2706 Federal Register / Vol. 90, No. 7 / Monday, January 13, 2025 / Notices 

Jeffrey M. Zirger, 

Lead, Information Collection Review Office, 

Office of Public Health Ethics and 

Regulations, Office of Science, Centers for 

Disease Control and Prevention. 

[FR Doc. 2025–00454 Filed 1–10–25; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4163–18–P 

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND 

HUMAN SERVICES 

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid 

Services 

[CMS–3469–PN] 

Medicare and Medicaid Programs: 

Application From The Joint 

Commission for Continued Approval of 

its Hospice Accreditation Program 

AGENCY: Centers for Medicare & 

Medicaid Services (CMS), HHS. 

ACTION: Notice with request for 

comment. 

SUMMARY: This proposed notice 

acknowledges the receipt of an 

application from The Joint Commission 

for continued recognition as a national 

accrediting organization for hospices 

that wish to participate in the Medicare 

or Medicaid programs. 

DATES: To be assured consideration, 

comments must be received at one of 

the addresses provided below, no later 

than 5 p.m. on February 12, 2025. 

ADDRESSES: In commenting, refer to file 

code CMS–3469–PN. 

Comments, including mass comment 

submissions, must be submitted in one 

of the following three 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–3469– 

PN, 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–3469– 

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

Boulevard, Baltimore, MD 21244–1850. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Lillian Williams, (410) 786–8636 or 

Melissa Rice, (410) 786–3270. 

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 

website as soon as possible after they 

have been received: http://

www.regulations.gov. Follow the search 

instructions on that website to view 

public comments. CMS will not post on 

Regulations.gov public comments that 

make threats to individuals or 

institutions or suggest that the 

commenter will take actions to harm an 

individual. CMS continues to encourage 

individuals not to submit duplicative 

comments. We will post acceptable 

comments from multiple unique 

commenters even if the content is 

identical or nearly identical to other 

comments. 

I. Background 

Under the Medicare program, eligible 

beneficiaries may receive covered 

services in a hospice, provided that 

certain requirements are met by the 

hospice. Section 1861(dd) of the Social 

Security Act (the Act) establishes 

distinct criteria for facilities seeking 

designation as a hospice. Regulations 

concerning provider agreements are at 

42 CFR part 489 and those pertaining to 

activities relating to the survey and 

certification of facilities are at 42 CFR 

part 488. The regulations at 42 CFR part 

418 specify the conditions that a 

hospice must meet in order to 

participate in the Medicare program, the 

scope of covered services and the 

conditions for Medicare payment for 

hospice services. 

Generally, to enter into an agreement, 

a hospice must first be certified by a 

state survey agency (SA) as complying 

with the conditions or requirements set 

forth in part 418. Thereafter, the hospice 

is subject to regular surveys by a SA to 

determine whether it continues to meet 

these requirements. 

However, section 1865(a)(1) of the Act 

provides that, if a provider entity 

demonstrates through accreditation by a 

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid 

Services (CMS) approved national 

Accrediting Organization (AO) that all 

applicable Medicare conditions are met 

or exceeded, we will deem those 

provider entities as having met the 

requirements. Accreditation by an AO is 

voluntary and is not required for 

Medicare participation. 

If an AO is recognized by the 

Secretary of the Department of Health 

and Human Services (the Secretary) as 

having standards for accreditation that 

meet or exceed Medicare requirements, 

any provider entity accredited by the 

national accrediting body’s approved 

program would be deemed to meet the 

Medicare conditions. A national AO 

applying for approval of its 

accreditation program under part 488, 

subpart A, must provide CMS with 

reasonable assurance that the AO 

requires the accredited provider entities 

to meet requirements that are at least as 

stringent as the Medicare conditions. 

Our regulations concerning the approval 

of AOs are set forth at §§ 488.4 and 

488.5. The regulations at § 488.5(e)(2)(i) 

require AOs to reapply for continued 

approval of its accreditation program 

every 6 years or sooner as determined 

by CMS. 

The Joint Commission’s (TJC’s) 

current term of approval for their 

hospice accreditation program expires 

June 18, 2025. 

II. Approval of Deeming Organizations 

Section 1865(a)(2) of the Act and our 

regulations at § 488.5 require that our 

findings concerning review and 

approval of a national AO’s 

requirements consider, among other 

factors, the applying AO’s requirements 

for accreditation; survey procedures; 

resources for conducting required 

surveys; capacity to furnish information 

for use in enforcement activities; 

monitoring procedures for provider 

entities found not in compliance with 

the conditions or requirements; and 

ability to provide CMS with the 

necessary data for validation. 

Section 1865(a)(3)(A) of the Act 

further requires that we publish, within 

60 days of receipt of an organization’s 

complete application, a notice 

identifying the national accrediting 

body making the request, describing the 

nature of the request, and providing at 

least a 30-day public comment period. 

We have 210 days from the receipt of a 

complete application to publish notice 

of approval or denial of the application. 

The purpose of this proposed notice 

is to inform the public of TJC’s request 

for continued approval of its hospice 

accreditation program. This notice also 

solicits public comment on whether 

TJC’s requirements meet or exceed the 

Medicare conditions of participation 

(CoPs) for hospices. 

III. Evaluation of Deeming Authority 

Request 

TJC submitted all the necessary 

materials to enable us to make a 

determination concerning its request for 

continued approval of its hospice 

accreditation program. This application 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1
Federal Register / Vol. 90, No. 7 / Monday, January 13, 2025 / Notices 2707 

was determined to be complete on 

November 20, 2024. Under section 

1865(a)(2) of the Act and our regulations 

at § 488.5 (Application and reapplication procedures for national 

AOs), our review and evaluation of TJC 

will be conducted in accordance with, 

but not necessarily limited to, the 

following factors: 

• The equivalency of TJC’s standards 

for hospices as compared with CMS’ 

hospice CoPs. 

• TJC’s survey process to determine 

the following: 

++ The composition of the survey 

team, surveyor qualifications, and the 

ability of the organization to provide 

continuing surveyor training. 

++ The comparability of TJC’s 

processes to those of state agencies, 

including survey frequency, and the 

ability to investigate and respond 

appropriately to complaints against 

accredited facilities. 

++ TJC’s processes and procedures 

for monitoring hospices which are 

found out of compliance with TJC’s 

program requirements. These 

monitoring procedures are used only 

when TJC identifies noncompliance. If 

noncompliance is identified through 

validation reviews or complaint 

surveys, the SA monitors corrections as 

specified at § 488.9. 

++ TJC’s capacity to report 

deficiencies to the surveyed facilities 

and respond to the facility’s plan of 

correction in a timely manner. 

++ TJC’s capacity to provide CMS 

with electronic data and reports 

necessary for effective validation and 

assessment of the organization’s survey 

process. 

++ The adequacy of TJC’s staff and 

other resources, and its financial 

viability. 

++ TJC’s capacity to adequately fund 

required surveys. 

++ TJC’s policies with respect to 

whether surveys are announced or 

unannounced, to ensure that surveys are 

unannounced. 

++ TJC’s policies and procedures to 

avoid conflicts of interest, including the 

appearance of conflicts of interest, 

involving individuals who conduct 

surveys or participate in accreditation 

decisions. 

++ TJC’s agreement to provide CMS 

with a copy of the most current 

accreditation survey, together with any 

other information related to the survey 

as we may require (including corrective 

action plans). 

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. 3501 et seq.). 

V. Response to Comments 

Because of the large number of public 

comments we normally receive on 

Federal Register documents, we are not 

able to acknowledge or respond to them 

individually. We will consider all 

comments we receive by the date and 

time specified in the DATES section of 

this preamble, and, when we proceed 

with a subsequent document, we will 

respond to the comments in the 

preamble to that document. 

The Administrator of the Centers for 

Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), 

Chiquita Brooks-LaSure, having 

reviewed and approved this document, 

authorizes Vanessa Garcia, who is the 

Federal Register Liaison, to 

electronically sign this document for 

purposes of publication in the Federal 

Register. 

Vanessa Garcia, 

Federal Register Liaison, Centers for Medicare 

& Medicaid Services. 

[FR Doc. 2025–00448 Filed 1–10–25; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4120–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND 

HUMAN SERVICES 

Administration for Children and 

Families 

Submission for Office of Management 

and Budget Review; Administration for 

Native Americans Project Outcome 

Assessment Survey (Office of 

Management and Budget #: 0970–0379) 

AGENCY: Administration for Native 

Americans, Administration for Children 

and Families, U.S. Department of Health 

and Human Services. 

ACTION: Request for public comments. 

SUMMARY: The Administration for 

Children and Families (ACF) is 

requesting a 3-year extension of the 

Administration for Native Americans 

Project Outcome Assessment Survey 

(OMB #: 0970–0379, expiration 6/30/ 

2025). The survey was revised based on 

a review by the Administration for 

Native Americans (ANA) and feedback 

from grantees, which identified some 

data elements that could be eliminated 

and areas that could be clarified. 

DATES: Comments due February 12, 

2025. OMB must make a decision about 

the collection of information between 30 

and 60 days after publication of this 

document in the Federal Register. 

Therefore, a comment is best assured of 

having its full effect if OMB receives it 

within 30 days of publication. 

ADDRESSES: Written comments and 

recommendations for the proposed 

information collection should be sent 

within 30 days of publication of this 

notice to www.reginfo.gov/public/do/ 

PRAMain. Find this particular 

information collection by selecting 

‘‘Currently under 30-day Review—Open 

for Public Comments’’ or by using the 

search function. You can also obtain 

copies of the proposed collection of 

information by emailing infocollection@

acf.hhs.gov. Identify all emailed 

requests by the title of the information 

collection. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Description: The information 

collected by the Project Outcome 

Assessment Survey is needed for two 

main reasons—(1) to collect crucial 

information required to report on ANA’s 

established Government Performance 

and Results Act (GPRA) measures and 

(2) to properly abide by ANA’s 

congressionally mandated statute (42 

U.S.C. 2991 et seq.) found within the 

Native American Programs Act of 1974, 

as amended, which states that ANA will 

evaluate projects assisted through ANA 

grant dollars ‘‘including evaluations that 

describe and measure the impact of 

such projects, their effectiveness in 

achieving stated goals, their impact on 

related programs, and their structure 

and mechanisms for delivery of 

services.’’ The survey information is 

requested once at the end of a project 

grant period. The information collected 

with this survey will fulfill ANA’s 

statutory requirement and will also 

serve as an important planning and 

performance tool for ANA. 

There are minor revisions proposed to 

the survey to align with ANA’s current 

requirements of grant recipients and 

eliminate duplicative data elements. 

Respondents: Tribal Governments, 

Native American nonprofit 

organizations, and Tribal Colleges and 

Universities. 


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