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[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 91 (Monday, May 12, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 26967-26968]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-10639]

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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services

[CMS-1616-NC]

Medicare and Medicaid Programs; Announcement of Application From 
a Hospital Requesting Waiver for Organ Procurement Service Area

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

ACTION: Notice with comment period.

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SUMMARY: A hospital has requested a waiver of statutory requirements 
that would otherwise require the hospital to enter into an agreement 
with its designated Organ Procurement Organization (OPO). The request 
was made in accordance with the Social Security Act (the Act). This 
notice requests comments from OPOs and the general public for our 
consideration in determining whether we should grant the requested 
waiver.

DATES: Comment Date: To be assured consideration, comments must be 
received at one of the addresses provided below, no later than 5 p.m. 
on July 11, 2014.

ADDRESSES: In commenting, refer to file code CMS-1616NC. 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-1616-NC, P.O. Box 8010, 
Baltimore, MD 21244-1850.
    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-1616-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 to a regulations staff member 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 Federal government 
identification, commenters are encouraged to leave their comments in 
the CMS drop slots located in the main lobby of the building. A stamp-
in clock is available for persons wishing to retain a proof of filing 
by stamping in and retaining an extra copy of the comments being 
filed.)

b. For delivery in Baltimore, MD--Centers for Medicare & Medicaid 
Services, Department of Health and Human Services, 7500 Security 
Boulevard, Baltimore, MD 21244-1850.

    If you intend to deliver your comments to the Baltimore address, 
call telephone number (410) 786-9994 in advance to schedule your 
arrival with one of our staff members.
    Comments erroneously mailed to the addresses indicated as 
appropriate for hand or courier delivery may be delayed and received 
after the comment period.
    For information on viewing public comments, see the beginning of 
the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Patricia Taft, (410) 786-4561.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Inspection of Public Comments: All comments received before the 
close of the comment period are available for viewing by the public, 
including any personally identifiable or confidential business 
information that is included in a comment. We post all comments 
received before the close of the comment period on the following Web 
site as soon as possible after they have been received: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the search instructions on that Web site to 
view public comments.
    Comments received timely will also be available for public 
inspection as they are received, generally beginning approximately 3 
weeks after publication of a document, at the headquarters of the 
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, 7500 Security Boulevard, 
Baltimore, Maryland 21244, Monday through Friday of each week from 8:30 
a.m. to 4 p.m. To schedule an appointment to view public comments, 
phone 1-800-743-3951.

I. Background

    Organ Procurement Organizations (OPOs) are not-for-profit 
organizations that are responsible for the procurement, preservation, 
and transport of organs to transplant centers throughout the country. 
Qualified OPOs are designated by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid 
Services (CMS) to recover or procure organs in CMS-defined exclusive 
geographic service areas, pursuant to section 371(b)(1) of the Public 
Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 273(b)(1)) and our regulations at 42 CFR 
486.306. Once an OPO has been designated for an area, hospitals in that 
area that participate in Medicare and Medicaid are required to work 
with that OPO in providing organs for transplant, pursuant to section 
1138(a)(1)(C) of the Social Security Act (the Act) and our regulations 
at 42 CFR 482.45.
    Section 1138(a)(1)(A)(iii) of the Act provides that a hospital must 
notify the designated OPO (for the service area in which it is located) 
of potential organ donors. Under section 1138(a)(1)(C) of the Act, 
every participating hospital must have an agreement only with its 
designated OPO to identify potential donors.
    However, section 1138(a)(2)(A) of the Act provides that a hospital 
may obtain a waiver of the above requirements from the Secretary of the 
Department of Health and Human Services (the Secretary) under certain 
specified conditions. A waiver allows the hospital to have an agreement 
with an OPO other than the one initially designated by CMS, if the 
hospital meets certain conditions specified in section 1138(a)(2)(A) of 
the Act. In addition, the Secretary may review additional criteria

[[Page 26968]]

described in section 1138(a)(2)(B) of the Act to evaluate the 
hospital's request for a waiver.
    Section 1138(a)(2)(A) of the Act states that in granting a waiver, 
the Secretary must determine that the waiver--(1) is expected to 
increase organ donations; and (2) will ensure equitable treatment of 
patients referred for transplants within the service area served by the 
designated OPO and within the service area served by the OPO with which 
the hospital seeks to enter into an agreement under the waiver. In 
making a waiver determination, section 1138(a)(2)(B) of the Act 
provides that the Secretary may consider, among other factors: (1) 
Cost-effectiveness; (2) improvements in quality; (3) whether there has 
been any change in a hospital's designated OPO due to the changes made 
in definitions for metropolitan statistical areas; and (4) the length 
and continuity of a hospital's relationship with an OPO other than the 
hospital's designated OPO. Under section 1138(a)(2)(D) of the Act, the 
Secretary is required to publish a notice of any waiver application 
received from a hospital within 30 days of receiving the application, 
and to offer interested parties an opportunity to submit comments 
during the 60-day comment period beginning on the publication date in 
the Federal Register.
    The criteria that the Secretary uses to evaluate the waiver in 
these cases are the same as those described above under sections 
1138(a)(2)(A) and (B) of the Act and have been incorporated into the 
regulations at Sec.  486.308(e) and (f).

II. Waiver Request Procedures

    In October 1995, we issued a Program Memorandum (Transmittal No. A-
95-11) detailing the waiver process and discussing the information 
hospitals must provide in requesting a waiver. We indicated that upon 
receipt of a waiver request, we would publish a Federal Register notice 
to solicit public comments, as required by section 1138(a)(2)(D) of the 
Act.
    According to these requirements, we will review the comments 
received. During the review process, we may consult on an as-needed 
basis with the Health Resources and Services Administration's Division 
of Transplantation, the United Network for Organ Sharing, and our 
regional offices. If necessary, we may request additional clarifying 
information from the applying hospital or others. We will then make a 
final determination on the waiver request and notify the hospital and 
the designated and requested OPOs.

III. Hospital Waiver Request

    As permitted by Sec.  486.308(e), the following hospital has 
requested a waiver to enter into an agreement with a designated OPO 
other than the OPO designated for the service area in which the 
hospital is located:
    Humbolt General Hospital, Winnemucca, Nevada, is requesting a 
waiver to work with: California Transplant Donor Network,
1000 Broadway, Suite 600,
Oakland, California 94607-4099.

    The Hospital's Designated OPO is: Nevada Donor Network, 2061 E 
Sahara Ave., Las Vegas, Nevada 89104.

IV. Collection of Information Requirements

    This document does not impose information collection and 
recordkeeping 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).

V. Response to Public Comments

    We will consider all comments we receive by the date and time 
specified in the DATES section of this preamble.

    Dated: May 2, 2014.
Marilyn Tavenner,
Administrator, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
[FR Doc. 2014-10639 Filed 5-9-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4120-01-P
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