56808 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 184 / Tuesday, September 23, 2014 / Notices 

++ 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 Survey 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 

psychiatric 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 a facility’s plan 

of correction in a timely manner. 

++ The Joint Commission’s capacity 

to provide CMS 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 

to assure that surveys are unannounced. 

++ The Joint Commission’s 

agreement to provide CMS with a copy 

of a facility’s most current accreditation 

survey together with any survey 

information that CMS may request 

(including corrective action plans). 

IV. Collection of Information 

Requirements 

This document does not impose 

information collection requirements, 

that is, reporting, recordkeeping or 

third-party disclosure requirements. 

Consequently, there is no need for 

review by the Office of Management and 

Budget under the authority of the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. 

V. Response to 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. 

Dated: September 11, 2014. 

Marilyn Tavenner, 

Administrator, Centers for Medicare & 

Medicaid Services. 

[FR Doc. 2014–22632 Filed 9–22–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4120–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND 

HUMAN SERVICES 

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid 

Services 

[CMS–1626–N] 

Medicare Program; Solicitation of 

Nominations to the Advisory Panel on 

Hospital Outpatient Payment 

AGENCY: Centers for Medicare & 

Medicaid Services (CMS), HHS. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: This notice solicits 

nominations for up to four new 

members to the Advisory Panel on 

Hospital Outpatient Payment (HOP, the 

Panel). There are vacancies on the Panel 

effective September 30, 2014. 

The purpose of the Panel is to advise 

the Secretary of the Department of 

Health and Human Services and the 

Administrator of the Centers for 

Medicare & Medicaid Services on the 

clinical integrity of the Ambulatory 

Payment Classification (APC) groups 

and their associated weights, and 

supervision of hospital outpatient 

services. 

The Secretary rechartered the Panel in 

2012 for a 2-year period effective 

through November 19, 2014. CMS 

intends to recharter the Panel for 

another 2-year period prior to expiration 

of the current charter. 

DATES: Submission of Nominations: We 

will consider nominations if they are 

received no later than 5 p.m. (e.s.t.) 

November 24, 2014. 

ADDRESSES: Please submit nominations 

electronically to the following email 

address: APCPanel@cms.hhs.gov. 

Web site: For additional information 

on the Panel and updates to the Panel’s 

activities, we refer readers to our Web 

site at the following address: http://

www.cms.gov/Regulations-andGuidance/Guidance/FACA/Advisory

PanelonAmbulatoryPayment

ClassificationGroups.html. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Persons wishing to nominate 

individuals to serve on the Panel or to 

obtain further information may contact 

Carol Schwartz at the following email 

address: APCPanel@cms.hhs.gov or call 

(410) 786–3985. 

News Media: Representatives should 

contact the CMS Press Office at (202) 

690–6145. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background 

The Secretary of the Department of 

Health and Human Services (the 

Secretary) is required by section 

1833(t)(9)(A) of the Social Security Act 

(the Act), and section 222 of the Public 

Health Service Act (PHS Act) to consult 

with an expert outside advisory panel 

regarding the clinical integrity of the 

Ambulatory Payment Classification 

(APC) groups and relative payment 

weights that are components of the 

Medicare Hospital Outpatient 

Prospective Payment System (OPPS), 

and the appropriate supervision level 

for hospital outpatient services. The 

Panel is governed by the provisions of 

the Federal Advisory Committee Act 

(FACA) (Pub. L. 92–463), as amended (5 

U.S.C. Appendix 2), which sets forth 

standards for the formation and use of 

advisory panels. The panel may 

consider data collected or developed by 

entities and organizations (other than 

the Department of Health and Human 

Services) as part of their deliberations. 

The Charter provides that the Panel 

shall meet up to three times annually. 

We consider the technical advice 

provided by the Panel as we prepare the 

proposed and final rules to update the 

OPPS for the following calendar year. 

The Panel shall consist of a chair and 

up to 19 members who are full-time 

employees of hospitals, hospital 

systems, or other Medicare providers 

that are subject to the OPPS. (For 

purposes of the Panel, consultants or 

independent contractors are not 

considered to be representatives of 

providers.) 

The current Panel members are as 

follows: (Note: The asterisk [*] indicates 

the Panel members whose terms end 

effective September 30, 2014.) 

• E. L. Hambrick, M.D., J.D., Chair, a 

CMS Medical Officer. 

• Karen Borman, M.D. 

• Kari S. Cornicelli, C.P.A., FHFMA.* 

• Brain D. Kavanagh, M.D., M.P.H.* 

• Scott Manaker, M.D., Ph.D.* 

• John Marshall, CRA, RCC, RT.* 

• Jim Nelson 

• Leah Osbahr 

• Jacqueline Phillips 

• Johnathan Pregler, M.D. 

• Traci Rabine 

• Wendy Resnick, FHFMA 

• Michael Rabovsky, M.D. 

• Marianna V. Spanki-Varelas M.D., 

Ph.D., M.B.A. 

• Gale Walker 

• Kris Zimmer 

Panel members serve on a voluntary 

basis, without compensation, according 

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Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 184 / Tuesday, September 23, 2014 / Notices 56809 

to an advance written agreement; 

however, for the meetings, CMS 

reimburses travel, meals, lodging, and 

related expenses in accordance with 

standard Government travel regulations. 

CMS has a special interest in ensuring, 

while taking into account the nominee 

pool, that the Panel is diverse in all 

respects of the following: Geography; 

rural or urban practice; race, ethnicity, 

sex, and disability; medical or technical 

specialty; and type of hospital, hospital 

health system, or other Medicare 

provider subject to the OPPS. 

Based upon either self-nominations or 

nominations submitted by providers or 

interested organizations, the Secretary, 

or her designee, appoints new members 

to the Panel from among those 

candidates determined to have the 

required expertise. New appointments 

are made in a manner that ensures a 

balanced membership under the FACA 

guidelines. 

II. Criteria for Nominees 

The Panel must be fairly balanced in 

its membership in terms of the points of 

view represented and the functions to 

be performed. Each Panel member must 

be employed full-time by a hospital, 

hospital system, or other Medicare 

provider subject to payment under the 

OPPS. All members must have technical 

expertise to enable them to participate 

fully in the Panel’s work. Such expertise 

encompasses hospital payment systems; 

hospital medical care delivery systems; 

provider billing systems; APC groups; 

Current Procedural Terminology codes; 

and alpha-numeric Health Care 

Common Procedure Coding System 

codes; and the use of, and payment for, 

drugs, medical devices, and other 

services in the outpatient setting, as 

well as other forms of relevant expertise. 

For supervision deliberations, the Panel 

shall have members that represent the 

interests of Critical Access Hospitals 

(CAHs), who advise CMS only regarding 

the level of supervision for hospital 

outpatient services. 

It is not necessary for a nominee to 

possess expertise in all of the areas 

listed, but each must have a minimum 

of 5 years experience and currently have 

full-time employment in his or her area 

of expertise. Generally, members of the 

Panel serve overlapping terms up to 4 

years, based on the needs of the Panel 

and contingent upon the rechartering of 

the Panel. A member may serve after the 

expiration of his or her term until a 

successor has been sworn in. 

Any interested person or organization 

may nominate one or more qualified 

individuals. Self-nominations will also 

be accepted. Each nomination must 

include the following: 

• Letter of Nomination stating the 

reasons why the nominee should be 

considered. 

• Curriculum vitae or resume of the 

nominee that includes an email address 

where the nominee can be contacted. 

• Written and signed statement from 

the nominee that the nominee is willing 

to serve on the Panel under the 

conditions described in this notice and 

further specified in the Charter. 

• The hospital or hospital system 

name and address, or CAH name and 

address, as well as all Medicare hospital 

and or Medicare CAH billing numbers 

of the facility where the nominee is 

employed. 

III. Copies of the Charter 

To obtain a copy of the Panel’s 

Charter, we refer readers to our Web site 

at the following: http://www.cms.gov/

Regulations-and-Guidance/Guidance/

FACA/AdvisoryPanelonAmbulatory

PaymentClassificationGroups.html. 

IV. Collection of Information 

Requirements 

This document does not impose 

information collection requirements, 

that is, reporting, recordkeeping or 

third-party disclosure requirements. 

Consequently, there is no need for 

review by the Office of Management and 

Budget under the authority of the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. 

Dated: September 15, 2014. 

Marilyn Tavenner, 

Administrator, Centers for Medicare & 

Medicaid Services. 

[FR Doc. 2014–22634 Filed 9–22–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4120–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND 

HUMAN SERVICES 

Administration for Children and 

Families 

Submission for OMB Review; 

Comment Request 

Title: Annual Statistical Report on 

Children in Foster Homes and Children 

in Families Receiving Payment in 

Excess of the Poverty Income Level from 

a State Program Funded Under Part A of 

Title IV of the Social Security Act. 

OMB No.: 0970–0004. 

Description 

The Department of Health and Human 

Services is required to collect these data 

under section 1124 of Title I of the 

Elementary and Secondary Education 

Act, as amended by Public Law 103– 

382. The data are used by the U.S. 

Department of Education for allocation 

of funds for programs to aid 

disadvantaged elementary and 

secondary students. Respondents 

include various components of State 

Human Service agencies. 

Respondents 

The 52 respondents include the 50 

States, the District of Columbia, and 

Puerto Rico. 

ANNUAL BURDEN ESTIMATES

Instrument Number of 

respondents 

Number of 

responses per 

respondent 

Average 

burden hours 

per response 

Total burden 

hours 

Annual Statistical Report on Children in Foster Homes and Children Receiving Payments in Excess of the Poverty Level From a State Program 

Funded Under Part A of Title IV of the Social Security Act ........................ 52 1 264.35 13,746.20 

Estimated Total Annual Burden 

Hours: 13,746.20 

Additional Information 

Copies of the proposed collection may 

be obtained by writing to the 

Administration for Children and 

Families, Office of Planning, Research 

and Evaluation, 370 L’Enfant 

Promenade SW., Washington, DC 20447, 

Attn: ACF Reports Clearance Officer. All 

requests should be identified by the title 

of the information collection. Email 

address: infocollection@acf.hhs.gov. 

OMB Comment 

OMB is required to make a decision 

concerning the collection of information 

between 30 and 60 days after 

publication of this document in the 

Federal Register. Therefore, a comment 

is best assured of having its full effect 

mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES