2015-18904. Medicare and Medicaid Programs; Quarterly Listing of Program Issuances-April Through June 2015

AGENCY:

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), HHS.

ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY:

This quarterly notice lists CMS manual instructions, substantive and interpretive regulations, and other Federal Register notices that were published from April through June 2015, relating to the Medicare and Medicaid programs and other programs administered by CMS.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

It is possible that an interested party may need specific information and not be able to determine from the listed information whether the issuance or regulation would fulfill that need. Consequently, we are providing contact persons to answer general questions concerning each of the addenda published in this notice.

Addenda	Contact	Phone No.
I CMS Manual Instructions	Ismael Torres	[phone]
II Regulation Documents Published in the Federal Register	Terri Plumb	[phone]
III CMS Rulings	Tiffany Lafferty	[phone]
IV Medicare National Coverage Determinations	Wanda Belle	[phone]
V FDA-Approved Category B IDEs	John Manlove	[phone]
VI Collections of Information	Mitch Bryman	[phone]
VII Medicare-Approved Carotid Stent Facilities	Lori Ashby	[phone]
VIII American College of Cardiology—National Cardiovascular Data Registry Sites	Marie Casey, BSN, MPH	[phone]
IX Medicare's Active Coverage-Related Guidance Documents	JoAnna Baldwin	[phone]
X One-time Notices Regarding National Coverage Provisions	JoAnna Baldwin	[phone]
XI National Oncologic Positron Emission Tomography Registry Sites	Stuart Caplan, RN, MAS	[phone]
XII Medicare-Approved Ventricular Assist Device (Destination Therapy) Facilities	Marie Casey, BSN, MPH	[phone]
XIII Medicare-Approved Lung Volume Reduction Surgery Facilities	Marie Casey, BSN, MPH	[phone]
XIV Medicare-Approved Bariatric Surgery Facilities	Jamie Hermansen	[phone]
XV Fluorodeoxyglucose Positron Emission Tomography for Dementia Trials	Stuart Caplan, RN, MAS	[phone]
All Other Information	Annette Brewer	[phone]

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is responsible for administering the Medicare and Medicaid programs and coordination and oversight of private health insurance. Administration and oversight of these programs involves the following: (1) Furnishing information to Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries, health care providers, and the public; and (2) maintaining effective communications with CMS regional offices, state governments, state Medicaid agencies, state survey agencies, various providers of health care, all Medicare contractors that process claims and pay bills, National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC), health insurers, and other stakeholders. To implement the various statutes on which the programs are based, we issue regulations under the authority granted to the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services under sections 1102, 1871, 1902, and related provisions of the Social Security Act (the Act) and Public Health Service Act. We also issue various manuals, memoranda, and statements necessary to administer and oversee the programs efficiently.

Section 1871(c) of the Act requires that we publish a list of all Medicare manual instructions, interpretive rules, statements of policy, and guidelines of general applicability not issued as regulations at least every 3 months in the Federal Register.

II. Format for the Quarterly Issuance Notices

This quarterly notice provides only the specific updates that have occurred in the 3-month period along with a hyperlink to the full listing that is available on the CMS Web site or the appropriate data registries that are used as our resources. This is the most current up-to-date information and will be available earlier than we publish our quarterly notice. We believe the Web site list provides more timely access for beneficiaries, providers, and suppliers. We also believe the Web site offers a more convenient tool for the public to find the full list of qualified providers for these specific services and offers more flexibility and “real time” accessibility. In addition, many of the Web sites have listservs; that is, the public can subscribe and receive immediate notification of any updates to the Web site. These listservs avoid the need to check the Web site, as notification of updates is automatic and sent to the subscriber as they occur. If assessing a Web site proves to be difficult, the contact person listed can provide information.

III. How To Use the Notice

This notice is organized into 15 addenda so that a reader may access the subjects published during the quarter covered by the notice to determine whether any are of particular interest. We expect this notice to be used in concert with previously published notices. Those unfamiliar with a description of our Medicare manuals should view the manuals at http://www.cms.gov/​manuals.

Dated July 27, 2015.

Kathleen Cantwell

Director, Office of Strategic Operations and Regulatory Affairs.