Notice2022-24811
Medicare Program; Request for Nominations to the Advisory Panel on Hospital Outpatient Payment
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Published
November 15, 2022
Issuing agencies
Health and Human Services DepartmentCenters for Medicare & Medicaid Services
Abstract
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is requesting nominations to fill vacancies on the Advisory Panel (the Panel) on Hospital Outpatient Payment (HOP). The purpose of the Panel is to advise the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (the Secretary) and the Administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (the Administrator) on the clinical integrity of the Ambulatory Payment Classification (APC) groups and their associated weights, supervision of hospital outpatient therapeutic services, and hospital outpatient prospective payment system (OPPS) OPPS APC rates for covered ambulatory surgical centers (ASC) procedures.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 87 Issue 219 (Tuesday, November 15, 2022)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 219 (Tuesday, November 15, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 68499-68500]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2022-24811]
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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
[CMS-1789-N]
Medicare Program; Request for Nominations to the Advisory Panel
on Hospital Outpatient Payment
AGENCY: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), HHS.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is
requesting nominations to fill vacancies on the Advisory Panel (the
Panel) on Hospital Outpatient Payment (HOP). The purpose of the Panel
is to advise the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human
Services (the Secretary) and the Administrator of the Centers for
Medicare & Medicaid Services (the Administrator) on the clinical
integrity of the Ambulatory Payment Classification (APC) groups and
their associated weights, supervision of hospital outpatient
therapeutic services, and hospital outpatient prospective payment
system (OPPS) OPPS APC rates for covered ambulatory surgical centers
(ASC) procedures.
DATES: We are accepting HOP Panel member nominations submitted by
February 13, 2023 5 p.m. eastern time. We may consider accepting
submissions that are received after that date at our discretion.
ADDRESSES: Nominations must be submitted through the ``Hospital
Outpatient Payment (HOP) Panel Member Nomination'' module on
MEARIS<SUP>TM</SUP>. To access the module, visit <a href="https://mearis.cms.gov">https://mearis.cms.gov</a>
to register, log in, and submit your nomination. CMS can only accept
HOP Panel Member nominations that are submitted via
MEARIS<SUP>TM.</SUP>
Persons wishing to obtain further information may submit an email
to the following email address: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#5918091a0938373c35193a342a7731312a773e362f"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="ffbeafbcaf9e919a93bf9c928cd197978cd1989089">[email protected]</span></a>.
News Media: Representatives should contact the CMS Press Office at
(202) 690-6145.
Website: For additional information on the HOP Panel, updates to
the Panel's activities, and submission of nominations to the HOP Panel,
we refer readers to our website at <a href="http://www.cms.gov/Regulations-and-Guidance/Guidance/FACA/AdvisoryPanelonAmbulatoryPaymentClassificationGroups.html">http://www.cms.gov/Regulations-and-Guidance/Guidance/FACA/AdvisoryPanelonAmbulatoryPaymentClassificationGroups.html</a>.
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), and allowed by section 222 of the Public Health Service
Act (PHS Act) to consult with an expert outside panel, that is, the
Advisory Panel (the Panel) on Hospital Outpatient Payment (HOP)
regarding the clinical integrity of the Ambulatory Payment
Classification (APC) groups and relative payment weights that are
components of the Medicare Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment
System (OPPS), the appropriate supervision level for hospital
outpatient therapeutic services, and OPPS APC rates for covered
ambulatory surgical center (ASC) procedures.
The Panel is governed by the provisions of the Federal Advisory
Committee Act (FACA) (Pub. L. 92-463, enacted October 6, 1972), as
amended (5 U.S.C. appendix 2), which sets forth standards for the
formation and use of advisory panels. The Panel may consider data
collected or developed by entities and organizations (other than the
Department of Health and Human Services) as part of their
deliberations.
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 (CY).
The current members of the Panel are:
<bullet> E.L. Hambrick, M.D., J.D., CMS Chairperson
<bullet> Terry Bohlke, C.P.A., C.M.A, M.H.A., C.A.S.C
<bullet> Carmen Cooper-Oguz, P.T., D.P.T, M.B.A, C.W.S, W.C.C
<bullet> Paul Courtney, M.D.
<bullet> Peter Duffy, M.D.
<bullet> Lisa Gangarosa, M.D.
<bullet> Bo Gately, M.B.A.
<bullet> Michael Kuettel, M.D., M.B.A, Ph.D.
<bullet> Scott Manaker, M.D., Ph.D.
<bullet> Matthew Wheatley, M.D., F.A.C.E.P
II. Request for Nominations; Criteria for Nominees
The Panel shall consist of a chair and up to 15 members who are
full-time employees of hospitals, hospital systems, or other Medicare
providers that are subject to the OPPS. The Panel may also include a
representative of a provider with ASC expertise, who shall advise CMS
only on OPPS APC rates, as appropriate, impacting ASC covered
procedures within the context and purview of the Panel's scope. The
Secretary or a designee selects the Panel membership based upon either
self-nominations or nominations submitted by Medicare providers and
other interested organizations of candidates determined to have the
required expertise. For supervision deliberations, the Panel may
include members that represent the interests of Critical Access
Hospitals, who advise CMS only regarding the level of supervision for
hospital outpatient therapeutic services. New appointments are made in
a manner that ensures a balanced membership under the Federal Advisory
Committee Act guidelines.
The HOP Panel currently consists of 9 panel members. Six additional
vacancies will occur in CY 2023. The list of current HOP Panel members
are located in the Background section of this notice, as well as on the
Advisory Panel on Hospital Outpatient Payment Committee page, on the
FACA database website at: <a href="https://www.facadatabase.gov/committee/committee.aspx?cid=1791&aid=76">https://www.facadatabase.gov/committee/committee.aspx?cid=1791&aid=76</a>.
Panel members serve on a voluntary basis, without compensation,
according to an advance written agreement; however, for the meetings,
CMS has a special interest in ensuring, while taking into account the
nominee pool, that the Panel is diverse in all respects of the
following: Geography; rural or urban practice; race, ethnicity, sex,
and disability; medical or technical specialty; and type of hospital,
hospital health system, or other Medicare provider subject to the OPPS.
Appointment to the HOP Panel shall be made without discrimination on
the basis of age, race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation,
disability, and cultural, religious, or socioeconomic status.
Based upon either self-nominations or nominations submitted through
MEARIS<SUP>TM</SUP> by providers or interested organizations, the
Secretary, or his or her designee, appoints new members to the Panel
from among those candidates determined to have the required expertise.
New appointments are made in a manner that ensures a balanced
membership under the FACA guidelines.
Nominations for a person not serving on the committee may be
reconsidered as committee vacancies arise, but should be updated and
resubmitted no
[[Page 68500]]
later than 3 years after the original nomination submittal to continue
to be considered for committee vacancies. CMS will consider the
submitted nominations unless they are withdrawn or the nominees'
qualifications have changed. Nominations will be considered as
vacancies occur. Nominations that were submitted through
MEARIS<SUP>TM</SUP> prior to the publication of this notice, or in
response to the Medicare Program; Request for Nominations to the
Advisory Panel on Hospital Outpatient Payment notice (83 FR 3715)
published in the January 26, 2018 Federal Register, will be given
consideration, and do not need to be resubmitted in response to this
notice.
The Panel must be balanced in its membership in terms of the points
of view represented and the functions to be performed. Each panel
member must be employed full-time by a hospital, hospital system, or
other Medicare provider subject to payment under the OPPS (except for
the critical access hospital (CAH) members, since CAHs are not paid
under the OPPS). All members must have technical expertise to enable
them to participate fully in the Panel's work. Such expertise
encompasses hospital payment systems; hospital medical care delivery
systems; provider billing systems; APC groups; Current Procedural
Terminology codes; and alpha-numeric Health Care Common Procedure
Coding System codes; and the use of, and payment for, drugs, medical
devices, and other services in the outpatient setting, as well as other
forms of relevant expertise. For supervision deliberations, the Panel
shall have members that represent the interests of CAHs, who advise CMS
only regarding the level of supervision for hospital outpatient
therapeutic services.
It is not necessary for a nominee to possess expertise in all of
the areas listed, but each must have a minimum of 5 years of experience
and currently have full-time employment in his or her area of
expertise. Generally, members of the Panel serve overlapping terms up
to 4 years, based on the needs of the Panel and contingent upon the
rechartering of the Panel. A member may serve after the expiration of
his or her term until a successor has been sworn in.
Any interested person or organization may nominate qualified
individuals. Self-nominations will also be accepted. Each nomination
submitted in MEARIS<SUP>TM</SUP> must include the following:
<bullet> Letter of Nomination stating the reasons why the nominee
should be considered.
<bullet> Curriculum vitae or resume of the nominee that includes an
email address where the nominee can be contacted.
<bullet> Written and signed statement from the nominee that the
nominee is willing to serve on the Panel under the conditions described
in this notice and further specified in the Charter.
<bullet> The hospital or hospital system name and address, or CAH
name and address, as well as all Medicare hospital and or Medicare CAH
billing numbers of the facility where the nominee is employed.
Future updates or changes to the panel nomination process may be
published in the Federal Register, posted on the CMS Advisory Panel for
Hospital Outpatient Payment website, or included in updates to the
MEARIS<SUP>TM</SUP> HOP Panel Member Nomination module.
III. The Charter
The Secretary rechartered the Panel in 2020 for a 2-year period
effective through November 20, 2022. The current charter is accessible
on the CMS website at <a href="https://www.cms.gov/Regulations-and-Guidance/Guidance/FACA/AdvisoryPanelonAmbulatoryPaymentClassificationGroups">https://www.cms.gov/Regulations-and-Guidance/Guidance/FACA/AdvisoryPanelonAmbulatoryPaymentClassificationGroups</a>.
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.).
The Administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
(CMS), Chiquita Brooks-LaSure, having reviewed and approved this
document, authorizes Lynette Wilson, who is the Federal Register
Liaison, to electronically sign this document for purposes of
publication in the Federal Register.
Dated: November 9, 2022.
Lynette Wilson,
Federal Register Liaison, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
[FR Doc. 2022-24811 Filed 11-14-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4120-01-P
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