Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 99 / Friday, May 22, 2015 / Notices 29713 

photo ID, persons may not be permitted 

entry to the building. 

• Security measures include 

inspection of vehicles, inside and out, at 

the entrance to the grounds. 

• All persons entering the building 

must pass through a metal detector. 

• All items brought into CMS 

including personal items, for example, 

laptops and cell phones are subject to 

physical inspection. 

• The public may enter the building 

30 to 45 minutes before the meeting 

convenes each day. 

• All visitors must be escorted in 

areas other than the lower and first-floor 

levels in the Central Building. 

• The main-entrance guards will 

issue parking permits and instructions 

upon arrival at the building. 

• Foreign nationals visiting any CMS 

facility require prior approval. If you are 

a foreign national and wish to attend the 

meeting onsite, in addition to registering 

for the meeting, you must also send a 

separate email to APCPanel@

cms.hhs.gov prior to the close of 

registration to request authorization to 

attend as a foreign national. 

VII. Special Accommodations 

Individuals requiring special 

accommodations must include the 

request for these services during 

registration. 

VIII. Panel Recommendations and 

Discussions 

The Panel’s recommendations at any 

Panel meeting generally are not final 

until they have been reviewed and 

approved by the Panel on the last day 

of the meeting, before the final 

adjournment. These recommendations 

will be posted to our Web site after the 

meeting. 

IX. 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 (44 

U.S.C. 3501 et seq.). 

Dated: May 5, 2015. 

Andrew M. Slavitt, 

Acting Administrator, Centers for Medicare 

& Medicaid Services. 

[FR Doc. 2015–12527 Filed 5–21–15; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4120–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND 

HUMAN SERVICES 

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid 

Services 

[Document Identifiers CMS–668B] 

Agency Information Collection 

Activities: Proposed Collection; 

Comment Request 

AGENCY: Centers for Medicare & 

Medicaid Services, HHS. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The Centers for Medicare & 

Medicaid Services (CMS) is announcing 

an opportunity for the public to 

comment on CMS’ intention to collect 

information from the public. Under the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (the 

PRA), federal agencies are required to 

publish notice in the Federal Register 

concerning each proposed collection of 

information (including each proposed 

extension or reinstatement of an existing 

collection of information) and to allow 

60 days for public comment on the 

proposed action. Interested persons are 

invited to send comments regarding our 

burden estimates or any other aspect of 

this collection of information, including 

any of the following subjects: (1) The 

necessity and utility of the proposed 

information collection for the proper 

performance of the agency’s functions; 

(2) the accuracy of the estimated 

burden; (3) ways to enhance the quality, 

utility, and clarity of the information to 

be collected; and (4) the use of 

automated collection techniques or 

other forms of information technology to 

minimize the information collection 

burden. 

DATES: Comments must be received by 

July 21, 2015. 

ADDRESSES: When commenting, please 

reference the document identifier or 

OMB control number. To be assured 

consideration, comments and 

recommendations must be submitted in 

any one of the following ways: 

1. Electronically. You may send your 

comments electronically to http://

www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

instructions for ‘‘Comment or 

Submission’’ or ‘‘More Search Options’’ 

to find the information collection 

document(s) that are accepting 

comments. 

2. By regular mail. You may mail 

written comments to the following 

address: CMS, Office of Strategic 

Operations and Regulatory Affairs 

Division of Regulations Development 

Attention: Document Identifier/OMB 

Control Number llll, Room C4–26– 

05, 7500 Security Boulevard, Baltimore, 

Maryland 21244–1850. 

To obtain copies of a supporting 

statement and any related forms for the 

proposed collection(s) summarized in 

this notice, you may make your request 

using one of following: 

1. Access CMS’ Web site address at 

http://www.cms.hhs.gov/

PaperworkReductionActof1995. 

2. Email your request, including your 

address, phone number, OMB number, 

and CMS document identifier, to 

Paperwork@cms.hhs.gov. 

3. Call the Reports Clearance Office at 

(410) 786–1326. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Reports Clearance Office at (410) 786– 

1326. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Contents 

This notice sets out a summary of the 

use and burden associated with the 

following information collections. More 

detailed information can be found in 

each collection’s supporting statement 

and associated materials (see 

ADDRESSES). 

CMS–668B Post Clinical Laboratory 

Survey Questionnaire and Supporting 

Regulations 

Under the PRA (44 U.S.C. 3501– 

3520), federal agencies must obtain 

approval from the Office of Management 

and Budget (OMB) for each collection of 

information they conduct or sponsor. 

The term ‘‘collection of information’’ is 

defined in 44 U.S.C. 3502(3) and 5 CFR 

1320.3(c) and includes agency requests 

or requirements that members of the 

public submit reports, keep records, or 

provide information to a third party. 

Section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the PRA 

requires federal agencies to publish a 

60-day notice in the Federal Register 

concerning each proposed collection of 

information, including each proposed 

extension or reinstatement of an existing 

collection of information, before 

submitting the collection to OMB for 

approval. To comply with this 

requirement, CMS is publishing this 

notice. 

Information Collection 

1. Type of Information Collection 

Request: Extension of a currently 

approved collection; Title of 

Information Collection: Post Clinical 

Laboratory Survey Questionnaire and 

Supporting Regulations; Use: Form 

CMS–668B is used by a Clinical 

Laboratory Improvement Amendments 

(CLIA) laboratory to express its 

satisfaction with the survey process and 

to make recommendations for 

improvement. Surveyors furnish this 

form to all laboratories that receive 


asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
29714 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 99 / Friday, May 22, 2015 / Notices 

either an onsite survey or the Alternate 

Quality Assessment Survey (i.e., paper 

survey of quality indicators). We 

perform an overview evaluation of the 

completed forms. Each calendar year, a 

summary of the information collected is 

sent to the State and CMS Regional 

Offices. Form Number: CMS–668B 

(OMB Control Number 0938–0653); 

Frequency: Biennially; Affected Public: 

Private sector (Business or other forprofits and Not-for-profit institutions), 

State, Local, or Tribal Government; 

Number of Respondents: 19,051; Total 

Annual Responses: 9,526; Total Annual 

Hours: 2,382. (For policy questions 

regarding this collection contact 

Kathleen Todd at 410–786–3385.) 

Dated: May 19, 2015. 

William N. Parham, III, 

Director, Paperwork Reduction Staff, Office 

of Strategic Operations and Regulatory 

Affairs. 

[FR Doc. 2015–12498 Filed 5–21–15; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4120–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND 

HUMAN SERVICES 

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid 

Services 

[CMS–3307–FN] 

Medicare and Medicaid Programs; 

Continued Approval of The Joint 

Commission’s Hospice Accreditation 

Program 

AGENCY: Centers for Medicare & 

Medicaid Services, HHS. 

ACTION: Final notice. 

SUMMARY: This final notice announces 

our decision to approve The Joint 

Commission (TJC) for continued 

recognition as a national accrediting 

organization for hospices that wish to 

participate in the Medicare or Medicaid 

programs. A hospice that participates in 

Medicaid must also meet the Medicare 

Conditions of Participation (CoPs). 

DATES: This final notice is effective June 

18, 2015 through June 18, 2021. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Lillian Williams, (410) 786–8636, Cindy 

Melanson, (410) 786–0310, or Patricia 

Chmielewski, (410) 786–6899. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background 

Under the Medicare program, eligible 

beneficiaries may receive covered 

services in a hospice provided certain 

requirements are met by the hospice. 

Section 1861(dd) of the Social Security 

Act (the Act) establishes distinct criteria 

for facilities seeking designation as a 

hospice. 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 418 specify 

the conditions that a hospice must meet 

in order to participate in the Medicare 

program, the scope of covered services 

and the conditions for Medicare 

payment for hospices. 

Generally, to enter into an agreement, 

a hospice must first be certified as 

complying with the conditions set forth 

in part 418 and recommended to the 

Center for Medicare & Medicaid (CMS) 

for participation by a state survey 

agency. Thereafter, the hospice is 

subject to periodic surveys by a state 

survey agency to determine whether it 

continues to meet these conditions. 

However, there is an alternative to 

certification surveys by state agencies. 

Accreditation by a nationally recognized 

Medicare accreditation program 

approved by CMS may substitute for 

both initial and ongoing state review. 

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

that, if the Secretary of the Department 

of Health and Human Services (the 

Secretary) finds that accreditation of a 

provider entity by an approved national 

accrediting organization meets or 

exceeds all applicable Medicare 

conditions, CMS may treat the provider 

entity as having met those conditions, 

that is, we may ‘‘deem’’ the provider 

entity to be in compliance. 

Accreditation by an accrediting 

organization is voluntary and is not 

required for Medicare participation. 

Part 488, subpart A, implements the 

provisions of section 1865 of the Act 

and requires that a national accrediting 

organization applying for approval of its 

Medicare accreditation program must 

provide CMS with reasonable assurance 

that the accrediting organization 

requires its 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 an 

accrediting organization to reapply for 

continued approval of its Medicare 

accreditation program every 6 years or 

sooner as determined by CMS. The Joint 

Commission’s (TJC’s) current term of 

approval for its hospice accreditation 

program expires June 18, 2015. 

II. Application Approval Process 

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

provides a statutory timetable to ensure 

that our review of applications for CMSapproval of an accreditation program is 

conducted in a timely manner. The Act 

provides us 210 days after the date of 

receipt of a complete application, with 

any documentation necessary to make 

the determination, to complete our 

survey activities and application 

process. Within 60 days after receiving 

a complete application, we must 

publish a notice in the Federal Register 

that identifies the national accrediting 

body making the request, describes the 

request, and provides no less than a 30- 

day public comment period. At the end 

of the 210-day period, we must publish 

a notice in the Federal Register 

approving or denying the application. 

III. Provisions of the Proposed Notice 

In the December 19, 2014 Federal 

Register (79 FR 75817), we published a 

proposed notice announcing TJC’s 

request for continued approval of its 

Medicare hospice accreditation 

program. In the December 19, 2014 

proposed notice, we detailed our 

evaluation criteria. Under section 

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

regulations at § 488.4 and § 488.8, we 

conducted a review of TJC’s Medicare 

hospice accreditation application in 

accordance with the criteria specified by 

our regulations, which include, but are 

not limited to the following: 

• An onsite administrative review of 

TJC’s: (1) Corporate policies; (2) 

financial and human resources available 

to accomplish the proposed surveys; (3) 

procedures for training, monitoring, and 

evaluation of its hospice surveyors; (4) 

ability to investigate and respond 

appropriately to complaints against 

accredited hospices; and (5) survey 

review and decision-making process for 

accreditation. 

• The comparison of TJC’s Medicare 

hospice accreditation program standards 

to our current Medicare hospice CoPs. 

• A documentation review of TJC’s 

survey process to— 

++ Determine the composition of the 

survey team, surveyor qualifications, 

and TJC’s ability to provide continuing 

surveyor training. 

++ Compare TJC’s processes to those 

we require of state survey agencies, 

including periodic resurvey and the 

ability to investigate and respond 

appropriately to complaints against 

accredited hospices. 

++ Evaluate TJC’s procedures for 

monitoring hospices it has found to be 

out of compliance with TJC’s program 

requirements. (This pertains only to 

monitoring procedures when TJC 

identifies non-compliance. If 

noncompliance is identified by a state 

survey agency through a validation 

survey, the state survey agency monitors 

corrections as specified at § 488.7(d)). 


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