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[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 1 (Thursday, January 2, 2014)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 63-64]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-31435]

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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services

42 CFR Parts 413 and 424

[CMS-1446-CN2]
RIN 0938-AR65

Medicare Program; Prospective Payment System and Consolidated 
Billing for Skilled Nursing Facilities for FY 2014; Correction

AGENCY: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), HHS.

ACTION: Final rule; correction.

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SUMMARY: This document corrects a technical error that appeared in the 
final rule published in the August 6, 2013 Federal Register entitled 
``Medicare Program; Prospective Payment System and Consolidated Billing 
for Skilled Nursing Facilities for FY 2014.''

DATES:  Effective Date: This correction is effective January 2, 2014.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John Kane, (410) 786-0557.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    On October 3, 2013, we published a correction notice (FR Doc. 2013-
24080, 78 FR 61202) to correct a number of technical errors that 
appeared in the FY 2014 Skilled Nursing Facility Prospective Payment 
System (SNF PPS) final rule on August 6, 2013 (FR Doc. 2013-18776, 78 
FR 47936). In this notice, we are correcting an additional technical 
error in the wage index values. Specifically, we have determined that 
in the process of developing the most recent hospital wage index, the 
wage data of a hospital in Core-Based Statistical Area (CBSA) 44140, 
Springfield, MA, was inadvertently included in that CBSA, though it 
should not have been included in the wage index data. Accordingly, we 
are removing the wage data for this provider from CBSA 44140. In Table 
A, ``FY 2014 Wage Index for Urban Areas Based on CBSA Labor Market 
Areas,'' we are revising the wage index value for CBSA 44140 
Springfield, MA from 1.0378 to the corrected value of 1.0383, in order 
to reflect the removal of the hospital in question from the wage data 
for that CBSA. As we are revising the entry for only that one 
particular CBSA, we are not republishing the lengthy Table A in its 
entirety in this notice. We note that the corrected version of this 
table is available online on the SNF PPS Web site, at http://www.cms.gov/Medicare/Medicare-Fee-for-Service-Payment/SNFPPS/WageIndex.html.
    In a correction notice for inpatient prospective payment system 
(IPPS) hospitals and long-term care hospitals (LTCHs) that is being 
published concurrently in this issue of the Federal Register (Medicare 
Program; Hospital Inpatient Prospective Payment Systems for Acute Care 
Hospitals and the Long-Term Care Hospital Prospective Payment System 
and Fiscal Year 2014 Rates; Quality Reporting Requirements for Specific 
Providers; Hospital Conditions of Participation; Payment Policies 
Related to Patient Status; Corrections (CMS-1599 & 1455-CN3)), we are 
making a similar midyear correction to the IPPS hospital wage index to 
reflect the removal of the wage index data of the hospital referenced 
above. As discussed in that correction notice, this IPPS wage index 
correction is being made prospectively. Since the implementation of the 
SNF PPS, we have used the pre-floor, pre-reclassified, no occupational 
mix IPPS hospital wage data in developing a wage index to be applied to 
SNFs. Thus, this correction will also apply prospectively to the SNF 
PPS wage index to conform the published SNF PPS wage index values to 
the corresponding, prospectively revised IPPS wage index values. We 
note that a more detailed discussion of the correction to the IPPS 
hospital wage index and its effective date is included in CMS-1599 & 
1455-CN3 referenced above.
    The correction in this document appears below in the ``Correction 
of Errors'' section. The provisions in this correction notice are 
effective as of January 2, 2014.

II. Summary of Errors

    The wage data of a hospital in CBSA 44140, Springfield, MA, was 
inadvertently included in that CBSA, though it should not have been 
included in the wage index data. In Table A, ``FY 2014 Wage Index for 
Urban Areas Based on CBSA Labor Market Areas,'' we are revising the 
wage index value for CBSA 44140 Springfield, MA from 1.0378 to the 
corrected value of 1.0383, in order to reflect the removal of the 
hospital in question from the wage data for that CBSA.

III. Waiver of Proposed Rulemaking and Delayed Effective Date

    We ordinarily publish a notice of proposed rulemaking in the 
Federal Register to provide a period for public comment before the 
provisions of a rule take effect in accordance with section 553(b) of 
the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) (5 U.S.C. 553(b)). However, we 
can waive this notice and comment procedure if the Secretary finds, for 
good cause, that the notice and comment process is impracticable, 
unnecessary, or contrary to the public interest, and incorporates a 
statement of the finding and the reasons therefor in the notice.
    Section 553(d) of the APA ordinarily requires a 30-day delay in 
effective date of final rules after the date of their publication in 
the Federal Register. This 30-day delay in effective date can be 
waived, however, if an agency finds for good cause that the delay is 
impracticable, unnecessary, or contrary to the public interest, and the 
agency incorporates a statement of the findings and its reasons in the 
rule issued.
    In our view, this correcting document does not constitute a rule 
that would be subject to the APA notice and comment or delayed 
effective date requirements. This correcting document simply corrects a 
single technical error in Table A of the FY 2014 SNF PPS final rule, 
and does not make substantive changes to the policies or payment 
methodologies that were adopted in the final rule. As a result, this 
correcting document is intended to ensure that the information set 
forth in Table A of the FY 2014 SNF PPS final rule (and posted on the 
CMS Web site) accurately reflects the policies adopted in that final 
rule.
    In addition, even if this correcting document were a rule to which 
the notice and comment and delayed effective date requirements applied, 
we find that there is good cause to waive such requirements. 
Undertaking further notice and comment procedures to incorporate the 
correction in this document into the final rule or delaying the 
effective date would be contrary to the public interest, because it is 
in the public's interest for providers to receive appropriate SNF PPS 
payments in as timely a manner as possible and to ensure that the FY 
2014 SNF PPS final

[[Page 64]]

rule accurately reflects our payment methodologies, payment rates, and 
policies. Furthermore, such procedures would be unnecessary, as we are 
not altering our payment methodologies or policies, but rather, are 
simply implementing correctly the payment methodologies and policies 
that we previously proposed, received comment on, and subsequently 
finalized. This correction document is intended solely to ensure that 
the FY 2014 SNF PPS final rule accurately reflects these payment 
methodologies and policies. Therefore, we find good cause to waive 
notice and comment procedures, as well as the 30-day delay in effective 
date.

IV. Correction of Errors

    In FR Doc. 2013-18776 (78 FR 47936), make the following correction:
    A. Correction to the Addendum
    1. On page 47976, in column 3 of Table A, the entry ``1.0378'' for 
CBSA 44140 Springfield, MA is corrected to read ``1.0383''.

(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Program No. 93.773, 
Medicare--Hospital Insurance; and Program No. 93.774, Medicare--
Supplementary Medical Insurance Program)

    Dated: December 23, 2013.
Oliver Potts,
Deputy Executive Secretary to the Department, Department of Health and 
Human Services.
[FR Doc. 2013-31435 Filed 12-31-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4120-01-P
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