[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 234 (Tuesday, December 5, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 75943-75944]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-30994]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Health Care Financing Administration

[HCFA-1162-N]


Medicare Program; Establishment of the Advisory Panel on 
Ambulatory Payment Classification Groups and Request for Nominations 
for Members

AGENCY: Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA), HHS.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: This notice announces the establishment of the Advisory Panel 
on Ambulatory Payment Classification (APC) Groups and solicits 
nominations for members of the panel. The purpose of the panel is to 
review the APC groups and their associated weights and advise the 
Secretary and the Administrator of the Health Care Financing 
Administration (HCFA) concerning the clinical integrity of these groups 
and weights, which are major elements of the hospital outpatient 
prospective payment system (OPPS). This notice also announces that on 
November 21, 2000 the Secretary signed the charter establishing the 
panel. The charter will

[[Page 75944]]

terminate two years from the signing date unless renewed by the 
Secretary.

DATES: Nominations for members will be considered if we receive them at 
the appropriate address, as provided below, before 5 p.m. on December 
26, 2000.

ADDRESSES: Mail written nominations for membership to the following 
address ONLY: Health Care Financing Administration, Department of 
Health and Human Services, Attention: HCFA-1162-N, P.O. Box 8013, 
Baltimore, MD 21244-8013.
    If you prefer, you may deliver, by courier, your written 
nominations to one of the following addresses: Hubert H. Humphrey 
Building, Room 443-G, 200 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 
20201, or Health Care Financing Administration, Room C5-14-03, Central 
Building, 7500 Security Boulevard, Baltimore, MD 21244-1850.
    Nominations mailed to those addresses designated for courier 
delivery may be delayed and could be considered late. Because of 
staffing and resource limitations, we cannot accept nominations by 
facsimile (FAX) or email transmission. Please refer to file code HCFA-
1162-N on each nomination.
    You may receive a copy of the Secretary's charter for the panel by 
mailing a written request to the following address: Health Care 
Financing Administration, Department of Health and Human Services, 
Attention: HCFA-1162-N, P.O. Box 8013, Baltimore, MD 21244-8013.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Paul Olenick, (410) 786-0282.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:   

I. Background

    The requirement for the Secretary to consult with an outside 
Advisory Panel on Ambulatory Payment Classification (APC) Groups is set 
forth in section 1833(t)(9)(A) of the Social Security Act (the Act), as 
added by section 201(h) and redesignated by section 202(a)(2) of the 
Balanced Budget Refinement Act of 1999 (BBRA 1999). The Secretary 
signed the charter establishing the panel on November 21, 2000. The 
charter will terminate two years from the signing date unless renewed 
by the Secretary. The purpose of the panel is to review, and advise the 
Secretary and the Administrator of the Health Care Financing 
Administration (HCFA) concerning, the clinical integrity of the APC 
groups and associated weights. The panel consists of up to 15 members, 
selected by the Secretary or a designee, and a Chair, who is a 
government official appointed by the Secretary.
    The panel meets once each calendar year in January or February so 
that we may consider its advice when we prepare the Annual Notice of 
Proposed Rulemaking for changes to the hospital outpatient prospective 
payment system (OPPS). The work of the panel is technical in nature and 
will concentrate on the operational aspects of the APC system. We will 
prepare the agenda for the panel's activities, which will set the 
boundaries for discussion, and will include issues such as the 
following:
    <bullet> The determination as to whether selected procedures are 
similar both clinically and in terms of resource use.
    <bullet> The assignment of new HCFA Common Procedure Coding System 
(HCPCS) codes to new or existing APCs.
    <bullet> The reassignment of HCPCS codes to different APCs.
    <bullet> The reconfiguring of existing APCs into new APCs.
    The panel will not make policy recommendations and will not discuss 
items not on the agenda. Items that will not be considered for the 
agenda include the following, as well as other items that are 
determined by us to be outside the technical scope of the panel's 
activities:
    <bullet> The conversion factor.
    <bullet> The OPPS wage adjustments.
    <bullet> The outlier or transitional corridor payments.
    <bullet> The transitional pass-through payments for medical 
devices, drugs, and biologicals.
    In order to obtain the broadest possible input for its work, the 
panel must consult with entities and organizations, such as the medical 
device and drug industries, with expert technical knowledge of the 
components of the APCs. The panel may use data collected or developed 
from entities and organizations other than the Department of Health and 
Human Services and HCFA in conducting its review.
    We are requesting nominations for members to serve on the panel. 
Panel members serve without compensation, although travel, meals, 
lodging, and related expenses will be reimbursed in accordance with 
standard government travel regulations. We have a special interest in 
ensuring that women, minorities, and the physically challenged are 
adequately represented on the panel and encourage nominations of 
qualified candidates from those groups.

II. Criteria for Nominees

    Nominees must be representatives of Medicare providers (including 
Community Mental Health Centers) subject to the OPPS, with technical 
and/or clinical expertise in any of the following areas:
    <bullet> Hospital payment systems.
    <bullet> Hospital medical care delivery systems.
    <bullet> Outpatient payment requirements.
    <bullet> Ambulatory payment classification groups.
    <bullet> Use of, and payment for, drugs and medical devices in an 
outpatient setting.
    <bullet> Provision of, and payment for, partial hospitalization 
services.
    <bullet> Any other relevant expertise.
    It is not necessary that any nominee possess expertise in all of 
the areas listed, but each must have a minimum of five years 
experience, and currently be employed full-time, in his or her area of 
expertise. Members of the panel serve overlapping four-year terms, 
contingent upon the rechartering of the panel.
    Any interested person may nominate one or more qualified 
individuals. Self-nominations will also be accepted. Each nomination 
must include a letter of nomination, a curriculum vita of the nominee, 
and a statement from the nominee that the nominee is willing to serve 
on the panel.

    Authority: Section 1833(t)(9)(A) of the Social Security Act (42 
U.S.C. 1395(t)).

    Dated: November 29, 2000.
Michael M. Hash,
Acting Administrator, Health, Care Financing Administration
[FR Doc. 00-30994 Filed 12-1-00; 12:21 am]
BILLING CODE 4120-01-P