Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 237 / Wednesday, December 10, 1997 / Proposed Rules 65053

Home Health Issues

With regard to the proper certification

of Medicare beneficiaries for home

health services, a recommendation was

made to develop a Fraud Alert defining

what is considered ‘‘home bound’’ and

what actions should be taken to ensure

that the beneficiary is appropriately

certified and is eligible for home health

services. The commenter also

recommended that a Fraud Alert

address home health agency procedures

related to contacting patients upon

discharge from the hospital, and claims

for home health visits that occur prior

to physician authorization for the visit.

Medicare as Secondary Payer

A commenter indicated that if

primary coverage is not identified,

Medicare may be billed inappropriately,

thus leading to allegations of fraudulent

billing. The commenter recommended a

new Fraud Alert setting forth the

appropriate process to determine

primary coverage, and the level of

diligence a facility must use to verify

primary coverage.

Hospice Care

A new Fraud Alert was recommended

outlining the appropriate method for

determining life expectancy to meet

hospice eligibility criteria, and the

responsibility if a patient is

subsequently found ineligible for

hospice benefits due to an incorrect

determination of life expectancy. It was

also suggested that the Fraud Alert

address billing issues associated with a

hospice patient who is transferred to a

hospital, and the instances when a

hospital should bill the hospice instead

of Medicare to avoid duplicate bills to

Medicare for the same patient.

Hospital Issues

It was suggested that problems have

occurred with PPS hospitals billing

Medicare for discharging a patient when

the patient was actually transferred to

another PPS hospital or unit, and that

the OIG develop a Fraud Alert outlining

instances in which a hospital may bill

Medicare for a patient discharge and

when the hospital must file a claim as

a transfer.

Value Added Services

A new Fraud Alert was recommended

to address concerns about vendors in

the food service industry offering ‘‘value

added services’’ to their institutional

customers. The commenter stated that

many of these practices, intended to

induce the initiation or maintenance of

a business relationship between parties,

raised concerns under the anti-kickback

statute since food service sold to health

care institutions is reimbursed in part

by Medicare and the State health care

programs.

Further public comments on the

proposals summarized above are not

being solicited at this time.

III. Solicitation of Additional New

Recommendations and Proposals

In accordance with the requirements

of section 205 of Public Law 104–191,

we are seeking additional

recommendations from affected

provider, practitioner, supplier and

beneficiary representatives regarding the

development of proposed or modified

safe harbor regulations and new Special

Fraud Alerts beyond those summarized

above.

Criteria for Modifying and Establishing

Safe Harbor Provisions

In accordance with the statute, we

will consider a number of factors in

reviewing proposals for new or

modified safe harbor provisions, such as

the extent to which the proposals would

effect an increase or decrease in—

• Access to health care services;

• The quality of care services;

• Patient freedom of choice among

health care providers;

• Competition among health care

providers;

• The cost to Federal health care

programs;

• The potential overutilization of the

health care services; and

• The ability of health care facilities

to provide services in medically

underserved areas or to medically

underserved populations.

In addition, we will also take into

consideration the existence (or

nonexistence) of any potential financial

benefit to health care professionals or

providers that may vary based on their

decisions of whether to (1) order a

health care item or service, or (2)

arrange for a referral of health care items

or services to a particular practitioner or

provider.

Criteria for Developing Special Fraud

Alerts

In determining whether to issue

additional Special Fraud Alerts, we will

also consider whether, and to what

extent, those practices that would be

identified in new Fraud Alerts may

result in any of the consequences set

forth above, and the volume and

frequency of the conduct that would be

identified in these Special Fraud Alerts.

A detailed explanation of justification

or empirical data supporting the

suggestion, and sent to the address

indicated above, would prove helpful in

our considering and drafting new or

modified safe harbor regulations and

Special Fraud Alerts.

Dated: December 1, 1997.

June Gibbs Brown,

Inspector General.

[FR Doc. 97–32150 Filed 12–9–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4150–04–P

FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS

COMMISSION

47 CFR Part 32

[CC Docket No. 97–212; FCC 97–355]

Uniform System of Accounts for

Interconnection

AGENCY: Federal Communications

Commission.

ACTION: Proposed rule.

SUMMARY: In this document, we propose

rules for the accounting treatment of

transactions related to interconnection

and shared infrastructure. Specifically,

we propose new Part 32 accounts and

subsidiary recordkeeping requirements

to record the revenues and expenses

related to providing and obtaining

interconnection. We tentatively

conclude that new accounts are not

necessary to record the revenues and

expenses associated with sharing

infrastructure.

DATES: Interested parties may file

comments on or before December 10,

1997, and reply comments on or before

January 26, 1998. Written comments by

the public on the proposed and/or

modified information collections are

due December 10, 1997. Written

comments must be submitted by the

Office of Management and Budget

(OMB) on the proposed and/or modified

information collections on or before

February 9, 1998.

ADDRESSES: Parties should send their

comments or reply comments to Office

of the Secretary, Federal

Communications Commission, 1919 M

Street, NW., Room 222, Washington, DC

20554. Parties should also send a paper

copy, and a copy on 3.5 inch diskette

formatted in an IBM compatible form

using, if possible, WordPerfect 5.1 for

Windows software, to Matthew Vitale of

the Common Carrier Bureau’s

Accounting and Audits Division, 2000 L

Street, NW., Room 200F, Washington,

DC 20554. Commenters should also

provide one copy of any documents

filed in this proceeding to the

Commission’s copy contractor,

International Transcription Service,

1231 20th Street, NW., Washington, DC

20036.
65054 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 237 / Wednesday, December 10, 1997 / Proposed Rules

1 5 U.S.C. 603.

2 Id. 605(b).

3 Id. 601(6) adopting 15 U.S.C. § 632(a)(1).

4 15 U.S.C. 632(a)(1).

5 13 CFR 121.201.

In addition to filing comments with

the Secretary, a copy of any comments

on the information collection contained

herein should be submitted to Judy

Boley, Federal Communications

Commission, Room 234, 1919 M Street,

NW., Washington, DC 20554, or via the

Internet at jboley@fcc.gov, and to

Timothy Fain, OMB Desk Officer, 10236

NEOB, 725 17th Street, NW.,

Washington, DC 20503 or via the

Internet to fainlt@al.eop.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Matthew Vitale, Accounting and Audits

Division, Common Carrier Bureau, (202)

418–0866.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This is a

summary of the Commission’s Notice of

Proposed Rulemaking adopted October

2, 1997, and released October 7, 1997.

The full text of this Commission notice

is available for inspection and copying

during normal business hours in the

FCC Public Reference Room (Room

230), 1919 M Street, NW., Washington,

DC. The complete text of this decision

may be purchased from the

Commission’s copy contractor,

International Transcription Service,

1231 20th Street, NW., Washington, DC

20036.

Paperwork Reduction Analysis

This notice contains a proposed or

modified information collection. The

Commission, as part of its continuing

effort to reduce paperwork burdens,

invites the general public and the Office

of Management and Budget (OMB) to

comment on the information collections

contained in this Notice, as required by

the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995,

Pub. L. 104–13. Public and agency

comments are due at the same time as

other comments on this notice; OMB

notification of action is due 60 days

from date of publication of this Notice

in the Federal Register. Comments

should address: (a) whether the

proposed collection of information is

necessary for the proper performance of

the functions of the Commission,

including whether the information shall

have practical utility; (b) the accuracy of

the Commission’s burden estimates; (c)

ways to enhance the quality, utility, and

clarity of information collection; and (d)

ways to minimize the burden of the

collection of information on the

respondents, including the use of

automated collection techniques or

other forms of information technology.

OMB Approval Number: None.

Title: Amendments to Uniform

Systems of Accounts for

Interconnection, Notice of Proposed

Rulemaking, CC Docket No. 97–212.

Form No.: N/A.

Type of Review: New Collection.

Respondents: Businesses or other for

profit.

Proposed Collections:

# Respondents Est. time per response

(hours)

Total annual burden

(hours)

a. New Accounts ............................................................................................ 68 40 2,720

b. Subsidiary Accounting Records ................................................................. 68 120 8,160

c. Cost Study .................................................................................................. 68 160 10,880

Total Annual Burden: 21,760.

Estimated Costs Per Respondent: $0.

Needs and Uses: In this Notice of

Proposed rulemaking issued in CC

Docket No. 97–212, the Commission

initiates a proceeding with the goal of

reviewing comprehensively our Part 32

procedures dealing with the accounting

treatment of transactions related to

interconnection and shared

infrastructure to ensure that they meet

the objectives of the 1996 Act. The

Commission seeks comment on a

proposal establishing new Part 32

accounts and subsidiary recordkeeping

requirements to record the revenues and

expenses related to providing and

obtaining interconnection. The

Commission also seeks comment on the

conclusion that new accounts are not

necessary to record the revenues and

expenses associated with sharing

infrastructure.

Regulatory Flexibility Analysis

This Notice proposes new revenue

and expense accounts for ILECs to

record the revenues they receive and the

amounts they pay in the sale and

purchase of interconnection, access to

unbundled network elements, transport

and termination of traffic, and resale of

telecommunications services. Section

603 of the Regulatory Flexibility Act

(RFA), as amended,1 requires an initial

Regulatory Flexibility Act Analysis in

notice-and-comment rulemaking

proceedings unless we certify that ‘‘the

rule will not, if promulgated, have a

significant economic impact on a

significant number of small entities.’’ 2

The RFA defines the term small entity

as having the same meaning as small

business concern under the Small

Business Act (SBA),3 which defines

small business concern as ‘‘one which is

independently owned and operated and

which is not dominant in its field of

operation.’’ 4 Section 121.201 of the SBA

regulations defines small

telecommunications entities in SIC

Code 4813 (Telephone

Communications, Except

Radiotelephone) as any entity with

fewer than 1,500 employees at the

holding company level.5 Some entities

employing fewer than 1500 employees

at the holding company level may be

affected by the proposals made in this

Notice. However, we do not consider

such entities to be ‘‘small entities’’

under the RFA because they are either

affiliates of large corporations or

dominant in their field of operations.

Therefore, we do not believe that the

proposed rules will affect a substantial

number of small entities.

Even if the small ILECs were ‘‘small

entities’’ under the SBA, we would still

certify that no regulatory flexibility

analysis is necessary here because none

of the proposals in this Notice, if

adopted, would have a significant

economic impact on the carriers which

must comply with our accounting rules.

Pursuant to long-standing rules, ILECs

must record the revenues and expenses

associated with their operations. This

Notice merely proposes that new

revenue and expense accounts be

established so that the amounts

pertaining to interconnection and

infrastructure sharing will be uniformly

reported. This procedure will be easy

for ILECs to implement and will not

require costly or burdensome analysis.

We therefore certify, pursuant to

section 605(b) of the RFA that the rules

proposed in this Notice will not have a

significant economic impact on a

substantial number of small entities.

Ordering Clause

Accordingly, it is ordered that,

pursuant to sections 1, 2, 4, 201–205,

215, 218, 220, 229, 254, and 410 of the

Communications Act of 1934, as

amended, 47 U.S.C. §§ 151, 152, 154,
Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 237 / Wednesday, December 10, 1997 / Proposed Rules 65055

201–205, 215, 218, 220, 229, 254 and

410 that notice is hereby given of

proposed amendments to Part 32 of the

Commission’s rules, 47 CFR part 32, as

described in this notice of proposed

rulemaking.

List of Subjects in 47 CFR Part 32

Uniform System of Accounts.

Federal Communications Commission.

Magalie Roman Salas,

Secretary.

[FR Doc. 97–32223 Filed 12–9–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6712–01–P

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration

50 CFR Parts 600 and 648

[I.D. 112897A]

Magnuson-Stevens Act Provisions;

General Provisions for Domestic

Fisheries; Applications for

Experimental Fishing Permits (EFPs)

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),

Commerce.

ACTION: Notification of experimental

fishery proposal; request for comments.

SUMMARY: NMFS issues this notice to

announce that the Regional

Administrator, Northeast Region, NMFS

is considering approval of an

experimental fishing proposal that

would allow vessels to conduct

operations otherwise restricted by

regulations governing the Fisheries of

the Northeastern United States. The

experimental fishery would involve

fishing for, retention, and limited

landing of Atlantic sea scallops with a

modified sea scallop dredge in Southern

New England and Mid-Atlantic

Regulated Mesh Areas. Regulations

under the Magnuson-Stevens Act

provisions require publication of this

notice to provide interested parties the

opportunity to comment on the

proposed experimental fishery.

DATES: Comments on this notice must be

received by December 29, 1997.

ADDRESSES: Comments should be sent to

Andrew A. Rosenberg, Ph. D., Regional

Administrator, NMFS, Northeast

Regional Office, 1 Blackburn Drive,

Gloucester, MA 01930. Mark on the

outside of the envelope ‘‘Comments on

Proposed Experimental Fishery.’’

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Peter Christopher, Fishery Management

Specialist, 978–281–9288.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The

Virginia Institute of Marine Science

submitted an application for an EFP on

October 17, 1997, to investigate summer

flounder bycatch by Atlantic sea scallop

dredges. An experimental dredge would

be modified with large mesh on the

upper portion of the dredge to allow for

summer flounder escapement. Fishing

activity would target a limited amount

of Atlantic sea scallops in the Southern

New England and Mid-Atlantic

Regulated Mesh Areas.

The Virginia Institute of Marine

Science would conduct experimental

fishing activities on chartered fishing

vessels. EFPs are required to exempt

vessels from possession limits, gear

restrictions, and days-at-sea restrictions

of the Atlantic Sea Scallop Fishery

Management Plan.

Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.

Dated: December 4, 1997.

Gary C. Matlock,

Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries,

National Marine Fisheries Service.

[FR Doc. 97–32337 Filed 12–9–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–22–F

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration

50 CFR Parts 600 and 648

[I.D. 112897B]

Magnuson-Stevens Act Provisions;

General Provisions for Domestic

Fisheries; Applications for

Experimental Fishing Permits (EFPs)

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),

Commerce.

ACTION: Notification of experimental

fishery proposal; request for comments.

SUMMARY: NMFS issues this notice to

announce that the Regional

Administrator, Northeast Region, NMFS

(Regional Administrator), is considering

approval of an experimental fishing

proposal that would permit vessels to

conduct operations otherwise restricted

by regulations governing the Fisheries of

the Northeastern United States. The

experimental fishery would involve the

possession and retention of Crangon

shrimp (brown shrimp), including the

possible capture and release of regulated

multispecies, in the Gulf of Maine/

Georges Bank Regulated Mesh Area.

Regulations under the MagnusonStevens Act provisions require

publication of this notice to provide

interested parties the opportunity to

comment on the proposed experimental

fishery.

DATES: Comments on this notice must be

received on or before December 29,

1997.

ADDRESSES: Comments should be sent to

Andrew A. Rosenberg, Ph.D., Regional

Administrator, NMFS, Northeast

Regional Office, 1 Blackburn Drive,

Gloucester, MA 01930. Mark on the

outside of the envelope ‘‘Comments on

Proposed Experimental Fisheries.’’

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Bonnie VanPelt, Fishery Management

Specialist, (978) 281–9244.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Maine

Department of Marine Resources

(MEDMR) has been approved for a

Saltonstall/Kennedy (S/K) Grant to

investigate the feasibility of developing

a 3-month winter Crangon

septemspinosus shrimp (brown shrimp)

fishery between Frenchman’s Bay and

Casco Bay, Maine, in nearshore and

estuarine waters. The two main

objectives of the proposed project are

the use of gear technology to address

regulatory species bycatch and the

development of a sustainable fishery

that will ease financial hardship by

absorbing displaced groundfishing

effort. New gears and fishing methods

will be employed based on technology

of a similar Crangon shrimp fishery that

exists in Europe, as well as on a

modification of the gear technology

currently used in the northern shrimp

fishery.

The MEDMR submitted an

application for an EFP to conduct the

proposed project on October 14, 1997.

The experimental trawl surveys are

proposed for January through June 1998.

The proposed experiment will allow

approximately three commercial fishing

vessels to conduct gear trials using a

Crangon otter trawl, an otter trawl of

European design, and two beam trawl

nets with mesh sizes of 20 mm. One

otter trawl will be assembled with a

Nordmore grate (physical separator) and

the other with a bycatch reduction

device known as a false upper

(behavioral separator), while the beam

trawl nets will contain a finfish

excluder device called a sieve. Bar

spacing of the Nordmore grate will be 1/

2 inch (1.27 cm), smaller than the 1 inch

(2.54 cm) now being used in the

northern shrimp fishery. All trawl gear

is designed to enable finfish to escape

through a hole in the lower panel of the

net. Experimental gear performance will

be tested with control otter trawl nets of

20 mm stretched mesh with 1/4 inch

(0.635 cm) mesh liners and 20 mm beam

trawl nets. Trawl effectiveness will be