Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 228 / Tuesday, November 27, 2012 / Notices 70785 

policies to ensure that all compliant 

investigations are conducted in 

accordance with the requirements in the 

SOM, chapter 5. 

• To meet the requirements at 

§ 488.28(a) and Section 2726 of the 

SOM, AAAHC amended its policies to 

require a Plan of Correction (PoC) for all 

deficiencies cited. 

• To meet the requirements at section 

2728A of the SOM, AAAHC modified its 

policies to include all of the required 

elements in an acceptable PoC. 

• To meet the requirements at 2728B 

of the SOM, AAAHC modified its 

policies regarding timeframes for 

requesting PoCs. 

• To meet the requirements at section 

2728B of the SOM, AAAHC modified its 

policies to ensure that accepted PoCs 

contain all elements specified in the 

SOM. 

• To meet the Medicare requirements 

at section 3012 of the SOM related to 

focused and follow-up surveys, AAAHC 

amended its policies to include the 45- 

day response timeframe. 

• To meet the requirements at 

Appendix L of the SOM— Sampling for 

Initial Surveys, Recertification Surveys, 

or Representative Sample Validation 

Surveys, AAAHC revised its policies to 

ensure surveyors review at least the 

required minimum number of medical 

records during a survey. 

• To meet the requirements at 

Appendix L of the SOM— Use of the 

Infection Control Tool, AAAHC revised 

its survey protocol to ensure 

consistency, completeness and proper 

implementation of the Infection Control 

Tool. 

• To verify AAAHC’s continued 

compliance with the provisions of the 

LSC, CMS will conduct a follow-up 

survey observation within 1 year of the 

date of publication of this final notice. 

B. Term of Approval 

Based on our review and observations 

described in section III of this final 

notice, we have determined that 

AAAHC’s requirements for ASCs meet 

or exceed our requirements. Therefore, 

we approve AAAHC as a national 

accreditation organization for ASCs that 

request participation in the Medicare 

program, effective December 20, 2012 

through December 20, 2018. 

V. Collection of Information 

Requirements 

This document does not impose any 

reporting, recordkeeping or third-party 

disclosure requirements. Consequently, 

it need not be reviewed by the Office of 

Management and Budget under the 

authority of the Paperwork Reduction 

Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 35). 

(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance 

Program No. 93.778, Medical Assistance 

Program; No. 93.773 Medicare—ASC 

Insurance Program; and No. 93.774, 

Medicare—Supplementary Medical 

Insurance Program) 

Dated: November 20, 2012. 

Marilyn Tavenner, 

Acting Administrator, Centers for Medicare 

& Medicaid Services. 

[FR Doc. 2012–28728 Filed 11–23–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4120–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND 

HUMAN SERVICES 

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid 

Services 

[CMS–7026–N] 

Medicare, Medicaid, and Children’s 

Health Insurance Programs; Meeting of 

the Advisory Panel on Outreach and 

Education (APOE), December 18, 2012 

AGENCY: Centers for Medicare & 

Medicaid Services (CMS), HHS. 

ACTION: Notice of meeting. 

SUMMARY: This notice announces a 

meeting of the Advisory Panel on 

Outreach and Education (APOE) (the 

Panel) in accordance with the Federal 

Advisory Committee Act. The Panel 

advises and makes recommendations to 

the Secretary of Health and Human 

Services and the Administrator of the 

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid 

Services on opportunities to enhance 

the effectiveness of consumer education 

strategies concerning Medicare, 

Medicaid and the Children’s Health 

Insurance Program (CHIP). This meeting 

is open to the public. 

DATES: Meeting Date: Tuesday, 

December 18, 2012, 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 

p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST). 

Deadline for Meeting Registration, 

Presentations and Comments: Tuesday, 

December 4, 2012, 5:00 p.m., EST. 

Deadline for Requesting Special 

Accommodations: Tuesday, December 

4, 2012, 5:00 p.m., EST. 

ADDRESSES: Meeting Location: The 

Liaison Capitol Hill, 415 New Jersey 

Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20001. 

Presentations and Written Comments: 

Jennifer Kordonski, Designated Federal 

Official (DFO), Division of Forum and 

Conference Development, Office of 

Communications, Centers for Medicare 

& Medicaid Services, 7500 Security 

Boulevard, Mailstop S1–13–05, 

Baltimore, MD 21244–1850 or contact 

Ms. Kordonski via email at 

Jennifer.Kordonski@cms.hhs.gov. 

Registration: The meeting is open to 

the public, but attendance is limited to 

the space available. Persons wishing to 

attend this meeting must register at the 

Web site http://events.SignUp4.com/ 

APOEDECMTG or by contacting the 

DFO at the address listed in the 

ADDRESSES section of this notice or by 

telephone at number listed in the FOR

FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of 

this notice, by the date listed in the 

DATES section of this notice. Individuals 

requiring sign language interpretation or 

other special accommodations should 

contact the DFO at the address listed in 

the ADDRESSES section of this notice by 

the date listed in the DATES section of 

this notice. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Jennifer Kordonski, (410) 786–1840. 

Additional information about the APOE 

is available on the Internet at http:// 

www.cms.gov/FACA/04_APOE.asp. 

Press inquiries are handled through the 

CMS Press Office at (202) 690–6145. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In 

accordance with section 10(a) of the 

Federal Advisory Committee Act 

(FACA), this notice announces a 

meeting of the Advisory Panel on 

Outreach and Education (APOE) (the 

Panel). Section 9(a)(2) of the Federal 

Advisory Committee Act authorizes the 

Secretary of Health and Human Services 

(the Secretary) to establish an advisory 

panel if the Secretary determines that 

the panel is ‘‘in the public interest in 

connection with the performance of 

duties imposed * * * by law.’’ Such 

duties are imposed by section 1804 of 

the Social Security Act (the Act), 

requiring the Secretary to provide 

informational materials to Medicare 

beneficiaries about the Medicare 

program, and section 1851(d) of the Act, 

requiring the Secretary to provide for 

‘‘activities * * * to broadly disseminate 

information to [M]edicare beneficiaries 

* * * on the coverage options provided 

under [Medicare Advantage] in order to 

promote an active, informed selection 

among such options.’’ 

The Panel is also authorized by 

section 1114(f) of the Act (42 U.S.C. 

1314(f)) and section 222 of the Public 

Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 217a). The 

Secretary signed the charter establishing 

this Panel on January 21, 1999 (64 FR 

7899, February 17, 1999) and approved 

the renewal of the charter on January 21, 

2011 (76 FR 11782, March 3, 2011). 

Pursuant to the amended charter, the 

Panel advises and makes 

recommendations to the Secretary of 

Health and Human Services and the 

Administrator of the Centers for 

Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) 

concerning optimal strategies for the 

following: 


wreier-aviles on DSK5TPTVN1PROD with 
70786 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 228 / Tuesday, November 27, 2012 / Notices 

• Developing and implementing 

education and outreach programs for 

individuals enrolled in, or eligible for, 

Medicare, Medicaid and the Children’s 

Health Insurance Program (CHIP). 

• Enhancing the federal government’s 

effectiveness in informing Medicare, 

Medicaid and CHIP consumers, 

providers and stakeholders pursuant to 

education and outreach programs of 

issues regarding these and other health 

coverage programs, including the 

appropriate use of public-private 

partnerships to leverage the resources of 

the private sector in educating 

beneficiaries, providers and 

stakeholders. 

• Expanding outreach to vulnerable 

and underserved communities, 

including racial and ethnic minorities, 

in the context of Medicare, Medicaid 

and CHIP education programs. 

• Assembling and sharing an 

information base of ‘‘best practices’’ for 

helping consumers evaluate health plan 

options. 

• Building and leveraging existing 

community infrastructures for 

information, counseling and assistance. 

• Drawing the program link between 

outreach and education, promoting 

consumer understanding of health care 

coverage choices and facilitating 

consumer selection/enrollment, which 

in turn support the overarching goal of 

improved access to quality care, 

including prevention services, 

envisioned under health care reform. 

The current members of the Panel are: 

Samantha Artiga, Principal Policy 

Analyst, Kaiser Family Foundation; 

Joseph Baker, President, Medicare 

Rights Center; Philip Bergquist, 

Manager, Health Center Operations, 

CHIPRA Outreach & Enrollment Project 

and Director, Michigan Primary Care 

Association; Marjorie Cadogan, 

Executive Deputy Commissioner, 

Department of Social Services; Jonathan 

Dauphine, Senior Vice President, AARP; 

Barbara Ferrer, Executive Director, 

Boston Public Health Commission; 

Shelby Gonzales, Senior Health 

Outreach Associate, Center on Budget & 

Policy Priorities; Jan Henning, Benefits 

Counseling & Special Projects 

Coordinator, North Central Texas 

Council of Governments’ Area Agency 

on Aging; Warren Jones, Executive 

Director, Mississippi Institute for 

Improvement of Geographic Minority 

Health; Cathy Kaufmann, Administrator, 

Oregon Health Authority; Sandy 

Markwood, Chief Executive Officer, 

National Association of Area Agencies 

on Aging; Miriam Mobley-Smith, Dean, 

Chicago State University, College of 

Pharmacy; Ana Natale-Pereira, 

Associate Professor of Medicine, 

University of Medicine & Dentistry of 

New Jersey; Megan Padden, Vice 

President, Sentara Health Plans; David 

W. Roberts, Vice-President, Healthcare 

Information and Management System 

Society; Julie Bode ̈n Schmidt, Associate 

Vice President, National Association of 

Community Health Centers; Alan 

Spielman, President & Chief Executive 

Officer, URAC; Winston Wong, Medical 

Director, Community Benefit Director, 

Kaiser Permanente and Darlene YeeMelichar, Professor & Coordinator, San 

Francisco State University. 

The agenda for the December 18, 2012 

meeting will include the following: 

• Welcome and Listening Session 

with CMS Leadership. 

• Recap of the Previous (August 2, 

2012) Meeting. 

• Affordable Care Act Initiatives. 

• Quality Initiatives. 

• An Opportunity for Public 

Comment. 

• Meeting Summary, Review of 

Recommendations and Next Steps. 

Individuals or organizations that wish 

to make a 5-minute oral presentation on 

an agenda topic should submit a written 

copy of the oral presentation to the DFO 

at the address listed in the ADDRESSES

section of this notice by the date listed 

in the DATES section of this notice. The 

number of oral presentations may be 

limited by the time available. 

Individuals not wishing to make a 

presentation may submit written 

comments to the DFO at the address 

listed in the ADDRESSES section of this 

notice by the date listed in the DATES

section of this notice. 

Authority: Sec. 222 of the Public Health 

Service Act (42 U.S.C. 217a) and sec. 10(a) 

of Pub. L. 92–463 (5 U.S.C. App. 2, sec. 10(a) 

and 41 CFR 102–3). 

(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance 

Program No. 93.733, Medicare—Hospital 

Insurance Program; and Program No. 93.774, 

Medicare—Supplementary Medical 

Insurance Program) 

Dated: November 20, 2012. 

Marilyn Tavenner, 

Acting Administrator, Centers for Medicare 

& Medicaid Services. 

[FR Doc. 2012–28647 Filed 11–26–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4120–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND 

HUMAN SERVICES 

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid 

Services 

[CMS–9962–NC] 

Request for Information Regarding 

Health Care Quality for Exchanges 

AGENCY: Centers for Medicare & 

Medicaid Services (CMS), HHS. 

ACTION: Request for Information. 

SUMMARY: This notice is a request for 

information to seek public comments 

regarding health plan quality 

management in Affordable Insurance 

Exchanges. 

DATES: To be assured consideration, 

comments must be received at one of 

the addresses provided below, no later 

than 5 p.m. on December 27, 2012. 

ADDRESSES: In commenting, refer to file 

code CMS–9962–NC. Because of staff 

and resource limitations, we cannot 

accept comments by facsimile (FAX) 

transmission. 

You may submit comments in one of 

four ways (please choose only one of the 

ways listed): 

1. Electronically. You may submit 

electronic comments on this regulation 

to http://www.regulations.gov. Follow 

the ‘‘Submit a comment’’ instructions. 

2. By regular mail. You may mail 

written comments to the following 

address ONLY: 

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid 

Services, Department of Health and 

Human Services, Attention: CMS–9962– 

NC, P.O. Box 8010, Baltimore, MD 

21244–8010. 

Please allow sufficient time for mailed 

comments to be received before the 

close of the comment period. 

3. By express or overnight mail. You 

may send written comments to the 

following address ONLY: 

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid 

Services, Department of Health and 

Human Services, Attention: CMS–9962– 

NC, Mail Stop C4–26–05, 7500 Security 

Boulevard, Baltimore, MD 21244–1850. 

4. By hand or courier. Alternatively, 

you may deliver (by hand or courier) 

your written comments ONLY to the 

following addresses: 

a. For delivery in Washington, DC— 

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid 

Services, Department of Health and 

Human Services, Room 445–G, Hubert 

H. Humphrey Building, 200 

Independence Avenue SW., 

Washington, DC 20201. 

(Because access to the interior of the 

Hubert H. Humphrey Building is not 

readily available to persons without 


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