONLY: 

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid 

Services, Department of Health and 

Human Services, Attention: CMS–3290– 

PN, Mail Stop C4–26–05, 7500 Security 

Boulevard, Baltimore, MD 21244–1850. 

4. By hand or courier. Alternatively, 

you may deliver (by hand or courier) 

your written comments to the following 

addresses: 

a. For delivery in Washington, DC— 

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid 

Services, Department of Health and 

Human Services, Room 445–G, Hubert 

H. Humphrey Building, 200 

Independence Avenue SW., 

Washington, DC 20201 

(Because access to the interior of the 

Hubert H. Humphrey 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.) 

b. For delivery in Baltimore, MD— 

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid 

Services, Department of Health and 

Human Services, 7500 Security 

Boulevard, Baltimore, MD 21244–1850. 

If you intend to deliver your 

comments to the Baltimore address, call 

telephone number (410) 786–7195 in 

advance to schedule your arrival with 

one of our staff members. 

Comments erroneously mailed to the 

addresses indicated as appropriate for 

hand or courier delivery may be delayed 

and received after the comment period. 

For information on viewing public 

comments, see the beginning of the 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Monda Shaver, (410) 786–3410, Cindy 

Melanson, (410) 786–0310, or Patricia 

Chmielewski, (410) 786–6899. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 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 comments 

received before the close of the 

comment period on the following Web 

site as soon as possible after they have 

been received: http://

www.regulations.gov. Follow the search 

instructions 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 

Under the Medicare program, eligible 

beneficiaries may receive covered 

services from a hospital provided 

certain requirements are met. Sections 

1861(e) of the Social Security Act (the 

Act), establish distinct criteria for 

facilities seeking designation as a 

hospital. Regulations concerning 

provider agreements are at 42 CFR part 

489 and those pertaining to activities 

relating to the survey and certification 

of facilities are at 42 CFR part 488. The 

regulations at 42 CFR part 482 specify 

the minimum conditions that a hospital 

must meet to participate in the Medicare 

program. 

Generally, to enter into an agreement, 

a hospital must first be certified by a 

state survey agency as complying with 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
4728 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 19 / Wednesday, January 29, 2014 / Notices 

the conditions or requirements set forth 

in part 482 of our regulations. 

Thereafter, the hospital is subject to 

regular surveys by a state survey agency 

to determine whether it continues to 

meet these requirements. There is an 

alternative, however, to surveys by state 

agencies. 

Section 1865(a)(1) of the Act provides 

that, if a provider entity demonstrates 

through accreditation by an approved 

national accrediting organization that all 

applicable Medicare conditions are met 

or exceeded, we will deem those 

provider entities as having met the 

requirements. Accreditation by an 

accrediting organization is voluntary 

and is not required for Medicare 

participation. 

If an accrediting organization is 

recognized by the Secretary as having 

standards for accreditation that meet or 

exceed Medicare requirements, any 

provider entity accredited by the 

national accrediting body’s approved 

program would be deemed to meet the 

Medicare conditions. A national 

accrediting organization applying for 

approval of its accreditation program 

under part 488, subpart A, must provide 

us with reasonable assurance that the 

accrediting organization requires the 

accredited provider entities to meet 

requirements that are at least as 

stringent as the Medicare conditions. 

Our regulations concerning the approval 

of accrediting organizations are set forth 

at §§ 488.4 and 488.8(d)(3). The 

regulations at § 488.8(d)(3) require 

accrediting organizations to reapply for 

continued approval of its accreditation 

program every 6 years or sooner as 

determined by us. 

The Joint Commission’s current term 

of approval for their hospital 

accreditation program expires July 15, 

2014. 

II. Approval of Deeming Organizations 

Section 1865(a)(2) of the Act and our 

regulations at § 488.8(a) require that our 

findings concerning review and 

approval of a national accrediting 

organization’s requirements consider, 

among other factors, the applying 

accrediting organization’s requirements 

for accreditation; survey procedures; 

resources for conducting required 

surveys; capacity to furnish information 

for use in enforcement activities; 

monitoring procedures for provider 

entities found not in compliance with 

the conditions or requirements; and 

ability to provide us with the necessary 

data for validation. 

Section 1865(a)(3)(A) of the Act 

further requires that we publish, within 

60 days of receipt of an organization’s 

complete application, a notice 

identifying the national accrediting 

body making the request, describing the 

nature of the request, and providing at 

least a 30-day public comment period. 

We have 210 days from the receipt of a 

complete application to publish notice 

of approval or denial of the application. 

The purpose of this proposed notice 

is to inform the public of the Joint 

Commission’s request for continued 

approval of its hospital accreditation 

program. This notice also solicits public 

comment on whether the Joint 

Commission’s requirements meet or 

exceed the Medicare conditions of 

participation (CoPs) for hospitals. 

III. Evaluation of Deeming Authority 

Request 

The Joint Commission submitted all 

the necessary materials to enable us to 

make a determination concerning its 

request for continued approval of its 

hospital accreditation program. This 

application was determined to be 

complete on December 17, 2013. Under 

section 1865(a)(2) of the Act and our 

regulations at § 488.8 (Federal review of 

accrediting organizations), our review 

and evaluation of the Joint Commission 

will be conducted in accordance with, 

but not necessarily limited to, the 

following factors: 

• The equivalency of the Joint 

Commission’s standards for hospitals as 

compared with CMS’ hospital CoPs. 

• The Joint Commission’s survey 

process to determine the following: 

++ 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 a 

hospital 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 us 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 us with a copy of 

the most current accreditation survey 

together with any other information 

related to the survey as we 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: January 15, 2014. 

Marilyn Tavenner, 

Administrator, Centers for Medicare & 

Medicaid Services. 

[FR Doc. 2014–01639 Filed 1–28–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4120–01–P 


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