16794 Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 65 / Thursday, April 5, 2007 / Notices 

be delivered as recommended within the 

scope of practice of the physician or licensed 

practitioner of the healing arts. 

Furthermore, the information provided by 

the State did not demonstrate compliance 

with section 1902(a)(32) of the Act, requiring 

direct payment to the provider of care or 

services. Under the State’s bundled payment 

methodology, the entities which would 

receive the proposed bundled rates for 

mental health rehabilitation services are not 

themselves providers of the service; they are 

not billing agents for such providers; nor are 

they recognized types of health care 

providers under Federal law. The underlying 

services represent different types of 

individual services that are furnished by 

individual practitioners. The State has failed 

to show that the proposed payment 

methodology is within one of the statutory 

exceptions as implemented by Federal 

regulations at 42 CFR 447.10. Indeed, the 

State has not shown that, under its proposed 

payment methodology, the actual 

practitioners furnishing services can even be 

readily identified. Thus, the State has not 

demonstrated that the use of bundled rates 

will comply with the requirement for direct 

payment to the actual practitioners who 

provide care or service. 

I am scheduling a hearing on your request 

for reconsideration to be held on May 30, 

2007, at 233 N. Michigan Avenue, Suite 600, 

the Indiana Room, 5th Floor, Chicago, IL, 

60601, to reconsider the decision to 

disapprove SPA 05–10. If this date is not 

acceptable, we would be glad to set another 

date that is mutually agreeable to the parties. 

The hearing will be governed by the 

procedures prescribed by Federal regulations 

at 42 CFR Part 430. 

I am designating Ms. Kathleen ScullyHayes as the presiding officer. If these 

arrangements present any problems, please 

contact the presiding officer at (410) 786–

2055. In order to facilitate any 

communication which may be necessary 

between the parties to the hearing, please 

notify the presiding officer to indicate 

acceptability of the hearing date that has 

been scheduled and provide names of the 

individuals who will represent the State at 

the hearing. 

Sincerely, 

Leslie V. Norwalk, Esq., 

Acting Administrator. 

Section 1116 of the Social Security 

Act (42 U.S.C. section 1316); (42 CFR 

section 430.18). 

(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance 

program No. 13.714, Medicaid Assistance 

Program) 

Dated: March 30, 2007. 

Leslie V. Norwalk, 

Acting Administrator, Centers for Medicare 

& Medicaid Services. 

[FR Doc. E7–6312 Filed 4–4–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4120–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND 

HUMAN SERVICES 

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid 

Services 

[CMS–1270–RCN] 

RIN 0938–AN14 

Medicare Program; Competitive 

Acquisition for Certain Durable 

Medical Equipment, Prosthetics, 

Orthotics, and Supplies; Extension of 

Timeline for Publication of Final Rule 

AGENCY: Centers for Medicare & 

Medicaid Services (CMS), HHS. 

ACTION: Extension of timeline for 

publication of final rule. 

SUMMARY: This notice announces an 

extension of the timeline for publication 

of a Medicare final rule in accordance 

with section 1871(a)(3)(B) of the Social 

Security Act, which allows us to extend 

the timeline for publication of the final 

rule. 

EFFECTIVE DATE: This notice is effective 

on March 30, 2007. 

FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ralph 

Goldberg, (410) 786–4870. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In the May 

1, 2006 Federal Register (71 FR 25654), 

we published a proposed rule that 

would have implemented competitive 

bidding programs for certain covered 

items of durable medical equipment, 

prosthetics, orthotics, and supplies 

(DMEPOS) throughout the United States 

in accordance with sections 1847(a) and 

(b) of the Social Security Act (the Act). 

These programs would change the way 

that Medicare pays for these items 

under Part B of the Medicare program 

by utilizing bids submitted by DMEPOS 

suppliers to establish applicable 

payment amounts. 

Section 1871(a)(3)(A) of the Act 

requires us to establish and publish a 

regular timeline for the publication of 

final regulations based on the previous 

publication of a proposed regulation. In 

accordance with section 1871(a)(3)(B) of 

the Act, the timeline may vary among 

different regulations based on 

differences in the complexity of the 

regulation, the number and scope of 

comments received, and other relevant 

factors, but may not be longer than 3 

years except under exceptional 

circumstances. In addition, in 

accordance with section 1871(a)(3)(B) of 

the Act, the Secretary may extend the 

initial targeted publication date of the 

final regulation, if the Secretary, no later 

than the regulation’s previously 

established proposed publication date, 

causes to have published a notice with 

the new target date, and such notice 

includes a brief explanation of the 

justification for the variation. 

We announced in the December 2006 

Unified Agenda (December 11, 2006, 71 

FR 72734) that we would issue the final 

rule in March 2007. However, we are 

not able to meet the announced 

publication target date due to the 

number of extensive comments received 

on the proposed rule and interagency 

coordination. We received over 2,000 

timely comments on the proposed rule. 

The commenters presented extremely 

complex policy and legal issues, which 

require extensive consultation and 

analysis. 

This final rule also is extremely 

complex because it will establish an 

entirely new program that will affect the 

DMEPOS industry as well as Medicare 

beneficiaries who use DMEPOS. This 

final rule will establish a new concept 

for Medicare payment for DMEPOS, 

which necessitates the development of 

new regulations and a competitive 

bidding process in addition to extensive 

payment system changes. 

This notice extends the timeline for 

publication of the final rule until April 

30, 2007. 

Authority: Section 1871 of the Social 

Security Act (42 U.S.C. 201395hh). 

(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance 

Program No. 093.774, Medicare—

Supplementary Medical Insurance Program) 

Dated: March 30, 2007. 

Ann Agnew, 

Executive Secretary to the Department. 

[FR Doc. 07–1658 Filed 3–30–07; 4:01 pm] 

BILLING CODE 4120–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND 

HUMAN SERVICES 

Administration for Children and 

Families 

Public Education Study on Public 

Knowledge of Abstinence and 

Abstinence Education 

OMB No.: New Collection. 

Description: In support of the goal to 

prevent unwed childbearing, pregnancy, 

and sexually transmitted diseases, 

Congress has recently authorized 

funding increases to support abstinence 

education. 

To learn more about the public’s 

views, the Administration for Children 

and Families (ACF) will conduct a 

public opinion survey of a nationally 

representative sample of adolescents 

(age 12 to 18) and their parents to 

examine current attitudes on abstinence 

and knowledge of abstinence education. 

The survey data will be used to inform 

current and future public education 


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