57164 Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 189 / Friday, September 30, 2005 / Rules and Regulations 

DRG DRG title 

69 ................... OTITIS MEDIA & URI AGE 

>17 W/O CC 

7. On page 47638, in Table 6E—

Revised Diagnosis Code Titles, the first 

entry, the CC (column 3) is corrected to 

read as follows: 

Diagnosis code CC 

285.21* ....................................... N 

8. On page 47675, in Table 9A—

Hospital Reclassifications and 

Redesignations by Individual Hospital 

and CBSA—FY 2006, first set of entries, 

the 36th entry, the Reclassified CBSA is 

corrected to read as follows: 

Provider No. Reclassified 

CBSA 

360095 .................................. 45780 

III. Waiver of Proposed Rulemaking 

and Delay in Effective Date 

We ordinarily publish a notice of 

proposed rulemaking in the Federal 

Register to provide a period for public 

comment before the provisions of a rule 

take effect in accordance with section 

553(b) of the Administrative Procedure 

Act (APA) (5 U.S.C. 553(b)). However, 

we can waive the notice and comment 

procedures if the Secretary finds, for 

good cause, that the notice and 

comment process is impracticable, 

unnecessary or contrary to the public 

interest, and incorporates a statement of 

the finding and the reasons therefore in 

the notice. We can also waive the 30- 

day delay in effective date under the 

APA (5 U.S.C. 553(d)) when there is 

good cause to do so and we publish in 

the rule an explanation of our good 

cause. 

The policies and payment 

methodology expressed in the FY 2006 

final rule have previously been 

subjected to notice and comment 

procedures. This correction notice 

merely corrects typographical and 

technical errors in the preamble, 

regulations text, and addendum of the 

FY 2006 final rule and does not make 

substantive changes to the policies or 

payment methodologies that were 

adopted in the final rule. As a result, 

this correction notice is intended to 

ensure that the FY 2006 final rule 

accurately reflects the policies adopted 

in the final rule. Therefore, we find that 

undertaking further notice and comment 

procedures to incorporate these 

corrections into the final rule is 

unnecessary and contrary to the public 

interest. 

For the same reasons, we are also 

waiving the 30-day delay in effective 

date for this correction notice. We 

believe that it is in the public interest 

to ensure that the FY 2006 final rule 

accurately represents our prospective 

payment methodology, payment rates, 

and policies. Thus delaying the effective 

date of these corrections would be 

contrary to the public interest. 

Therefore, we also find good cause to 

waive the 30-day delay in effective date. 

(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance 

Program No. 93.773, Medicare—Hospital 

Insurance; and Program No. 93.774, 

Medicare—Supplementary Medical 

Insurance Program) 

Dated: September 27, 2005. 

Ann C. Agnew, 

Executive Secretary to the Department. 

[FR Doc. 05–19612 Filed 9–29–05; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4120–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND 

HUMAN SERVICES 

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid 

Services 

[CMS–1282–CN] 

42 CFR Parts 411 and 424 

RIN 0938–AN65 

Medicare Program; Prospective 

Payment System and Consolidated 

Billing for Skilled Nursing Facilities; 

Correction 

AGENCY: Centers for Medicare & 

Medicaid Services (CMS), HHS. 

ACTION: Final rule; correction notice. 

SUMMARY: This document corrects 

typographical and technical errors that 

appeared in the August 4, 2005 Federal 

Register, entitled ‘‘Medicare Program; 

Prospective Payment System and 

Consolidated Billing for Skilled Nursing 

Facilities for FY 2006.’’

EFFECTIVE DATE: October 1, 2005. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Jeanette Kranacs, (410) 786–9385. Bill 

Ullman, (410) 786–5667. Sheila 

Lambowitz, (410) 786–7605. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background 

In FR Doc. 05–15221, (70 FR 45026), 

the final rule entitled ‘‘Medicare 

Program; Prospective Payment System 

and Consolidated Billing for Skilled 

Nursing Facilities for FY 2006’’

(hereinafter referred to as the FY 2006 

final rule), there were a number of 

typographical and technical errors that 

are identified and corrected in section 

III. ‘‘Correction of Errors’’ below. The 

provisions of this correction notice are 

effective as if they had been included in 

the FY 2006 final rule. Accordingly, the 

corrections are effective on October 1, 

2005. 

II. Summary of the Corrections to the 

FY 2006 Final Rule 

A. Corrections to the Preamble of the FY 

2006 Final Rule 

On pages 45046 and 45047, in the 

preamble discussion of the SNF market 

basket index, we inadvertently included 

incorrect values in the column labeled 

‘‘Relative importance, labor-related, FY 

2005 (97 index).’’ Therefore, we are 

revising the second column in Table 11 

(‘‘Labor-Related Relative Importance, FY 

2005 and FY 2006’’) to include the 

correct values for the labor share 

estimate for FY 2005 based on the 2nd 

quarter 2004 projection. (See item 1 of 

section III.A of this notice.) 

B. Corrections to the Regulations Text of 

the FY 2006 Final Rule 

On page 45055, we made a technical 

error in the regulations text of title 42, 

part 411. In this paragraph, we 

inadvertently excluded the updated 

statutory authority citation for this part. 

As revised by FR Doc. 05–1321 entitled 

‘‘Medicare Program; Medicare 

Prescription Drug Benefit’’ (70 FR 4525, 

January 28, 2005), in this notice we are 

correcting the regulations text to include 

Secs. 1102, 1860D–1 through D–42, and 

1871 of the Social Security Act (42 

U.S.C. 1302, 1395w–101 through 

1395w–152, and 1395hh). Accordingly, 

we are now republishing the corrected 

statutory authority citation for part 411, 

as revised by FR Doc. 05–1321. (See 

item 1 of section III. B. of this notice.) 

Also on page 45055, in our revisions 

to two different sections of the 

regulations text in part 424 of the FY 

2006 final rule, we inadvertently 

omitted a subpart heading. Specifically, 

revised § 424.3 and § 424.20 were both 

displayed as being included within 

subpart B of part 424 (‘‘Certification and 

Plan of Treatment Requirements’’). In 

fact, only § 424.20 is included within 

that subpart, while § 424.3 is included 

within subpart A (‘‘General 

Provisions’’). (See items 2 and 3 of 

section III. B. of this notice.) 

C. Corrections of Errors to the 

Addendum of the FY 2006 Final Rule 

Wage index data for two providers 

were erroneously omitted from the wage 

index calculation. This affected the 

wage index determination for the 

Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, TX 

CBSA and the Nashville-DavidsonMurfreesboro, TN CBSA. Accordingly, 

Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 189 / Friday, September 30, 2005 / Rules and Regulations 57165 

we are revising Table 8 and Table A to 

reflect the correct information. In 

addition, both Table 8 and Table A 

contained a number of technical and 

typographical errors. Therefore, we are 

including the corrected data in Table 8 

and Table A. (See items 1 and 2 of 

section III.C. of this notice.) 

III. Correction of Errors 

In FR Doc. 05–15221 of August 4, 

2005 (70 FR 45026), we are making the 

following corrections: 

A. Corrections to Errors in the Preamble 

1. On pages 45046 and 45047, in 

Table 11—Labor-Related Relative 

Importance, FY 2005 is corrected to read 

as follows: 

TABLE 11.—LABOR-RELATED RELATIVE IMPORTANCE, FY2005 AND FY2006 

Relative importance,* 

labor-related, 

FY 2005 (97 

index) 

Relative importance,** 

labor-related, 

FY 2006 (97 

index) 

Wages and salaries ................................................................................................................................................. 54.720 54.391 

Employee benefits ................................................................................................................................................... 11.595 11.648 

Nonmedical professional fees ................................................................................................................................. 2.688 2.739 

Labor-intensive services .......................................................................................................................................... 4.125 4.128 

Capital-related .......................................................................................................................................................... 3.094 3.016 

Total .................................................................................................................................................................. 76.222 75.922 

* Source: Global Insights, Inc., formerly DRI-WEFA, 2nd Quarter, 2004. 

** Source: Global Insights, Inc., formerly DRI-WEFA, 2nd Quarter, 2005. 

B. Corrections of Errors in the 

Regulations Text 

PART 411—[CORRECTED] 

■ 1. On page 45055, second column, 

lines 1 through 3, in part 411 

(Exclusions From Medicare and 

Limitations On Medicare Payment), the 

authority citation is corrected to read as 

follows: 

Authority: Secs. 1102, 1860D–1 through 

1860D–42, and 1871 of the Social Security 

Act (42 U.S.C. 1302, 1395w–101 through 

1395w–152, and 1395hh). 

PART 424—[CORRECTED] 

■ 2. On page 45055, second column, 

above § 424.3 Definitions, remove 

‘‘Subpart B—Certification and Plan of 

Treatment Requirements’’ and add in its 

place, ‘‘Subpart A—General 

Provisions.’’

■ 3. On page 45055, second column, 

above amendatory instruction 3., add 

the subpart heading to read as follows: 

‘‘Subpart B Certification and Plan of 

Treatment Requirements.’’

C. Corrections to the Addendum 

1. On pages 45065, 45069, and 45070 

in Table 8.—(‘‘FY 2006 Wage Index For 

Urban Areas Based On CBSA Labor 

Market Areas’’) the entries for the Urban 

area and Wage index are corrected to 

read as follows: 

CBSA code Urban area (constituent counties) Wage index 

26420 ............ Houston-Baytown-Sugar Land, TX ............................................................................................................................ 0.9996 

31900 ............ Mansfield, OH ............................................................................................................................................................ 0.9891 

34980 ............ Nashville-Davidson Murfreesboro, TN ....................................................................................................................... 0.9790 

2. On pages 45080 through 45121, the 

following entries identified in Table 

A.—(‘‘FY 2006 SNF PPS Transition 

Wage Index’’) are corrected to read as 

follows: 

SSA State/ 

county code County name MSA No. MSA Urban/ rural 

2006 

MSAbased WI 

2006 

CBSAbased WI 

CBSA 

No. 

CBSA Urban/ 

rural 

Transition 

wage 

index * 

01330 ........... Geneva County, Alabama .............. 01 Rural ........... 0.7432 0.7721 20020 Urban .......... 0.7577 

04280 ........... Hempstead County, Arkansas ....... 04 Rural ............ 0.7744 0.7466 99904 Rural ............ 0.7605 

11451 ........... Fayette County, Georgia ................ 0520 Urban .......... 0.9793 0.9793 12060 Urban .......... 0.9793 

11840 ........... Richmond County, Georgia ........... 0600 Urban .......... 0.9808 0.9748 12260 Urban .......... 0.9778 

16350 ........... Fremont County, Iowa ................... 16 Rural ........... 0.8594 0.8509 99916 Rural ........... 0.8552 

27130 ........... Fergus County, Montana ............... 27 Rural ........... 0.8762 0.8762 99927 Rural ........... 0.8762 

36710 ........... Richland County, Ohio ................... 4800 Urban .......... 0.9891 0.9891 31900 Urban .......... 0.9891 

44070 ........... Cannon County, Tennessee .......... 44 Rural ............ 0.7935 0.9790 34980 Urban .......... 0.8863 

44100 ........... Cheatham County, Tennessee ...... 5360 Urban .......... 0.9808 0.9790 34980 Urban .......... 0.9799 

44180 ........... Davidson County, Tennessee ........ 5360 Urban .......... 0.9808 0.9790 34980 Urban .......... 0.9799 

44210 ........... Dickson County, Tennessee .......... 5360 Urban .......... 0.9808 0.9790 34980 Urban .......... 0.9799 

44400 ........... Hickman County, Tennessee ......... 44 Rural ............ 0.7935 0.9790 34980 Urban .......... 0.8863 

44550 ........... Macon County, Tennessee ............ 44 Rural ........... 0.7935 0.9790 34980 Urban .......... 0.8863 

44730 ........... Robertson County, Tennessee ...... 5360 Urban .......... 0.9808 0.9790 34980 Urban .......... 0.9799 

44740 ........... Rutherford County, Tennessee ...... 5360 Urban .......... 0.9808 0.9790 34980 Urban .......... 0.9799 

44790 ........... Smith County, Tennessee ............. 44 Rural ........... 0.7935 0.9790 34980 Urban .......... 0.8863 

44820 ........... Sumner County, Tennessee .......... 5360 Urban .......... 0.9808 0.9790 34980 Urban .......... 0.9799 

57166 Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 189 / Friday, September 30, 2005 / Rules and Regulations 

SSA State/ 

county code County name MSA No. MSA Urban/ rural 

2006 

MSAbased WI 

2006 

CBSAbased WI 

CBSA 

No. 

CBSA Urban/ 

rural 

Transition 

wage 

index * 

44840 ........... Trousdale County, Tennessee ....... 44 Rural ........... 0.7935 0.9790 34980 Urban .......... 0.8863 

44930 ........... Williamson County, Tennessee ..... 5360 Urban .......... 0.9808 0.9790 34980 Urban .......... 0.9799 

44940 ........... Wilson County, Tennessee ............ 5360 Urban .......... 0.9808 0.9790 34980 Urban .......... 0.9799 

45070 ........... Austin County, Texas ..................... 45 Rural ........... 0.7931 0.9996 26420 Urban .......... 0.8964 

45180 ........... Brazoria County, Texas ................. 1145 Urban .......... 0.8563 0.9996 26420 Urban .......... 0.9280 

45280 ........... Chambers County, Texas .............. 3360 Urban .......... 1.0091 0.9996 26420 Urban .......... 1.0044 

45341 ........... Coryell County, Texas ................... 3810 Urban .......... 0.8526 0.8526 28660 Urban .......... 0.8526 

45530 ........... Fort Bend County, Texas ............... 3360 Urban .......... 1.0091 0.9996 26420 Urban .......... 1.0044 

45550 ........... Galveston County, Texas .............. 2920 Urban .......... 0.9635 0.9996 26420 Urban .......... 0.9816 

45610 ........... Harris County, Texas ..................... 3360 Urban .......... 1.0091 0.9996 26420 Urban .......... 1.0044 

45757 ........... Liberty County, Texas .................... 3360 Urban .......... 1.0091 0.9996 26420 Urban .......... 1.0044 

45801 ........... Montgomery County, Texas ........... 3360 Urban .......... 1.0091 0.9996 26420 Urban .......... 1.0044 

45884 ........... San Jacinto County, Texas ............ 45 Rural ........... 0.7931 0.9996 26420 Urban .......... 0.8964 

45950 ........... Waller County, Texas .................... 3360 Urban .......... 1.0091 0.9996 26420 Urban .......... 1.0044 

IV. Waiver of Proposed Rulemaking 

and Delay in Effective Date 

We ordinarily publish a notice of 

proposed rulemaking in the Federal 

Register to provide a period for public 

comment before the provisions of a 

notice such as this take effect in 

accordance with section 553(b) of the 

Administrative Procedure Act (APA) (5 

U.S.C. 553(b)). We also ordinarily 

provide a 30-day delay in the effective 

date of the provisions of a notice in 

accordance with section 553(d) of the 

APA (5 U.S.C. 553(d)). However, we can 

waive both the notice and comment 

procedure and the 30-day delay in 

effective date if the Secretary finds, for 

good cause, that a notice and comment 

process is impracticable, unnecessary or 

contrary to the public interest, and 

incorporates a statement of the finding 

and the reasons therefore in the notice. 

We find it unnecessary to undertake 

notice and comment rulemaking 

because this notice merely provides 

technical and typographical corrections 

to the regulations. We are not making 

substantive changes to our payment 

methodologies or policies, but rather, 

are simply implementing correctly the 

payment methodologies and policies 

that we previously proposed, received 

comments on, and subsequently 

finalized. The public has already had 

the opportunity to comment on the 

payment methodology and policies 

being used to calculate wage indexes. In 

addition, this correction notice is 

intended to ensure that the FY 2006 

SNF PPS final rule accurately reflects 

the payment methodologies and policies 

adopted in the final rule. Therefore, we 

believe that undertaking further notice 

and comment procedures to incorporate 

these corrections into the final rule is 

unnecessary and contrary to the public 

interest. 

Further, we believe a delayed 

effective date is unnecessary because 

this correction notice merely corrects 

inadvertent technical and typographical 

errors. The changes noted above do not 

make any substantive changes to the 

SNF PPS payment methodologies or 

policies. Moreover, we regard imposing 

a delay in the effective date as being 

contrary to the public interest. We 

believe that it is in the public interest 

for providers to receive appropriate SNF 

PPS payments in as timely a manner as 

possible and to ensure that the FY 2006 

SNF PPS final rule accurately reflects 

our payment methodologies, payment 

rates, and policies. Therefore, we find 

good cause to waive notice and 

comment procedures, as well as the 30- 

day delay in effective date. 

(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance 

Program No. 93.773, Medicare—Hospital 

Insurance; and Program No. 93.774, 

Medicare—Supplementary Medical 

Insurance Program). 

Dated: September 28, 2005. 

Ann C. Agnew, 

Executive Secretary to the Department. 

[FR Doc. 05–19762 Filed 9–29–05; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4120–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND 

HUMAN SERVICES 

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid 

Services 

42 CFR Part 412 

[CMS–1290–CN] 

RIN 0938–AN43 

Medicare Program; Inpatient 

Rehabilitation Facility Prospective 

Payment System for FY 2006; 

Correction 

AGENCY: Centers for Medicare & 

Medicaid Services (CMS), HHS. 

ACTION: Final rule; correction. 

SUMMARY: This document corrects 

technical errors that appeared in the FY 

2006 Inpatient Rehabilitation Facility 

(IRF) Prospective Payment System (PPS) 

regulation entitled ‘‘Inpatient 

Rehabilitation Facility Prospective 

Payment System for FY 2006’’ (70 FR 

47880). 

DATES: Effective Date: October 1, 2005. 

This rule applies for discharges on or 

after October 1, 2005 and on or before 

September 30, 2006 (FY 2006). 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Pete 

Diaz, (410) 786–1235. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background 

In the FY 2006 IRF PPS final rule (70 

FR 47880), there were a number of 

technical errors that are identified and 

corrected in the ‘‘Correction of Errors’’

section below. The provisions in this 

correction notice are effective as if they 

had been included in the FY 2006 IRF 

PPS final rule (70 FR 47880). 

Accordingly, the corrections are 

effective for the payments for discharges 

occurring on or after October 1, 2005 

and on or before September 30, 2006. 

Most of the technical errors identified 

and corrected in the ‘‘Correction of 

Errors’’ section below originate from the 

same error, an inadvertent inclusion of 

incorrect data for four inpatient 

rehabilitation facilities (IRFs) in the 

analysis for the FY 2006 final rule (70 

FR 47880). In the analysis for the FY 

2006 final rule (70 FR 47880), we 

inadvertently and incorrectly neglected 

to apply any rural adjustment amount to 

estimated payments for four IRFs in our 

analysis sample that should have 

received a portion of the rural 

adjustment under the IRF hold harmless 

policy (as described below). When we 

reran the data analysis with the correct 

portion of the rural adjustment applied 

to payments for these four facilities, it 

resulted in the technical changes to the