Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 239 / Wednesday, December 13, 1995 / Notices 64065

contract dollars awarded for architectengineer services. This notice

announces modifications to GSA’s

solicitation practices under the

demonstration program based on a

review of the agency’s performance

during the period from October 1, 1994

to September 30, 1995. Modifications to

solicitation practices are outlined in the

Supplementary Information section

below and apply to solicitations issued

on or after January 1, 1996.

EFFECTIVE DATE: January 1, 1996.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Tom Wisnowski, Office of GSA

Acquisition Policy, (202) 501–1224.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Procurements of construction or trash/

garbage collection with an estimated

value of $25,000 or less will be reserved

for emerging small business concerns in

accordance with the procedures

outlined in the interim policy directive

issued by the Office of Federal

Procurement Policy (58 FR 13513,

March 11, 1993).

Procurements of construction or

trash/garbage collection with an

estimated value that exceeds $25,000 by

GSA contracting activities will be made

in accordance with the following

procedures:

Construction Services in Groups 15, 16,

and 17

Procurements for all construction

services (except solicitations issued by

GSA contracting activities in Regions 3,

4, 5, 6, 8, 9, and 10 in SIC Group 15,

shall be conducted on an unrestricted

basis.

Procurements for construction

services in SIC Group 15 issued by GSA

contracting activities in Regions 3, 4, 5,

6, 8, 9, and 10 shall be set aside for

small business when there is a

reasonable expectation of obtaining

competition from two or more small

businesses. If no expectation exists, the

procurements will be conducted on an

unrestricted basis.

Region 3 encompasses the states of

Pennsylvania, Delaware, West Virginia,

Maryland (except Montgomery and

Prince Georges counties), and Virginia

(except the city of Alexandria and the

counties of Arlington, Fairfax, Loudoun,

and Prince William).

Region 4 encompasses the states of

Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky,

North Carolina, South Carolina,

Mississippi, and Tennessee.

Region 5 encompasses the states of

Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan,

Minnesota, and Wisconsin.

Region 6 encompasses the states of

Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska.

Region 8 encompasses the states of

Colorado, Montana, North Dakota,

South Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming.

Region 9 encompasses the states of

Arizona, California, Hawaii, and

Nevada.

Region 10 encompasses the states of

Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington.

Trash/Garbage Collection Services in

PSC S205

Procurements for trash/garbage

collection services in PSC S205 will be

conducted on an unrestricted basis.

Architect-Engineer Services (All PSC

Codes Under the Demonstration

Program)

Procurements for all architectengineer services (except procurements

issued by contracting activities in GSA

Regions 2, 3, 4, 5, 9, and the National

Capital Region) shall be conducted on

an unrestricted basis.

Procurements for architect-engineer

services issued by contracting activities

in Regions 2, 3, 4, 5, 9, and the National

Capital Region shall be set aside for

small business when there is a

reasonable expectation of obtaining

competition from two or more small

businesses. If no expectation exists, the

procurements may be conducted on an

unrestricted basis.

Region 2 encompasses the states of

New Jersey, New York, and the

territories of Puerto Rico and the Virgin

Islands.

Region 3 encompasses the states of

Pennsylvania, Delaware, West Virginia,

Maryland (except Montgomery and

Prince Georges counties), and Virginia

(except the city of Alexandria and the

counties of Arlington, Fairfax, Loudoun,

and Prince William).

Region 4 encompasses the states of

Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky,

North Carolina, South Carolina,

Mississippi, and Tennessee.

Region 5 encompasses the states of

Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan,

Minnesota, and Wisconsin.

Region 9 encompasses the states of

Arizona, California, Hawaii, and

Nevada.

The National Capital Region

encompasses the District of Columbia,

Montgomery and Prince Georges

counties in Maryland, and the city of

Alexandria and the counties of

Arlington, Fairfax, Loudoun, and Prince

William in Virginia

Non-Nuclear Ship Repair

GSA does not procure non-nuclear

ship repairs.

Dated: December 4, 1995.

Ida M. Ustad,

Associate Administrator for Acquisition

Policy.

[FR Doc. 95–30392 Filed 12–12–95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6820–61–M

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND

HUMAN SERVICES

Office of the Secretary

General Notice and Delegation of

Authority To Review Decisions Issued

by Administrative Law Judges in

Certain Medicare Claims; Solicitation

of Comments on Existing Procedures

for These Appeals

SUMMARY: The publication of this notice

and delegation of authority is to advise

the public that the Department of Health

and Human Services’ Departmental

Appeals Board has been given

jurisdiction to review the decisions of

Administrative Law Judges with respect

to entitlement to coverage and claims

for benefits under Medicare Part A,

Hospital Insurance, and Medicare Part

B, Supplementary Medical Insurance. It

also gives notice of mailing and e-mail

addresses to provide opportunities for

interested parties to make suggestions

for improvements in the current appeals

procedures for these cases.

EFFECTIVE DATE: October 1, 1995.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Glide B. Morrisson (202) 690–7043,

(telephone) (202) 690–5863 (FAX).

Since the inception of the Medicare

program, Administrative Law Judges

(ALJs) from the Social Security

Administration (SSA) have decided

requests for ALJ hearings filed by or on

behalf of Medicare beneficiaries

concerning requests for payment under

Part A of Medicare. In section 9341 of

the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act

of 1986, Pub. L. 99–509, Congress

extended similar administrative review

rights concerning requests for payment

under Medicare Part B for services

furnished on or after January 1, 1987. As

a result, SSA’s ALJs now conduct

hearings concerning Medicare claims

brought under both Parts A and B.

Beneficiaries and other parties

dissatisfied with an ALJ decision on

either Part A or Part B claim may

request that SSA’s Appeals Council

review the ALJ’s decision. The Appeals

Council also reviews ALJ hearing

decisions concerning an individual’s

entitlement to hospital insurance (Part

A) and supplementary medical

insurance (Part B).

On August 15, 1994, the Social

Security Independence and Program
64066 Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 239 / Wednesday, December 13, 1995 / Notices

Improvements Act of 1994, Pub. L. 103–

296, was enacted, establishing SSA as

an independent agency. As a result, the

Secretary of Health and Human Services

has decided to delegate to the Chair of

the Departmental Appeals Board the

authority to review ALJ decisions

concerning claims for payment under

Medicare Part A and B as well as ALJ

decisions concerning entitlement to

Medicare coverage. The delegation will

be effective October 1, 1995. All

Medicare cases pending before SSA’s

Appeals Council on September 30,

1995, will thereafter be the

responsibility of the Departmental

Appeals Board (DAB). Request for ALJ

hearings on claims for payment under

Parts A and B and requests for ALJ

hearings on entitlement to Medicare

coverage will continue to be decided by

the ALJs in SSA’s Office of Hearings and

Appeals.

Until the procedures are modified, the

DAB will conduct its review of ALJ

decisions under the existing regulations

governing appeals of Part A and B

claims. Therefore, in conducting its

review, the DAB will use the procedures

provided in the following authorities, as

applicable: 20 CFR Part 404, Subparts J

and R, 42 CFR Part 405, Subparts G and

H, 42 CFR Part 473, Subpart B

(concerning review of decisions on Part

A and B determinations made by peer

review organizations) and regulations in

42 CFR part 417 governing review of

decisions concerning Part A and B

claims submitted by enrollees of health

maintenance organizations, competitive

health plans and health care

prepayment plans. For the cases covered

by this delegation, where ever the term

‘‘Appeals Council’’ is used, the term

‘‘Departmental Appeals Board’’ should

be inserted.

The DAB, in cooperation with the

Health Care Financing Administration,

will review current procedures for

appropriate changes and improvements.

Interested parties may send comments

and suggestions to the DAB at the

following address: Departmental

Appeals Board, Department of Health &

Human Services, 200 Independence

Avenue, S.W., Room 637D, Washington,

DC 20201, or at the following e-mail

address: gbm@ospahb.ssw.dhhs.gov.

On October 13, 1993, I delegated to

the Departmental Appeals Board my

authority to make final decisions on

review of, or to decline to review,

decisions of Administrative Law Judges

involving, inter alia, provider

participation and termination under

section 1866(b)(2) of the Social Security

Act and the other authorities

enumerated in that delegation. See 58

Fed. Reg. 58171 (October 29, 1993). The

delegation to the Departmental Appeals

Board dated October 13, 1993,

superseded all previous delegations of

authority to review decisions by

Administrative Law Judges on the

referenced authorities, except that the

delegation provided that the Social

Security Administration, Office of

Hearings and Appeals, Appeals Council

continued to have the authority to

review, or to decline to review,

decisions in cases pending before it.

There are still five of those cases

pending; they are assigned to the same

specialized personnel who are

transferring to DAB to process the other

Medicare appeals being delegated in

this notice. Thus, notice is hereby given

that any case pending before SSA’s

Appeals Council on September 30, 1995

that concerns the authorities referenced

in the October 13, 1993 delegation will

be transferred to the Departmental

Appeals Board effective October 1,

1995.

Delegation of Authority

Notice is hereby given that I have

delegated to the Chair of the

Departmental Appeals Board my

authority to make final decisions on

review of, or to decline to review,

decisions of Administrative Law Judges

of the Office of Hearings and Appeals of

the Social Security Administration

involving Title XVIII, Parts A and B of

the Social Security Act, as provided

below:

1. The authority to make final

decisions on review of, or to decline to

review, decisions of Administrative Law

Judges involving determinations made

under section 1869 of the Social

Security Act concerning whether an

individual is entitled to benefits under

Part A or Part B, and concerning claims

for benefits under Parts A or B.

2. The authority to make final

decisions on review of, or to decline to

review, decisions of Administrative Law

Judges involving determinations made

under section 1876(c)(5) of the Social

Security Act, which affect an

individual’s right to receive items and

services, without additional cost, from a

health maintenance organization.

3. The authority to make final

decisions on review of, or to decline to

review, decisions of Administrative law

Judges involving determinations made

under section 1155 of the Social

Security Act.

I have also delegated to the Chair of

the Departmental Appeals Board the

authority to make final decisions on

review of, or to decline to review,

decisions of Administrative Law Judges

of the Office of Hearings and Appeals of

the Social Security Administration

involving, inter alia, provider

participation and termination under

section 1866(b)(2) of the Social Security

Act and the other authorities

enumerated in that delegation for any

cases pending before SSA’s Appeals

Council on September 30, 1995 that

concern the authorities referenced in my

October 13, 1993 delegation. See 58 Fed.

Reg. 58171 (October 29, 1993).

These delegations include, but are not

limited to, the authority to administer

oaths and affirmations, to subpoena

witnesses and documents, to examine

witnesses, to exclude or receive and

give appropriate weight to materials and

testimony offered as evidence, and to

make findings of fact and conclusions of

law. These delegations, which

supersede all previous delegations of

authority to make final decisions on

review of, or to decline to review,

decisions by Administrative Law Judges

on the above-referenced authorities, are

effective October 1, 1995. Accordingly,

all cases decided pursuant to the abovereferenced authorities that are pending

with the Appeals Council of the Office

of Hearing and Appeals, Social Security

Administration on September 30, 1995,

will thereafter be the responsibility of

the Chair of the Departmental Appeals

Board.

Dated: October 24, 1995.

Donna E. Shalala,

Secretary.

[FR Doc. 95–30282 Filed 12–12–95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4120–03–M

Food and Drug Administration

[Docket No. 95N–0363]

Medical Devices; Review of ComputerAided Diagnostic Software Devices;

Notice of Public Workshop

AGENCY: Food and Drug Administration,

HHS.

ACTION: Notice of public workshop.

SUMMARY: The Food and Drug

Administration (FDA) is announcing a

public workshop to discuss the

appropriate approach to the review of

premarket submissions for computeraided diagnostic (CADx) medical

devices. Because there is increasing

interest in and development of CADx

medical devices, the agency is holding

this workshop to obtain public

comments and suggestions that may

help FDA develop device description

and assessment methodologies for

reviewer guidance for premarket

submissions for these CADx medical

devices.