Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 79 / Friday, April 24, 2015 / Notices 23009 

review by the Office of Management and 

Budget under the authority of the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 

U.S.C. Chapter 35). 

Authority: 5 U.S.C. App. 2, section 10(a). 

Dated: April 16, 2015. 

Patrick Conway, 

Acting Principal Deputy Administrator, 

Deputy Administrator for Innovation and 

Quality, CMS Chief Medical Officer, Centers 

for Medicare & Medicaid Services. 

[FR Doc. 2015–09607 Filed 4–23–15; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4120–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND 

HUMAN SERVICES 

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid 

Services 

[CMS–1639–N] 

Medicare Program: Renewal of the 

Advisory Panel on Hospital Outpatient 

Payment 

AGENCY: Centers for Medicare & 

Medicaid Services (CMS), Department 

of Health and Human Services (HHS). 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: This notice announces the 

renewal of the Advisory Panel (the 

Panel) on Hospital Outpatient Payment 

(HOP) charter. The charter was 

approved on November 6, 2014 for a 2- 

year period effective through November 

6, 2016. This notice publicly announces 

the renewal of the HOP Panel for 

another 2-year period. The purpose of 

the Panel is to advise the Secretary of 

the Department of Health and Human 

Services (DHHS) and the Administrator 

of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid 

Services (CMS) concerning the clinical 

integrity of the Ambulatory Payment 

Classification groups and their relative 

payment weights. The Panel also 

addresses and makes recommendations 

regarding supervision of hospital 

outpatient services. The advice 

provided by the Panel will be 

considered as we prepare the annual 

updates for the hospital outpatient 

prospective payment system. 

DATES: April 24, 2015. 

ADDRESSES: Web site: For additional 

information on the Panel meeting dates, 

agenda topics, copy of the charter, and 

updates to the Panel’s activities, we 

refer readers to our Web site at the 

following address: https://

www.cms.gov/Regulations-andGuidance/Guidance/FACA/Advisory

PanelonAmbulatoryPayment

ClassificationGroups.html. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Designated Federal Official (DFO): Carol 

Schwartz, DFO, 7500 Security 

Boulevard, Mail Stop: C4–04–25, 

Woodlawn, MD 21244–1850. Phone: 

(410) 786–3985. Email: APCPanel@

cms.hhs.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background 

The Secretary of the Department of 

Health and Human Services (the 

Secretary) is required by section 

1833(t)(9)(A) of the Social Security Act 

(the Act) (42 U.S.C. 1395l(t)(9)(A)) and 

is allowed by section 222 of the Public 

Health Service Act (PHS Act) (42 U.S.C. 

217(a)) to consult with an expert outside 

advisory panel on the clinical integrity 

of the Ambulatory Payment 

Classification (APC) groups and relative 

payment weights, which are major 

elements of the Medicare Hospital 

Outpatient Prospective Payment System 

(OPPS), and the appropriate supervision 

level for hospital outpatient services. 

The Panel is governed by the provisions 

of the Federal Advisory Committee Act 

(FACA) (Pub. L. 92–463), as amended (5 

U.S.C. Appendix 2), which sets forth 

standards for the formation and use of 

advisory panels. 

The Panel Charter provides that the 

Panel shall meet up to 3 times annually. 

We consider the technical advice 

provided by the Panel as we prepare the 

proposed and final rules to update the 

OPPS for the following calendar year. 

II. Renewal of the Hospital Outpatient 

Payment (HOP) Panel 

The Panel was originally chartered on 

November 21, 2000 and the Panel 

requires a recharter every 2 years. This 

notice announces the renewal of the 

HOP Panel charter, which was approved 

on November 6, 2014 for a 2-year period 

effective through November 6, 2016. 

The charter will terminate on November 

6, 2016, unless renewed by appropriate 

action. CMS intends to recharter the 

Panel for another 2-year period prior to 

the expiration of the current charter. 

Pursuant to the renewed charter, the 

Panel will advise the Secretary and CMS 

concerning optimal strategies for the 

following: 

• Addressing whether procedures 

within an APC group are similar both 

clinically and in terms of resource use. 

• Reconfiguring APCs (for example, 

splitting of APCs, moving Healthcare 

Common Procedures Coding System 

(HCPCS) codes from one APC to 

another, and moving HCPCS codes from 

new technology APCs to clinical APCs). 

• Evaluating APC group weights. 

• Reviewing packaging the cost of 

items and services, including drugs and 

devices into procedures and services; 

including the methodology for 

packaging and the impact of packaging 

the cost of those items and services on 

APC group structure and payment. 

• Removing procedures from the 

inpatient list for payment under the 

OPPS payment system. 

• Using claims and cost report data 

for CMS’ determination of APC group 

costs. 

• Addressing other technical issues 

concerning APC group structure. 

• Evaluating the required level of 

supervision for hospital outpatient 

services. 

III. Copies of the Charter 

To obtain a copy of the Panel’s 

Charter, we refer readers to the CMS 

Web site at: http://www.cms.gov/

Regulations-andGuidance/Guidance/

FACA/AdvisoryPanelonAmbulatory

PaymentClassificationGroups.html. 

Also, a copy of the Panel’s Charter can 

be received by submitting a request to 

the contact listed in the FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION section of this notice. 

IV. Collection of Information 

Requirements 

This document does not impose 

information collection requirements, 

that is, reporting, recordkeeping or 

third-party disclosure requirements. 

Consequently, there is no need for 

review by the Office of Management and 

Budget under the authority of the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 

U.S.C. Chapter 35). 

Dated: April 13, 2015. 

Andrew M. Slavitt, 

Acting Administrator, Centers for Medicare 

& Medicaid Services. 

[FR Doc. 2015–09609 Filed 4–23–15; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4120–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND 

HUMAN SERVICES 

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid 

Services 

[CMS–3315–PN] 

Medicare and Medicaid Programs; 

Application by the American 

Association of Diabetes Educators for 

Continued Deeming Authority for 

Diabetes Self-Management Training 

AGENCY: Centers for Medicare & 

Medicaid Services (CMS), HHS. 

ACTION: Proposed notice. 

SUMMARY: This proposed notice 

announces the receipt of an application 

from the American Association of 

Diabetes Educators for continued 

recognition as a national accreditation 


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