83_FR_42198 83 FR 42037 - Medicare, Medicaid, and Children's Health Insurance Programs: Announcement of Revisions to the Provider Enrollment Moratoria Access Waiver Demonstration for Part B Non-Emergency Ground Ambulance Suppliers and Home Health Agencies in Moratoria-Designated Geographic Locations

83 FR 42037 - Medicare, Medicaid, and Children's Health Insurance Programs: Announcement of Revisions to the Provider Enrollment Moratoria Access Waiver Demonstration for Part B Non-Emergency Ground Ambulance Suppliers and Home Health Agencies in Moratoria-Designated Geographic Locations

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services

Federal Register Volume 83, Issue 161 (August 20, 2018)

Page Range42037-42043
FR Document2018-17809

This document announces revisions to the Provider Enrollment Moratoria Access Waiver Demonstration (PEWD) for Part B Non-Emergency Ground Ambulance Suppliers and Home Health Agencies. The demonstration was implemented in accordance with section 402(a)(1)(J) of the Social Security Amendments of 1967 and, as revised, gives CMS the authority to grant waivers to the statewide enrollment moratoria on a case-by-case basis in response to access to care issues and previously denied enrollment applications because of statewide moratoria implementation, and to subject providers and suppliers enrolling via such waivers to heightened screening, oversight, and investigations.

Federal Register, Volume 83 Issue 161 (Monday, August 20, 2018)
[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 161 (Monday, August 20, 2018)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 42037-42043]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2018-17809]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services

42 CFR Parts 405, 424, 455, and 498

[CMS-6073-N2]


Medicare, Medicaid, and Children's Health Insurance Programs: 
Announcement of Revisions to the Provider Enrollment Moratoria Access 
Waiver Demonstration for Part B Non-Emergency Ground Ambulance 
Suppliers and Home Health Agencies in Moratoria-Designated Geographic 
Locations

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

ACTION: Revisions of the waiver demonstration.

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SUMMARY: This document announces revisions to the Provider Enrollment 
Moratoria Access Waiver Demonstration (PEWD) for Part B Non-Emergency 
Ground Ambulance Suppliers and Home Health Agencies. The demonstration 
was implemented in accordance with section 402(a)(1)(J) of the Social 
Security Amendments of 1967 and, as revised, gives CMS the authority to 
grant waivers to the statewide enrollment moratoria on a case-by-case 
basis in response to access to care issues and previously denied 
enrollment applications because of statewide moratoria implementation, 
and to subject providers and suppliers enrolling via such waivers to 
heightened screening, oversight, and investigations.

DATES: The revisions to the waiver demonstration are effective August 
20, 2018.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jung Kim, (410) 786-9370. News media 
representatives must contact CMS' Public Affairs Office at (202) 690-
6145 or email them at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    The Social Security Act (the Act) provides CMS with tools and 
resources to combat fraud, waste, and abuse in Medicare, Medicaid, and 
the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), including the authority 
to place a temporary moratorium on provider enrollment in these 
programs, 402(a)(1)(J) of the Social Security Amendments of 1967 (42 
U.S.C. 1395b-1(a)(1)(J)). CMS uses quantitative and qualitative data to 
determine whether there is a need for a moratorium, such as reviewing 
whether the area under consideration for a moratorium has significantly 
higher than average billing per beneficiary or provider per beneficiary 
ratios. CMS first used its moratoria authority on July 30, 2013, to 
prevent enrollment of new Home Health Agencies (HHAs) in the Chicago, 
Illinois and Miami, Florida areas, as well as Part B ground ambulance 
suppliers in the Houston, Texas area (see the July 31, 2013 Federal 
Register (78 FR 46339)). These moratoria also applied to Medicaid and 
CHIP. CMS exercised this authority again on January 30, 2014, to extend 
the existing moratoria for 6 months and expand them to include HHAs in 
Fort Lauderdale, Florida; Detroit, Michigan; Houston, Texas; and 
Dallas, Texas; as well as Medicaid, CHIP and Medicare Part B ground 
ambulance suppliers in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and nearby New Jersey 
counties (see the February 4, 2014 Federal Register (79 FR 6475)). 
Since the moratoria were expanded, they remained in place and were 
extended in 6-month intervals. On July 29, 2016, CMS extended the 
existing moratoria for 6 months and expanded them to statewide in the 
impacted states (see the August 3, 2016 Federal Register (81 FR 
51120)). The statewide moratoria have since been extended at 6-month 
intervals and to date, largely remain in place in all of the 
previously-mentioned locations.\1\
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    \1\ Effective July 29, 2016, CMS lifted the moratoria on Part B 
emergency ground ambulance suppliers in all locations. (81 FR 51120) 
In addition, effective September 1, 2017, CMS lifted the moratoria 
on Part B non-emergency ground ambulance suppliers in Texas. (82 FR 
51274) These actions also applied to Medicaid and CHIP.
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    Since initial implementation of the moratoria, CMS has monitored 
the program and identified several operational challenges. Because the 
moratoria were initially geographically defined by county, the 
moratoria did not prohibit existing providers and suppliers from 
opening a branch location in, or moving a currently-enrolled business 
into, a moratoria area. Moreover, CMS was unable to prevent existing 
providers and suppliers enrolled outside of a moratoria area from 
servicing beneficiaries within the moratoria area. In fact, CMS 
discovered providers and suppliers who were located several hundred 
miles outside of a moratorium area that were billing for services 
furnished to beneficiaries located within the moratorium area.
    As noted previously, on July 29, 2016, CMS implemented statewide 
moratoria on newly enrolling HHAs in Medicare, Medicaid, and CHIP, and 
non-emergency ground ambulance suppliers in Medicare Part B, Medicaid, 
and CHIP in order to mitigate the vulnerabilities identified and 
described previously regarding the prior county-based moratoria. 
Concurrently, CMS implemented this Demonstration in order to improve 
methods for the investigation and prosecution of fraud, and to ensure 
that program integrity enforcement actions did not impact beneficiary 
access to care; in particular, all of the states impacted by the 
expanded statewide moratoria have rural areas that could be impacted by 
the statewide expansion. By implementing this Demonstration, CMS 
created a process that allows for need-based waivers to the moratoria 
in areas with access to care issues. Recently, CMS re-evaluated the 
continued need for statewide moratoria on the enrollment of new Part B, 
Medicaid, and CHIP non-emergency ground ambulance suppliers in New 
Jersey and Pennsylvania, and HHAs in Florida, Illinois, Michigan, and 
Texas, and determined that the conditions that caused CMS to implement 
the moratoria have not abated. As a result, on July 29, 2018 (see the 
August 2, 2018 Federal Register (83 FR 37747), we extended the 
statewide moratoria on Part B, Medicaid, and CHIP non-emergency ground 
ambulance suppliers and HHAs in the impacted states.

A. Operational Challenges

    Since expanding statewide, a new statutory provision affecting the 
moratoria areas has taken effect. In December 2016, Congress enacted 
the 21st Century Cures Act (Cures Act). Section 17004 of the Cures Act 
provides authority to address issues of circumvention of the prior 
county-based moratoria by prohibiting payment for items or services 
furnished within moratoria areas by any newly enrolled provider or 
supplier that is of a provider

[[Page 42038]]

or supplier type subject to the moratoria.
    We believe it is necessary to maintain statewide moratoria and this 
Demonstration in Medicare, Medicaid, and CHIP in order to more 
effectively rectify the circumvention issue. As such, we must address a 
challenge we identified with carrying out the statewide moratoria and 
the existing Demonstration in light of the Cures Act requirement. The 
Demonstration provides an opportunity for providers and suppliers 
otherwise subject to the moratoria to enroll and furnish services 
within a moratorium area if CMS determines that there are access to 
care issues in a particular geographic area. However, the Cures Act 
provision prevents payments to newly enrolled providers and suppliers 
subject to the moratoria for items and services furnished in moratoria 
areas. This includes those providers and suppliers enrolled under the 
Demonstration. This Cures Act provision became effective for such items 
and services furnished on or after October 1, 2017. To continue to 
avoid potential patient access to care issues and to continue a process 
to test whether allowing for targeted anti-fraud activities through 
heightened screening of providers and suppliers enrolling through the 
Demonstration will improve methods for the investigation and 
prosecution of fraud under section 402(a)(l)(J) of the Social Security 
Amendments of 1967, CMS is revising the Demonstration to waive the 
requirements of section 17004 of the Cures Act for the providers and 
suppliers enrolled under the Demonstration.\2\ With this revision, 
providers and suppliers enrolled under the Demonstration will be able 
to receive Medicare, Medicaid, and/or CHIP payment for items and 
services furnished within the provider's or supplier's approved service 
area for the Demonstration.
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    \2\ The Secretary may waive compliance with the requirements of 
titles XVIII and XIX of the Social Security Act under section 402(b) 
of Public Law 90-248, (42 U.S.C. 1395b-1(b)).
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B. Expanded Access to the Demonstration

    The regulation at 42 CFR 424.570(a)(1)(iv) provides that a 
temporary enrollment moratorium does not apply to any enrollment 
application that has been approved by the Medicare Administrative 
Contractor (MAC) but not yet entered into PECOS at the time the 
moratorium is imposed. During the time period when the moratoria was 
county-based, some providers and suppliers spent a substantial amount 
of time and considerable resources preparing for enrollment in states 
subject to the prior county-based moratoria only to have their Form 
CMS-855 applications denied near the end of the enrollment process 
because of the sudden imposition of a statewide moratorium. This has 
been especially problematic for HHAs--(1) whose Form CMS-855A 
applications had been recommended for approval by the MAC; (2) that had 
successfully completed a state survey; and (3) whose applications and 
survey results had been forwarded by the state to the CMS regional 
office for final review.
    As a result, CMS is further revising the Demonstration to include 
two different options for eligibility: (1) The existing option 
requiring that the provider or supplier demonstrate that access to care 
issues exist; or (2) the new alternative option requiring that the 
provider or supplier establish that it had submitted an enrollment 
application prior to implementation of the moratorium that was denied 
as a result of implementation of such moratorium. This alternative 
requirement applies to the July 29, 2016 statewide moratoria and any 
moratoria that are implemented subsequent to, and for the duration of, 
this demonstration. Thus this revision will allow CMS to approve 
individual waivers to a statewide moratorium due to providers or 
suppliers demonstrating that access to care issues exist, or for 
providers and suppliers that had submitted an enrollment application 
prior to implementation of a moratorium on July 29, 2016, or later, 
that was denied by their relevant MAC as a result of implementation of 
such moratoria. Providers and suppliers who meet either of these 
criteria will be subject to the heightened screening, oversight, and 
restrictions of the revised Demonstration. These two options for 
eligibility will allow additional opportunities for providers and 
suppliers to enroll under the revised Demonstration. This will better 
allow CMS to test whether conducting targeted anti-fraud activities 
through heightened screening of enrolling providers or suppliers, in 
conjunction with increased oversight and other restrictions, will 
improve methods for the investigation and prosecution of fraud under 
Section 402(a)(l)(J) of the Social Security Amendments of 1967. As 
such, for purposes of this Demonstration, CMS is waiving the regulatory 
requirement in 42 CFR 424.570(a)(1)(iv), described previously.\3\
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    \3\ The Secretary may waive compliance with the requirements of 
titles XVIII and XIX of the Social Security Act under section 402(b) 
of Public Law 90-248 (42 U.S.C. 1395b-1(b)).
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C. Enrollment Effective Date Flexibilities

    Regardless of the reason a provider or supplier qualifies for the 
Demonstration, CMS is also revising the Demonstration to provide 
additional discretion regarding the effective date of new billing 
privileges in order to better address any access to care concerns that 
do arise. CMS is waiving the regulatory requirement in 42 CFR 
424.520(a) and (d) governing the effective date of new billing 
privileges for certified providers and ambulance suppliers, 
respectively, so as to allow CMS to evaluate and assign effective dates 
depending on whether access to care issues exist in the service 
area.\4\
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    \4\ The Secretary may waive compliance with the requirements of 
titles XVIII and XIX of the Social Security Act under section 402(b) 
of Public Law 90-248 (42 U.S.C. 1395b-1(b)).
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D. Summary

    As described in greater detail in section II. of this document, 
because CMS sees a high incidence of fraud in the moratoria areas, 
extensive screening and review of providers and suppliers newly 
enrolling under the Demonstration will be coupled with an earlier 
review of claims and other investigations and prosecutions of fraud 
with respect to such providers and suppliers. The revised Demonstration 
will also support statewide moratoria by addressing the moratoria 
circumvention issues that surfaced throughout the prior county-based 
moratoria and providing waivers to the moratoria to ensure that 
beneficiary access to care is not adversely impacted. Approval of a 
waiver would be based primarily on either the provider or supplier 
demonstrating an access to care issue exists or that the provider or 
supplier submitted an enrollment application prior to implementation of 
a moratorium on July 29, 2016, or later that was denied as a result of 
implementation of such moratorium, and secondarily on passing the 
enhanced screening measures in the approved service area.
    A finding of fraud risk in Medicare typically means that the risk 
also exists in Medicaid and CHIP, as recognized by section 1902(a)(39) 
of the Act, which requires state Medicaid agencies to terminate the 
participation of any individual or entity if such individual or entity 
is terminated under Medicare or any other state's Medicaid or CHIP 
program. Moreover, access to care issues are of equal concern in the 
context of Medicaid and CHIP. As a result, CMS

[[Page 42039]]

will also implement the revised Demonstration in Medicaid and CHIP.

II. Demonstration Design and Duration

    This revised Demonstration will continue to support the existing 
statewide moratoria on HHAs in Medicare, Medicaid, and CHIP, and non-
emergency ground ambulance suppliers in Medicare Part B, Medicaid, and 
CHIP. This revised Demonstration will allow a provider or supplier to 
submit a Provider Enrollment Moratoria Access Waiver (waiver) 
application that, if approved, will exempt such provider or supplier 
from the moratorium in designated geographic areas. The waiver 
application for Medicare enrollment will be reviewed by CMS, and this 
review will include heightened screening measures. The waiver 
application for Medicaid and CHIP will be reviewed by the relevant 
State Medicaid Agency. If the provider or supplier receives a waiver, 
restrictions may be imposed on such provider's or supplier's service 
area to limit the number of new providers or suppliers in a location 
that is already oversaturated with particular providers and/or 
suppliers. This restriction will be based on the saturation of 
providers or suppliers and the number of beneficiaries in the counties 
where the provider or supplier proposes to operate. Extensive 
evaluations of providers and suppliers seeking to enroll through this 
demonstration will be coupled with proactive reviews of submitted 
claims on an ad hoc basis, beginning within the first 30 to 60 days of 
enrollment and continuing for the first year of enrollment, as well as 
increased investigations with referral to law enforcement as 
appropriate, for newly enrolled and existing providers.

A. Medicare Implementation

    All waiver applications, with the appropriate CMS-855 \5\ 
enrollment application form and supporting documentation, should be 
submitted electronically to a designated mailbox: 
[email protected]. Upon receipt of the applicable 
CMS-855 application, waiver application, all supporting documentation, 
and payment of the enrollment application fee, CMS will review for 
completeness and, within 30 days, will respond with confirmation of 
receipt or in the case of an incomplete application, rejection. As part 
of the Demonstration, CMS will review the applicant's affiliations to 
include: (1) A 5 percent or greater direct or indirect ownership 
interest that an individual or entity has in another organization; (2) 
a general or limited partnership interest that an individual or entity 
has in another organization; (3) an interest in which an individual or 
entity exercises operational or managerial control over or directly or 
indirectly conducts the day-to-day operations of another organization, 
either under contract or through some other arrangement, regardless of 
whether or not the managing individual or entity is a W-2 employee of 
the organization; (4) an interest in which an individual is acting as 
an officer or director of a corporation; (5) any reassignment 
relationship. In section 5 of the Waiver Application,\6\ we require 
providers and suppliers to report affiliations with entities and 
individuals that: (1) Currently have uncollected debt to Medicare, 
Medicaid, or CHIP; (2) have been or are subject to a payment suspension 
under a federal health care program or subject to an Office of 
Inspector General (OIG) exclusion; or (3) have had their Medicare, 
Medicaid, or CHIP enrollment denied or revoked. Should such an 
affiliation be reported or discovered, CMS could deny the provider's or 
supplier's PEWD application if CMS determines that the affiliation 
poses an undue risk of fraud, waste, or abuse. As part of the review to 
determine undue risk, CMS will consider the duration of the applicant's 
relationship with the affiliated entity or individual, determine 
whether the affiliation still exists or how long ago it ended, the 
degree and extent of the affiliation, and reason for termination of the 
affiliation if applicable. CMS may also deny a provider's or supplier's 
PEWD application if CMS determines that the provider or supplier is 
currently revoked from Medicare, Medicaid, or CHIP under a different 
name, numerical identifier, or business identity. To minimize provider 
burden the ``look-back'' period for disclosure of affiliations will be 
within the previous 5 years. However, there will be no cut-off or 
specific ``look-back'' period for when the disclosable event occurred 
or was imposed.
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    \5\ CMS 855 is the Medicare provider and supplier enrollment 
application and may be found at https://www.cms.gov/Medicare/CMS-Forms/CMS-Forms/CMS-Forms-List.html.
    \6\ The Waiver Application may be found at https://www.cms.gov/Medicare/Provider-Enrollment-and-Certification/MedicareProviderSupEnroll/ProviderEnrollmentMoratorium.html.
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    Should CMS receive more than one application for a particular 
geographical area, and the acceptance factor is based on access to 
care, the applications will be prioritized by order of receipt until 
the access to care concern is alleviated. Should CMS receive more than 
one application for a particular geographical area, and the acceptance 
factor is that enrollment applications were denied because of 
implementation of moratoria, all applications will be prioritized and 
processed in the order of receipt. Should CMS receive applications for 
a particular geographical area from a provider or supplier seeking to 
demonstrate an access to care issue and from another provider or 
supplier whose enrollment application was denied as a result of 
implementation of moratoria, the application from the provider or 
supplier whose enrollment application was denied due to the 
implementation of moratoria will be prioritized. An application will 
not be considered received until it is complete, including 
fingerprinting. Subsequently, CMS will have 90 days from initial 
receipt to review each application and communicate a decision to the 
provider or supplier.
    Once a complete application is received, the determining factor for 
waiver approval under this revised Demonstration, and the first step in 
application review, will either be (1) a determination regarding 
beneficiary access to care; or (2) verification that the provider or 
supplier had submitted an enrollment application prior to 
implementation of a moratorium on July 29, 2016, or later, that was 
denied as a result of implementation of such moratorium. With respect 
to providers and suppliers seeking a waiver based on access to care 
issues, the determination will be primarily based upon an evaluation of 
provider and supplier saturation, provider or supplier to beneficiary 
ratios, and claims data; this review will be supplemented with any 
access to care information that the provider or supplier has provided. 
As a requirement of the application, the provider or supplier will be 
required to submit detailed access to care information that 
demonstrates whether an access to care issue exists in the counties 
where the provider or supplier is attempting to enroll. In 2016, CMS 
released saturation data to the public. This data set, located at 
https://data.cms.gov/market-saturation, includes saturation data for 
the nation and identifies states that are impacted by moratoria. This 
data gives both states and the public detailed information relevant for 
access to care justification. Additionally, we are expecting anecdotal 
data from the applicants to support that an access to care issue 
exists, which should not subject applicants to the unnecessary burden 
of performing extensive analyses. CMS

[[Page 42040]]

will evaluate the provider- or supplier-generated information and 
compare it with statistical analysis data that is generated internally 
by CMS to determine whether an access to care issue exists in the 
identified area.
    If CMS determines that a beneficiary access to care issue does not 
exist in the counties where the provider or supplier proposes to 
operate, the application will be rejected and the application fee will 
be refunded. Upon rejection, the provider or supplier may submit a new 
application at any time. If any subsequent application demonstrates an 
access to care issue, then CMS may move forward with processing the 
application.
    For those providers or suppliers seeking a waiver because their 
enrollment application was denied as a result of implementation of a 
moratorium, if CMS cannot verify the denial, the application will be 
rejected and the application fee will be refunded. Upon rejection, the 
provider or supplier may submit a new application at any time. If for 
any subsequent application CMS is able to verify that the provider or 
supplier had submitted an enrollment application prior to 
implementation of a moratorium that was denied as a result of such 
moratorium, then CMS may move forward with processing the application.
    When CMS determines that there is a beneficiary access to care 
issue in the counties where the provider or supplier has proposed to 
enroll, or when CMS verifies that the provider or supplier had 
submitted an enrollment application prior to implementation of a 
moratorium that was denied as a result of implementation of such 
moratorium, CMS will move forward with processing the application. CMS 
will utilize the ownership information in the submitted CMS-855 
application, in conjunction with the revised Demonstration, to perform 
numerous screening measures, which will include the following:
     License verification.
     Background investigations including evaluation of 
affiliations.
     Federal debt review.
     Credit history review.
     Fingerprint-based criminal background checks (FCBC) of 
persons with a 5 percent or greater direct or indirect ownership 
interest, partners, and managing employees.
     Enhanced site visits.
     Ownership interest verification.
     Evaluation of past behavior in other public programs.
    Providers and suppliers who do not pass the heightened screening 
requirements will receive a letter stating that their application has 
been denied and indicating the specific reason(s) for denial. The 
provider or supplier may submit an appeal to CMS within 15 days of the 
date of denial. The appeal must specifically address the reason(s) for 
denial and detail the action(s) taken to resolve any deficiency. CMS 
will evaluate the appeal and process or deny the application as 
appropriate. If a provider's or supplier's application is denied, the 
application fee will not be refunded. Further, if a provider or 
supplier is denied for a reason under 42 CFR 424.530(a), the provider 
or supplier may not reapply for a waiver under the Demonstration.
    Providers and suppliers who are recommended for enrollment under 
the Demonstration will be advised that their respective CMS-855 
applications are being forwarded to the Medicare Administrative 
Contractor (MAC) for further processing. The MAC will process the 
application and determine whether enrollment is appropriate based on 
all current policies and procedures. All applicants who are enrolled 
through the Demonstration will be subject to all Medicare policies and 
regulations, including revalidation within 5 years of initial 
enrollment, in addition to the heightened oversight that is implemented 
through the Demonstration.
    The Act includes requirements regarding provider enrollment and 
oversight for the Medicare and Medicaid Programs. Among other 
provisions, section 1866(j)(3)(A) of the Act allows for up to a 1-year 
provisional period of enhanced oversight of newly enrolled providers of 
services and suppliers, which may be implemented through program 
instruction. During this Demonstration, CMS will utilize this authority 
and may revoke a provider's or supplier's Medicare billing privileges 
if the enhanced oversight identifies grounds for such revocation.
    As an enhanced oversight measure, providers or suppliers that are 
approved to enroll in the Demonstration because of a determination that 
access to care issues exist in the areas where they proposed to enroll 
will be given a specific need-based geographic area, by county, in 
which they are approved to operate. For those providers or suppliers 
who are approved on the basis of an access to care issue, should CMS 
find that the access to care limitation extends beyond the counties 
that were initially proposed by the provider or supplier, CMS may 
accordingly request that the provider or supplier expand the area of 
operation. Providers and suppliers that are approved to enroll in the 
Demonstration because they had submitted an enrollment application 
prior to implementation of a moratorium that was denied as a result of 
implementation of such moratorium will be allowed to service locations 
listed in the enrollment application that they submit with their waiver 
application. However, as discussed earlier in section II of this 
document, restrictions may be imposed on the service area of a provider 
or supplier approved to enroll in the Demonstration in order to limit 
the number of new providers or suppliers in a location that is already 
oversaturated with particular providers and/or suppliers. This will be 
applicable to providers or suppliers that are approved to enroll in the 
Demonstration because of a determination that access to care issues 
exist or because they had submitted an enrollment application prior to 
implementation of a moratorium that was denied as a result of 
implementation of such moratorium.
    Providers or suppliers enrolling under the Demonstration may not 
bill beneficiaries for services furnished outside of the approved 
service area, and claims for services furnished outside of the approved 
service area will be denied. Additionally, in response to fraud trends, 
CMS may perform medical review of claims submitted, including an 
evaluation of any prior relationships between the provider or supplier 
and the beneficiary and whether the services were medically necessary. 
Other reviews may be performed if deemed necessary. CMS will continue 
the enhanced oversight throughout the revised Demonstration, billing 
patterns will be monitored through the Fraud Prevention System (FPS), 
and any abuse of billing privileges may result in revocation of 
Medicare billing privileges.
    The combined goal of the statewide moratoria and the revised 
Demonstration outlined herein is to address beneficiary access to care 
issues, while targeting fraud, waste, and abuse. Success of this 
revised Demonstration is contingent upon an increase in oversight and 
enforcement in all six current moratoria states. This oversight will be 
provided using existing tools, as well as those created through this 
revised Demonstration, by both CMS and CMS' law enforcement partners. 
Under this revised Demonstration, CMS will share applicable data with 
law enforcement partners to aid in the investigation and prosecution of 
fraud.
    Through quarterly data evaluations, CMS will continue to carefully 
monitor potential access to care issues that could develop in the 
moratoria states.

[[Page 42041]]

Additionally, CMS will respond to any access issue identified and 
brought to our attention outside of the quarterly review.

B. Increased Investigation and Prosecution

    As a measure to enhance our oversight in these high risk areas, the 
revised waiver application process will include a more robust 
evaluation of the provider/supplier, including license verification, 
detailed background checks, fingerprinting, comprehensive site visits, 
ownership interest verification, and evaluation of past behavior in 
other public programs, such as Medicaid and CHIP, as applicable. The 
revised waiver application will also require the provider or supplier 
to submit a specific county-based enrollment justification based on 
access to care, the boundaries of which CMS would confirm and 
ultimately enforce, with the exception of providers and suppliers that 
had an enrollment application denied by their relevant MAC as a result 
of implementation of a moratorium. As detailed elsewhere in this 
document, once a provider or supplier is enrolled pursuant to a waiver, 
that provider or supplier would be subjected to augmented investigation 
and monitoring in order to confirm continued compliance with Medicare 
requirements.
    Throughout the course of the Demonstration, CMS will work with all 
of its partners to identify fraudulent providers and suppliers and will 
take administrative action to remove such providers and suppliers from 
the Medicare program. Additionally, within 30 to 60 days of a 
provider's or supplier's enrollment pursuant to a waiver, CMS will 
perform proactive monitoring and oversight of such provider or 
supplier, including proactive examination of claims data and 
investigation of billing anomalies. Further, CMS will prioritize 
Demonstration-related investigations and will make referrals to 
appropriate law enforcement partners, including Department of Justice 
(DOJ), Office of Inspector General (OIG), and state law enforcement 
agencies, for prosecution of fraud.

C. Medicaid and CHIP Implementation

    In addition to the Medicare program, this revised Demonstration 
will also apply to Medicaid and CHIP. The states will administer the 
Medicaid and CHIP Demonstration and will independently evaluate access 
to care. All Demonstration-related processes, including but not limited 
to heightened screening, enrollment, denials, and appeals, will be 
operationalized by the state Medicaid and CHIP agencies in accordance 
with federal and state regulations and guidance. The states will make 
recommendations to CMS regarding when a provider should be enrolled 
based on access to care issues, and must wait for CMS concurrence prior 
to enrolling a provider under the Demonstration. CMS will evaluate all 
recommendations within 30 days of receipt, and will advise the state as 
to whether or not CMS concurs with the recommendation to move forward 
in the enrollment process. CMS encourages states to use their 
discretion when determining whether to approve a waiver for any 
provider who had submitted an application prior to implementation of a 
moratorium that was denied as a result of implementation of such 
moratorium. States that choose to apply waivers in this manner should 
do so consistently for all providers who were denied as a result of the 
moratorium. States are not required to seek CMS approval of their 
waiver process. Additionally, states will not be required to seek 
approval from CMS to deny a waiver application. If a provider receives 
an enrollment waiver from Medicare, that provider will be eligible to 
enroll in Medicaid or CHIP without further review by the states. 
However, if a provider receives a Medicaid or CHIP waiver, the provider 
must separately apply for a waiver with Medicare.
    As provided in 42 CFR 455.470, a state Medicaid agency is not 
required to impose a moratorium if the state Medicaid agency determines 
that imposition of a temporary moratorium would adversely affect 
beneficiaries' access to medical assistance and notifies the Secretary 
in writing of this determination.

D. Duration of the Demonstration

    The Demonstration commenced on July 29, 2016 and was to continue 
for a period of 3 years, or until the moratoria are lifted, whichever 
occurs first. However, CMS is extending the Demonstration an additional 
2 years, for a total of 5 years, through July 28, 2021. Since the 
commencement of the demonstration, CMS thus far has collected limited 
data on which to evaluate the effectiveness of the demonstration. We 
expect that the extension to 5 years will allow more providers and 
suppliers to enroll under the Demonstration, thus providing CMS with 
more data on which to evaluate the Demonstration's effectiveness. 
Should CMS choose to lift all of the moratoria prior to July 28, 2021, 
we will not continue the Demonstration.

E. Demonstration Conclusion

    CMS will utilize the Demonstration as an opportunity to observe the 
statewide moratoria and heightened application review effectiveness 
over the course of 5 years, or until the moratoria are lifted, 
whichever occurs first. Should the Demonstration prove to be a useful 
tool, we hope to consider continuing and expanding the most successful 
aspects outside the context of a demonstration. The enhanced oversight 
exercised as part of the Demonstration will also allow us to identify 
trends and vulnerabilities in the moratoria states and make program 
adjustments to accommodate fraud schemes as they transform over time.
    Concurrent with the Demonstration, CMS will continue to assess and 
improve current regulatory requirements for HHAs, ambulance suppliers, 
and other provider/supplier types that pose a high risk to the Medicare 
program. In the absence of additional rulemaking, any enrollments that 
occur as part of the Demonstration, assuming that the enrolled 
providers or suppliers are in compliance with all Medicare 
requirements, will convert to standard enrollments without geographical 
billing restrictions at the end of the Demonstration.
    CMS recognizes that a moratorium is a temporary tool that we have 
implemented in order to conduct targeted investigations and related 
enforcement actions in high saturation, high risk areas. As required 
under our regulations, we will re-evaluate the continued need for the 
moratoria every 6 months and may lift the moratoria at any time if the 
Secretary determines that the moratoria are no longer needed, or the 
circumstances warranting the imposition of moratoria have abated or CMS 
has implemented program safeguards to address the program 
vulnerability, among other rationale.\7\ We will monitor the moratoria 
areas to determine if it is appropriate to lift all moratoria (and thus 
end the Demonstration), including the following criteria:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \7\ 42 CFR 424.570.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

     Beneficiary access to care.
     Provider or supplier growth rates.
     The number of providers or suppliers per beneficiary.
     Provider/supplier saturation.
     Churn rate--the rate of providers/suppliers entering and 
exiting the program.
     Claims paid per beneficiary.
     Enforcement actions, including: Revocations, denials, 
investigations, and referrals to law enforcement and other related 
activities.

[[Page 42042]]

IV. Collection of Information Requirements

A. Background

    Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), we are required to 
publish a 60-day notice in the Federal Register and solicit public 
comment before a collection of information requirement is submitted to 
the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval.
    To fairly evaluate whether an information collection should be 
approved by OMB, section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the PRA requires that we 
solicit comment on the following issues:
     The need for the information collection and its usefulness 
in carrying out the proper functions of our agency.
     The accuracy of our burden estimates.
     The quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be 
collected.
     Our effort to minimize the information collection burden 
on the affected public, including the use of automated collection 
techniques.
    We are soliciting public comment on each of the section 
3506(c)(2)(A)-required issues for the following information collection 
requirements (ICRs). This is covered under OMB control number 0938-
1313.

B. Burden Estimate (Hours and Wages)

1. Paperwork Burden Estimate (Hours)
    The provider and supplier burden associated with completion of the 
waiver form is estimated at 6 hours per form. This will include the 
following time burden per form:
     2 hours for completion of fingerprint-based criminal 
background check (FCBC).
     2 hours for completion of access to care assessment.
     1.5 hours for completion of form.
     0.5 hours for completion of other miscellaneous 
administrative activities.
There will be variation to this estimate based on proximity to a 
fingerprinting office as well as the complexity of the data that the 
provider or supplier elects to submit. To assist with completion of the 
access to care assessment, CMS has HHA and ambulance saturation data 
available at https://data.cms.gov/market-saturation.
    CMS estimates 30 new applicants requesting waivers for a total of 
180 burden hours annually. Additionally, the provider or supplier will 
have the additional burden associated with completion of the CMS-855, 
which is required for enrollment into Medicare. This burden is covered 
under OMB control number 0938-0685.
2. Paperwork Burden Estimate (Costs)
    This waiver form will be completed by providers and suppliers 
seeking a waiver to enroll in a moratorium area. The cost burden is 
estimated at $27.60 ($13.80 base pay) an hour for completion of access 
to care analysis and miscellaneous administrative activities, totaling 
$69.00 per application, equaling $2,070.00 annually. The cost burden is 
estimated at $188.50 ($94.25 base pay) an hour for the owner to obtain 
fingerprints and complete the waiver form totaling $659.75 per 
application, equaling $19,792.5 annually. Estimated annual burden for 
30 newly enrolling applicants totals $21,862.5. To derive average 
costs, we used data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' May 2017 
National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates (http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_nat.htm#31-0000 for healthcare support 
occupations and http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes111011.htm for chief 
executives.) Hourly wage rates include the costs of fringe benefits 
(calculated at 100 percent of salary) and the adjusted hourly wage.

C. Response to Comments

    We have submitted a copy of the Federal Register document to OMB 
for its review of the document's information collection and 
recordkeeping requirements. These requirements are not effective until 
they have been approved by the OMB.
    To obtain copies of the supporting statement and any related forms 
for the proposed collections discussed previously, please visit CMS' 
website at https://www.cms.gov/Regulations-and-Guidance/Legislation/PaperworkReductionActof1995/index.html, or call the Reports Clearance 
Office at 410-786-1326.
    We invite public comments on these potential information collection 
requirements. If you wish to comment, please submit your comments 
electronically as specified in the ADDRESSES section of this document 
and identify the document's filecode (CMS-6073-N2) the ICR's CFR 
citation, CMS ID number, and OMB control number.

V. Waiver Authority

    Under section 402(b) of Public Law 90-248, (42 U.S.C. 1395b-1(b)), 
certain requirements of the Act and implementing regulations would be 
waived to the extent necessary to implement this demonstration.
    Specifically, the authorities CMS is seeking to waive under this 
revised Demonstration include the following:
     Waiver of section 1866(j)(7)(C) of the Act, which was 
added by section 17004 of the 21st Century Cures Act. Effective for 
items and services furnished on or after October 1, 2017, the provision 
prohibits payment for items and services furnished within a temporary 
moratorium area by providers or suppliers who enroll after the 
effective date of such moratorium and who are within a category of 
providers and suppliers subject to such moratorium. We will allow 
payment to be made to providers and suppliers who enroll under the 
Demonstration and furnish items and services within a moratorium area, 
including those who were approved prior to this revised Demonstration.
     Waiver of Sec.  424.570(a)(1)(iv) and (c). This regulation 
establishes moratoria rules for Medicare, Medicaid, and CHIP. 
Specifically, we will: (1) Exempt providers and suppliers from the 
moratoria if they submitted an application to their MAC prior to July 
29, 2016 that was denied as a result of implementation of statewide 
moratoria; and (2) exempt providers and suppliers from any future 
moratoria if they have submitted an application to their MAC prior to 
the implementation date of that moratoria, without regard to provider 
type or geographic location. This waiver will be applicable to any 
moratoria that are implemented subsequent to, and for the duration of, 
this demonstration.
     Waiver of Sec.  424.520(a) and (d), which establishes 
specific effective date requirements for certified providers and 
ambulance suppliers, respectively. This waiver will allow CMS to 
establish the effective date for a provider or supplier depending on 
whether access to care issues exist in the service area.
    The authorities CMS previously waived under the original 
Demonstration, which we will continue to waive under the revised 
Demonstration, include the following:
     Waiver of Sec. Sec.  424.518(c) and (d) and 455.434(a), 
which describe the fingerprinting rules for enrollment in Medicare, 
Medicaid and CHIP.\8\ This waiver involves expanding the existing 
regulatory authority in two ways: (1) To include ambulance suppliers 
requesting a waiver under the Demonstration within the categories of 
providers and suppliers to which the FCBC requirements apply; and (2) 
to include managing employees within the associated individuals subject 
to an FCBC when the provider or supplier seeks to enroll pursuant to a 
waiver under the Demonstration. Additionally,

[[Page 42043]]

CMS intends to modify the authority that currently requires denial or 
revocation of providers or suppliers who fail to submit fingerprints, 
to instead specify that a waiver application will be rejected if the 
provider or supplier fails to submit the required fingerprints within 
30 days.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \8\ According to 42 CFR 457.990, the enrollment screening 
requirements applicable to providers enrolling in Medicaid apply 
equally to those enrolling in CHIP.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

     Waiver of 1866(j)(3)(B) of the Act, which requires program 
instruction or regulatory interpretation in order to implement section 
1866(j)(3) of the Act, Provisional Period of Enhanced Oversight for New 
Providers of Services and Suppliers. CMS intends to implement the 
requirements of section 1866(j)(3) of the Act for purposes of this 
Demonstration and in the absence of regulation or other instruction in 
order to allow for a 1-year period of enhanced oversight of newly 
enrolling providers and suppliers under this Demonstration.
     Waiver of section 1866(j)(8) of the Act and the 
regulations at 42 CFR 424.545, 42 CFR part 498, subparts D and E, and 
42 CFR 405.803(b), which allow a provider or supplier the right to 
request a hearing with an administrative law judge and the Department 
Appeals Board in the case of denial. Under this Demonstration, denials 
of applications for a waiver may be appealed at a CMS level only, and 
any applicant to the Demonstration will waive their right to further 
appeal.
     Waiver of 1866(j)(7) of the Act and the regulations at 42 
CFR 424.570 and 455.470, which specify that the moratoria must be 
implemented at a provider or supplier type level, in order to allow a 
case-by-case waiver process to moratoria.

    Dated: August 6, 2018.
Seema Verma,
Administrator, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
[FR Doc. 2018-17809 Filed 8-16-18; 4:15 pm]
 BILLING CODE 4120-01-P



                                                               Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 161 / Monday, August 20, 2018 / Rules and Regulations                                            42037

                                             List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 271                     FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:     Jung                defined by county, the moratoria did not
                                               Environmental protection,                             Kim, (410) 786–9370. News media                          prohibit existing providers and
                                             Administrative practice and procedure,                  representatives must contact CMS’                        suppliers from opening a branch
                                             Confidential business information,                      Public Affairs Office at (202) 690–6145                  location in, or moving a currently-
                                             Hazardous materials transportation,                     or email them at press@cms.hhs.gov.                      enrolled business into, a moratoria area.
                                                                                                     SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:                               Moreover, CMS was unable to prevent
                                             Hazardous waste, Indians—lands,
                                                                                                                                                              existing providers and suppliers
                                             Intergovernmental relations, Penalties,                 I. Background                                            enrolled outside of a moratoria area
                                             Reporting and recordkeeping
                                                                                                        The Social Security Act (the Act)                     from servicing beneficiaries within the
                                             requirements.
                                                                                                     provides CMS with tools and resources                    moratoria area. In fact, CMS discovered
                                               Authority: This action is issued under the            to combat fraud, waste, and abuse in                     providers and suppliers who were
                                             authority of sections 2002(a), 3006 and                 Medicare, Medicaid, and the Children’s                   located several hundred miles outside of
                                             7004(b) of the Solid Waste Disposal Act, as             Health Insurance Program (CHIP),                         a moratorium area that were billing for
                                             amended, 42 U.S.C. 6912(a), 6926, and
                                                                                                     including the authority to place a                       services furnished to beneficiaries
                                             6974(b).
                                                                                                     temporary moratorium on provider                         located within the moratorium area.
                                               Dated: July 31, 2018.                                 enrollment in these programs,                               As noted previously, on July 29, 2016,
                                             Cosmo Servidio,                                         402(a)(1)(J) of the Social Security                      CMS implemented statewide moratoria
                                             Regional Administrator, U.S. EPA Region III.            Amendments of 1967 (42 U.S.C. 1395b–                     on newly enrolling HHAs in Medicare,
                                             [FR Doc. 2018–17921 Filed 8–17–18; 8:45 am]             1(a)(1)(J)). CMS uses quantitative and                   Medicaid, and CHIP, and non-
                                             BILLING CODE 6560–50–P                                  qualitative data to determine whether                    emergency ground ambulance suppliers
                                                                                                     there is a need for a moratorium, such                   in Medicare Part B, Medicaid, and CHIP
                                                                                                     as reviewing whether the area under                      in order to mitigate the vulnerabilities
                                                                                                     consideration for a moratorium has                       identified and described previously
                                             DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND                                                                                         regarding the prior county-based
                                                                                                     significantly higher than average billing
                                             HUMAN SERVICES                                                                                                   moratoria. Concurrently, CMS
                                                                                                     per beneficiary or provider per
                                             Centers for Medicare & Medicaid                         beneficiary ratios. CMS first used its                   implemented this Demonstration in
                                             Services                                                moratoria authority on July 30, 2013, to                 order to improve methods for the
                                                                                                     prevent enrollment of new Home Health                    investigation and prosecution of fraud,
                                             42 CFR Parts 405, 424, 455, and 498                     Agencies (HHAs) in the Chicago, Illinois                 and to ensure that program integrity
                                                                                                     and Miami, Florida areas, as well as Part                enforcement actions did not impact
                                             [CMS–6073–N2]                                           B ground ambulance suppliers in the                      beneficiary access to care; in particular,
                                                                                                     Houston, Texas area (see the July 31,                    all of the states impacted by the
                                             Medicare, Medicaid, and Children’s                      2013 Federal Register (78 FR 46339)).                    expanded statewide moratoria have
                                             Health Insurance Programs:                              These moratoria also applied to                          rural areas that could be impacted by
                                             Announcement of Revisions to the                        Medicaid and CHIP. CMS exercised this                    the statewide expansion. By
                                             Provider Enrollment Moratoria Access                    authority again on January 30, 2014, to                  implementing this Demonstration, CMS
                                             Waiver Demonstration for Part B Non-                    extend the existing moratoria for 6                      created a process that allows for need-
                                             Emergency Ground Ambulance                              months and expand them to include                        based waivers to the moratoria in areas
                                             Suppliers and Home Health Agencies                      HHAs in Fort Lauderdale, Florida;                        with access to care issues. Recently,
                                             in Moratoria-Designated Geographic                      Detroit, Michigan; Houston, Texas; and                   CMS re-evaluated the continued need
                                             Locations                                               Dallas, Texas; as well as Medicaid, CHIP                 for statewide moratoria on the
                                                                                                     and Medicare Part B ground ambulance                     enrollment of new Part B, Medicaid, and
                                             AGENCY:  Centers for Medicare &                                                                                  CHIP non-emergency ground ambulance
                                                                                                     suppliers in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
                                             Medicaid Services (CMS), HHS.                                                                                    suppliers in New Jersey and
                                                                                                     and nearby New Jersey counties (see the
                                             ACTION: Revisions of the waiver                         February 4, 2014 Federal Register (79                    Pennsylvania, and HHAs in Florida,
                                             demonstration.                                          FR 6475)). Since the moratoria were                      Illinois, Michigan, and Texas, and
                                                                                                     expanded, they remained in place and                     determined that the conditions that
                                             SUMMARY:   This document announces
                                                                                                     were extended in 6-month intervals. On                   caused CMS to implement the moratoria
                                             revisions to the Provider Enrollment                                                                             have not abated. As a result, on July 29,
                                                                                                     July 29, 2016, CMS extended the
                                             Moratoria Access Waiver Demonstration                                                                            2018 (see the August 2, 2018 Federal
                                                                                                     existing moratoria for 6 months and
                                             (PEWD) for Part B Non-Emergency                                                                                  Register (83 FR 37747), we extended the
                                                                                                     expanded them to statewide in the
                                             Ground Ambulance Suppliers and                                                                                   statewide moratoria on Part B,
                                                                                                     impacted states (see the August 3, 2016
                                             Home Health Agencies. The                                                                                        Medicaid, and CHIP non-emergency
                                                                                                     Federal Register (81 FR 51120)). The
                                             demonstration was implemented in                                                                                 ground ambulance suppliers and HHAs
                                                                                                     statewide moratoria have since been
                                             accordance with section 402(a)(1)(J) of                                                                          in the impacted states.
                                                                                                     extended at 6-month intervals and to
                                             the Social Security Amendments of
                                                                                                     date, largely remain in place in all of the              A. Operational Challenges
                                             1967 and, as revised, gives CMS the
                                                                                                     previously-mentioned locations.1
                                             authority to grant waivers to the                                                                                   Since expanding statewide, a new
                                                                                                        Since initial implementation of the
                                             statewide enrollment moratoria on a                                                                              statutory provision affecting the
                                                                                                     moratoria, CMS has monitored the
                                             case-by-case basis in response to access                                                                         moratoria areas has taken effect. In
                                                                                                     program and identified several
                                             to care issues and previously denied                                                                             December 2016, Congress enacted the
                                                                                                     operational challenges. Because the
                                             enrollment applications because of                                                                               21st Century Cures Act (Cures Act).
                                                                                                     moratoria were initially geographically
                                             statewide moratoria implementation,                                                                              Section 17004 of the Cures Act provides
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                                             and to subject providers and suppliers                    1 Effective July 29, 2016, CMS lifted the moratoria    authority to address issues of
                                             enrolling via such waivers to heightened                on Part B emergency ground ambulance suppliers           circumvention of the prior county-based
                                             screening, oversight, and investigations.               in all locations. (81 FR 51120) In addition, effective   moratoria by prohibiting payment for
                                                                                                     September 1, 2017, CMS lifted the moratoria on Part
                                             DATES: The revisions to the waiver
                                                                                                     B non-emergency ground ambulance suppliers in
                                                                                                                                                              items or services furnished within
                                             demonstration are effective August 20,                  Texas. (82 FR 51274) These actions also applied to       moratoria areas by any newly enrolled
                                             2018.                                                   Medicaid and CHIP.                                       provider or supplier that is of a provider


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                                             42038             Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 161 / Monday, August 20, 2018 / Rules and Regulations

                                             or supplier type subject to the                         time and considerable resources                       C. Enrollment Effective Date Flexibilities
                                             moratoria.                                              preparing for enrollment in states
                                                We believe it is necessary to maintain               subject to the prior county-based                       Regardless of the reason a provider or
                                             statewide moratoria and this                            moratoria only to have their Form CMS–                supplier qualifies for the Demonstration,
                                             Demonstration in Medicare, Medicaid,                    855 applications denied near the end of               CMS is also revising the Demonstration
                                             and CHIP in order to more effectively                   the enrollment process because of the                 to provide additional discretion
                                             rectify the circumvention issue. As                     sudden imposition of a statewide                      regarding the effective date of new
                                             such, we must address a challenge we                    moratorium. This has been especially                  billing privileges in order to better
                                             identified with carrying out the                        problematic for HHAs—(1) whose Form                   address any access to care concerns that
                                             statewide moratoria and the existing                    CMS–855A applications had been                        do arise. CMS is waiving the regulatory
                                             Demonstration in light of the Cures Act                                                                       requirement in 42 CFR 424.520(a) and
                                                                                                     recommended for approval by the MAC;
                                             requirement. The Demonstration                                                                                (d) governing the effective date of new
                                                                                                     (2) that had successfully completed a
                                             provides an opportunity for providers                                                                         billing privileges for certified providers
                                                                                                     state survey; and (3) whose applications
                                             and suppliers otherwise subject to the                                                                        and ambulance suppliers, respectively,
                                                                                                     and survey results had been forwarded
                                             moratoria to enroll and furnish services                                                                      so as to allow CMS to evaluate and
                                                                                                     by the state to the CMS regional office
                                             within a moratorium area if CMS                                                                               assign effective dates depending on
                                                                                                     for final review.
                                             determines that there are access to care                                                                      whether access to care issues exist in
                                                                                                        As a result, CMS is further revising               the service area.4
                                             issues in a particular geographic area.
                                                                                                     the Demonstration to include two
                                             However, the Cures Act provision                                                                              D. Summary
                                                                                                     different options for eligibility: (1) The
                                             prevents payments to newly enrolled
                                                                                                     existing option requiring that the                       As described in greater detail in
                                             providers and suppliers subject to the
                                                                                                     provider or supplier demonstrate that                 section II. of this document, because
                                             moratoria for items and services
                                                                                                     access to care issues exist; or (2) the new           CMS sees a high incidence of fraud in
                                             furnished in moratoria areas. This
                                                                                                     alternative option requiring that the                 the moratoria areas, extensive screening
                                             includes those providers and suppliers
                                                                                                     provider or supplier establish that it had            and review of providers and suppliers
                                             enrolled under the Demonstration. This
                                                                                                     submitted an enrollment application                   newly enrolling under the
                                             Cures Act provision became effective for
                                                                                                     prior to implementation of the                        Demonstration will be coupled with an
                                             such items and services furnished on or
                                                                                                     moratorium that was denied as a result                earlier review of claims and other
                                             after October 1, 2017. To continue to
                                                                                                     of implementation of such moratorium.                 investigations and prosecutions of fraud
                                             avoid potential patient access to care
                                                                                                     This alternative requirement applies to               with respect to such providers and
                                             issues and to continue a process to test
                                                                                                     the July 29, 2016 statewide moratoria                 suppliers. The revised Demonstration
                                             whether allowing for targeted anti-fraud
                                                                                                     and any moratoria that are implemented                will also support statewide moratoria by
                                             activities through heightened screening
                                                                                                     subsequent to, and for the duration of,               addressing the moratoria circumvention
                                             of providers and suppliers enrolling
                                                                                                     this demonstration. Thus this revision                issues that surfaced throughout the prior
                                             through the Demonstration will improve
                                                                                                     will allow CMS to approve individual                  county-based moratoria and providing
                                             methods for the investigation and
                                                                                                     waivers to a statewide moratorium due                 waivers to the moratoria to ensure that
                                             prosecution of fraud under section
                                                                                                     to providers or suppliers demonstrating               beneficiary access to care is not
                                             402(a)(l)(J) of the Social Security
                                                                                                     that access to care issues exist, or for              adversely impacted. Approval of a
                                             Amendments of 1967, CMS is revising
                                                                                                     providers and suppliers that had                      waiver would be based primarily on
                                             the Demonstration to waive the
                                                                                                     submitted an enrollment application                   either the provider or supplier
                                             requirements of section 17004 of the
                                                                                                     prior to implementation of a                          demonstrating an access to care issue
                                             Cures Act for the providers and
                                                                                                     moratorium on July 29, 2016, or later,                exists or that the provider or supplier
                                             suppliers enrolled under the
                                                                                                     that was denied by their relevant MAC                 submitted an enrollment application
                                             Demonstration.2 With this revision,
                                                                                                     as a result of implementation of such                 prior to implementation of a
                                             providers and suppliers enrolled under
                                                                                                     moratoria. Providers and suppliers who                moratorium on July 29, 2016, or later
                                             the Demonstration will be able to
                                                                                                     meet either of these criteria will be                 that was denied as a result of
                                             receive Medicare, Medicaid, and/or
                                                                                                     subject to the heightened screening,                  implementation of such moratorium,
                                             CHIP payment for items and services
                                                                                                     oversight, and restrictions of the revised            and secondarily on passing the
                                             furnished within the provider’s or
                                                                                                     Demonstration. These two options for                  enhanced screening measures in the
                                             supplier’s approved service area for the
                                                                                                     eligibility will allow additional                     approved service area.
                                             Demonstration.
                                                                                                     opportunities for providers and
                                                                                                                                                              A finding of fraud risk in Medicare
                                             B. Expanded Access to the                               suppliers to enroll under the revised
                                                                                                                                                           typically means that the risk also exists
                                             Demonstration                                           Demonstration. This will better allow
                                                                                                                                                           in Medicaid and CHIP, as recognized by
                                               The regulation at 42 CFR                              CMS to test whether conducting
                                                                                                                                                           section 1902(a)(39) of the Act, which
                                             424.570(a)(1)(iv) provides that a                       targeted anti-fraud activities through
                                                                                                                                                           requires state Medicaid agencies to
                                             temporary enrollment moratorium does                    heightened screening of enrolling
                                                                                                                                                           terminate the participation of any
                                             not apply to any enrollment application                 providers or suppliers, in conjunction
                                                                                                                                                           individual or entity if such individual
                                             that has been approved by the Medicare                  with increased oversight and other
                                                                                                                                                           or entity is terminated under Medicare
                                             Administrative Contractor (MAC) but                     restrictions, will improve methods for
                                                                                                                                                           or any other state’s Medicaid or CHIP
                                             not yet entered into PECOS at the time                  the investigation and prosecution of
                                                                                                                                                           program. Moreover, access to care issues
                                             the moratorium is imposed. During the                   fraud under Section 402(a)(l)(J) of the
                                                                                                                                                           are of equal concern in the context of
                                             time period when the moratoria was                      Social Security Amendments of 1967.
                                                                                                                                                           Medicaid and CHIP. As a result, CMS
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                                             county-based, some providers and                        As such, for purposes of this
                                             suppliers spent a substantial amount of                 Demonstration, CMS is waiving the
                                                                                                                                                           Security Act under section 402(b) of Public Law 90–
                                                                                                     regulatory requirement in 42 CFR                      248 (42 U.S.C. 1395b–1(b)).
                                               2 The Secretary may waive compliance with the         424.570(a)(1)(iv), described previously.3               4 The Secretary may waive compliance with the

                                             requirements of titles XVIII and XIX of the Social                                                            requirements of titles XVIII and XIX of the Social
                                             Security Act under section 402(b) of Public Law 90–       3 The Secretary may waive compliance with the       Security Act under section 402(b) of Public Law 90–
                                             248, (42 U.S.C. 1395b–1(b)).                            requirements of titles XVIII and XIX of the Social    248 (42 U.S.C. 1395b–1(b)).



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                                                               Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 161 / Monday, August 20, 2018 / Rules and Regulations                                           42039

                                             will also implement the revised                         applicant’s affiliations to include: (1) A            Should CMS receive more than one
                                             Demonstration in Medicaid and CHIP.                     5 percent or greater direct or indirect               application for a particular geographical
                                                                                                     ownership interest that an individual or              area, and the acceptance factor is that
                                             II. Demonstration Design and Duration
                                                                                                     entity has in another organization; (2) a             enrollment applications were denied
                                                This revised Demonstration will                      general or limited partnership interest               because of implementation of moratoria,
                                             continue to support the existing                        that an individual or entity has in                   all applications will be prioritized and
                                             statewide moratoria on HHAs in                          another organization; (3) an interest in              processed in the order of receipt.
                                             Medicare, Medicaid, and CHIP, and                       which an individual or entity exercises               Should CMS receive applications for a
                                             non-emergency ground ambulance                          operational or managerial control over                particular geographical area from a
                                             suppliers in Medicare Part B, Medicaid,                 or directly or indirectly conducts the                provider or supplier seeking to
                                             and CHIP. This revised Demonstration                    day-to-day operations of another                      demonstrate an access to care issue and
                                             will allow a provider or supplier to                    organization, either under contract or                from another provider or supplier
                                             submit a Provider Enrollment Moratoria                  through some other arrangement,                       whose enrollment application was
                                             Access Waiver (waiver) application that,                regardless of whether or not the                      denied as a result of implementation of
                                             if approved, will exempt such provider                  managing individual or entity is a                    moratoria, the application from the
                                             or supplier from the moratorium in                      W–2 employee of the organization; (4)                 provider or supplier whose enrollment
                                             designated geographic areas. The waiver                 an interest in which an individual is                 application was denied due to the
                                             application for Medicare enrollment                     acting as an officer or director of a                 implementation of moratoria will be
                                             will be reviewed by CMS, and this                       corporation; (5) any reassignment                     prioritized. An application will not be
                                             review will include heightened                          relationship. In section 5 of the Waiver              considered received until it is complete,
                                             screening measures. The waiver                          Application,6 we require providers and                including fingerprinting. Subsequently,
                                             application for Medicaid and CHIP will                  suppliers to report affiliations with                 CMS will have 90 days from initial
                                             be reviewed by the relevant State                       entities and individuals that: (1)                    receipt to review each application and
                                             Medicaid Agency. If the provider or                     Currently have uncollected debt to                    communicate a decision to the provider
                                             supplier receives a waiver, restrictions                Medicare, Medicaid, or CHIP; (2) have                 or supplier.
                                             may be imposed on such provider’s or                    been or are subject to a payment                         Once a complete application is
                                             supplier’s service area to limit the                    suspension under a federal health care                received, the determining factor for
                                             number of new providers or suppliers in                 program or subject to an Office of                    waiver approval under this revised
                                             a location that is already oversaturated                Inspector General (OIG) exclusion; or (3)             Demonstration, and the first step in
                                             with particular providers and/or                        have had their Medicare, Medicaid, or                 application review, will either be (1) a
                                             suppliers. This restriction will be based               CHIP enrollment denied or revoked.                    determination regarding beneficiary
                                             on the saturation of providers or                       Should such an affiliation be reported or             access to care; or (2) verification that the
                                             suppliers and the number of                             discovered, CMS could deny the                        provider or supplier had submitted an
                                             beneficiaries in the counties where the                 provider’s or supplier’s PEWD                         enrollment application prior to
                                             provider or supplier proposes to                        application if CMS determines that the                implementation of a moratorium on July
                                             operate. Extensive evaluations of                       affiliation poses an undue risk of fraud,             29, 2016, or later, that was denied as a
                                             providers and suppliers seeking to                      waste, or abuse. As part of the review to             result of implementation of such
                                             enroll through this demonstration will                  determine undue risk, CMS will                        moratorium. With respect to providers
                                             be coupled with proactive reviews of                    consider the duration of the applicant’s              and suppliers seeking a waiver based on
                                             submitted claims on an ad hoc basis,                    relationship with the affiliated entity or            access to care issues, the determination
                                             beginning within the first 30 to 60 days                individual, determine whether the                     will be primarily based upon an
                                             of enrollment and continuing for the                    affiliation still exists or how long ago it           evaluation of provider and supplier
                                             first year of enrollment, as well as                    ended, the degree and extent of the                   saturation, provider or supplier to
                                             increased investigations with referral to               affiliation, and reason for termination of            beneficiary ratios, and claims data; this
                                             law enforcement as appropriate, for                     the affiliation if applicable. CMS may                review will be supplemented with any
                                             newly enrolled and existing providers.                  also deny a provider’s or supplier’s                  access to care information that the
                                                                                                     PEWD application if CMS determines                    provider or supplier has provided. As a
                                             A. Medicare Implementation
                                                                                                     that the provider or supplier is currently            requirement of the application, the
                                               All waiver applications, with the                     revoked from Medicare, Medicaid, or                   provider or supplier will be required to
                                             appropriate CMS–855 5 enrollment                        CHIP under a different name, numerical                submit detailed access to care
                                             application form and supporting                         identifier, or business identity. To                  information that demonstrates whether
                                             documentation, should be submitted                      minimize provider burden the ‘‘look-                  an access to care issue exists in the
                                             electronically to a designated mailbox:                 back’’ period for disclosure of                       counties where the provider or supplier
                                             ProviderEnrollmentMoratoria@                            affiliations will be within the previous              is attempting to enroll. In 2016, CMS
                                             cms.hhs.gov. Upon receipt of the                        5 years. However, there will be no cut-               released saturation data to the public.
                                             applicable CMS–855 application, waiver                  off or specific ‘‘look-back’’ period for              This data set, located at https://
                                             application, all supporting                             when the disclosable event occurred or                data.cms.gov/market-saturation,
                                             documentation, and payment of the                       was imposed.                                          includes saturation data for the nation
                                             enrollment application fee, CMS will                       Should CMS receive more than one                   and identifies states that are impacted
                                             review for completeness and, within 30                  application for a particular geographical             by moratoria. This data gives both states
                                             days, will respond with confirmation of                 area, and the acceptance factor is based              and the public detailed information
                                             receipt or in the case of an incomplete                 on access to care, the applications will              relevant for access to care justification.
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                                             application, rejection. As part of the                  be prioritized by order of receipt until              Additionally, we are expecting
                                             Demonstration, CMS will review the                      the access to care concern is alleviated.             anecdotal data from the applicants to
                                               5 CMS 855 is the Medicare provider and supplier         6 The Waiver Application may be found at
                                                                                                                                                           support that an access to care issue
                                             enrollment application and may be found at https://     https://www.cms.gov/Medicare/Provider-
                                                                                                                                                           exists, which should not subject
                                             www.cms.gov/Medicare/CMS-Forms/CMS-Forms/               Enrollment-and-Certification/MedicareProvider         applicants to the unnecessary burden of
                                             CMS-Forms-List.html.                                    SupEnroll/ProviderEnrollmentMoratorium.html.          performing extensive analyses. CMS


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                                             42040             Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 161 / Monday, August 20, 2018 / Rules and Regulations

                                             will evaluate the provider- or supplier-                that their application has been denied                submitted an enrollment application
                                             generated information and compare it                    and indicating the specific reason(s) for             prior to implementation of a
                                             with statistical analysis data that is                  denial. The provider or supplier may                  moratorium that was denied as a result
                                             generated internally by CMS to                          submit an appeal to CMS within 15 days                of implementation of such moratorium
                                             determine whether an access to care                     of the date of denial. The appeal must                will be allowed to service locations
                                             issue exists in the identified area.                    specifically address the reason(s) for                listed in the enrollment application that
                                                If CMS determines that a beneficiary                 denial and detail the action(s) taken to              they submit with their waiver
                                             access to care issue does not exist in the              resolve any deficiency. CMS will                      application. However, as discussed
                                             counties where the provider or supplier                 evaluate the appeal and process or deny               earlier in section II of this document,
                                             proposes to operate, the application will               the application as appropriate. If a                  restrictions may be imposed on the
                                             be rejected and the application fee will                provider’s or supplier’s application is               service area of a provider or supplier
                                             be refunded. Upon rejection, the                        denied, the application fee will not be               approved to enroll in the Demonstration
                                             provider or supplier may submit a new                   refunded. Further, if a provider or                   in order to limit the number of new
                                             application at any time. If any                         supplier is denied for a reason under 42              providers or suppliers in a location that
                                             subsequent application demonstrates an                  CFR 424.530(a), the provider or supplier              is already oversaturated with particular
                                             access to care issue, then CMS may                      may not reapply for a waiver under the                providers and/or suppliers. This will be
                                             move forward with processing the                        Demonstration.                                        applicable to providers or suppliers that
                                             application.                                               Providers and suppliers who are                    are approved to enroll in the
                                                For those providers or suppliers                     recommended for enrollment under the                  Demonstration because of a
                                             seeking a waiver because their                          Demonstration will be advised that their              determination that access to care issues
                                             enrollment application was denied as a                  respective CMS–855 applications are                   exist or because they had submitted an
                                             result of implementation of a                           being forwarded to the Medicare                       enrollment application prior to
                                             moratorium, if CMS cannot verify the                    Administrative Contractor (MAC) for                   implementation of a moratorium that
                                             denial, the application will be rejected                further processing. The MAC will                      was denied as a result of
                                             and the application fee will be                         process the application and determine                 implementation of such moratorium.
                                             refunded. Upon rejection, the provider                  whether enrollment is appropriate based                  Providers or suppliers enrolling under
                                             or supplier may submit a new                            on all current policies and procedures.               the Demonstration may not bill
                                             application at any time. If for any                     All applicants who are enrolled through               beneficiaries for services furnished
                                             subsequent application CMS is able to                   the Demonstration will be subject to all              outside of the approved service area,
                                             verify that the provider or supplier had                Medicare policies and regulations,                    and claims for services furnished
                                             submitted an enrollment application                     including revalidation within 5 years of              outside of the approved service area will
                                             prior to implementation of a                            initial enrollment, in addition to the                be denied. Additionally, in response to
                                             moratorium that was denied as a result                  heightened oversight that is                          fraud trends, CMS may perform medical
                                             of such moratorium, then CMS may                        implemented through the                               review of claims submitted, including
                                             move forward with processing the                        Demonstration.                                        an evaluation of any prior relationships
                                             application.                                               The Act includes requirements                      between the provider or supplier and
                                                When CMS determines that there is a                  regarding provider enrollment and                     the beneficiary and whether the services
                                             beneficiary access to care issue in the                 oversight for the Medicare and Medicaid               were medically necessary. Other
                                             counties where the provider or supplier                 Programs. Among other provisions,                     reviews may be performed if deemed
                                             has proposed to enroll, or when CMS                     section 1866(j)(3)(A) of the Act allows               necessary. CMS will continue the
                                             verifies that the provider or supplier                  for up to a 1-year provisional period of              enhanced oversight throughout the
                                             had submitted an enrollment                             enhanced oversight of newly enrolled                  revised Demonstration, billing patterns
                                             application prior to implementation of a                providers of services and suppliers,                  will be monitored through the Fraud
                                             moratorium that was denied as a result                  which may be implemented through                      Prevention System (FPS), and any abuse
                                             of implementation of such moratorium,                   program instruction. During this                      of billing privileges may result in
                                             CMS will move forward with processing                   Demonstration, CMS will utilize this                  revocation of Medicare billing
                                             the application. CMS will utilize the                   authority and may revoke a provider’s                 privileges.
                                             ownership information in the submitted                  or supplier’s Medicare billing privileges                The combined goal of the statewide
                                             CMS–855 application, in conjunction                     if the enhanced oversight identifies                  moratoria and the revised
                                             with the revised Demonstration, to                      grounds for such revocation.                          Demonstration outlined herein is to
                                                                                                        As an enhanced oversight measure,                  address beneficiary access to care
                                             perform numerous screening measures,
                                                                                                     providers or suppliers that are approved              issues, while targeting fraud, waste, and
                                             which will include the following:
                                                                                                     to enroll in the Demonstration because                abuse. Success of this revised
                                                • License verification.
                                                • Background investigations                          of a determination that access to care                Demonstration is contingent upon an
                                             including evaluation of affiliations.                   issues exist in the areas where they                  increase in oversight and enforcement
                                                • Federal debt review.                               proposed to enroll will be given a                    in all six current moratoria states. This
                                                • Credit history review.                             specific need-based geographic area, by               oversight will be provided using
                                                • Fingerprint-based criminal                         county, in which they are approved to                 existing tools, as well as those created
                                             background checks (FCBC) of persons                     operate. For those providers or suppliers             through this revised Demonstration, by
                                             with a 5 percent or greater direct or                   who are approved on the basis of an                   both CMS and CMS’ law enforcement
                                             indirect ownership interest, partners,                  access to care issue, should CMS find                 partners. Under this revised
                                             and managing employees.                                 that the access to care limitation extends            Demonstration, CMS will share
                                                • Enhanced site visits.                              beyond the counties that were initially
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                                                                                                                                                           applicable data with law enforcement
                                                • Ownership interest verification.                   proposed by the provider or supplier,                 partners to aid in the investigation and
                                                • Evaluation of past behavior in other               CMS may accordingly request that the                  prosecution of fraud.
                                             public programs.                                        provider or supplier expand the area of                  Through quarterly data evaluations,
                                                Providers and suppliers who do not                   operation. Providers and suppliers that               CMS will continue to carefully monitor
                                             pass the heightened screening                           are approved to enroll in the                         potential access to care issues that could
                                             requirements will receive a letter stating              Demonstration because they had                        develop in the moratoria states.


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                                                               Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 161 / Monday, August 20, 2018 / Rules and Regulations                                          42041

                                             Additionally, CMS will respond to any                   appeals, will be operationalized by the               E. Demonstration Conclusion
                                             access issue identified and brought to                  state Medicaid and CHIP agencies in                      CMS will utilize the Demonstration as
                                             our attention outside of the quarterly                  accordance with federal and state                     an opportunity to observe the statewide
                                             review.                                                 regulations and guidance. The states                  moratoria and heightened application
                                                                                                     will make recommendations to CMS                      review effectiveness over the course of
                                             B. Increased Investigation and
                                                                                                     regarding when a provider should be                   5 years, or until the moratoria are lifted,
                                             Prosecution
                                                                                                     enrolled based on access to care issues,              whichever occurs first. Should the
                                                As a measure to enhance our                          and must wait for CMS concurrence                     Demonstration prove to be a useful tool,
                                             oversight in these high risk areas, the                 prior to enrolling a provider under the               we hope to consider continuing and
                                             revised waiver application process will                 Demonstration. CMS will evaluate all                  expanding the most successful aspects
                                             include a more robust evaluation of the                 recommendations within 30 days of                     outside the context of a demonstration.
                                             provider/supplier, including license                    receipt, and will advise the state as to              The enhanced oversight exercised as
                                             verification, detailed background                       whether or not CMS concurs with the                   part of the Demonstration will also
                                             checks, fingerprinting, comprehensive                   recommendation to move forward in the                 allow us to identify trends and
                                             site visits, ownership interest                         enrollment process. CMS encourages                    vulnerabilities in the moratoria states
                                             verification, and evaluation of past                    states to use their discretion when                   and make program adjustments to
                                             behavior in other public programs, such                 determining whether to approve a                      accommodate fraud schemes as they
                                             as Medicaid and CHIP, as applicable.                    waiver for any provider who had                       transform over time.
                                             The revised waiver application will also                submitted an application prior to                        Concurrent with the Demonstration,
                                             require the provider or supplier to                     implementation of a moratorium that                   CMS will continue to assess and
                                             submit a specific county-based                          was denied as a result of                             improve current regulatory
                                             enrollment justification based on access                implementation of such moratorium.                    requirements for HHAs, ambulance
                                             to care, the boundaries of which CMS                    States that choose to apply waivers in                suppliers, and other provider/supplier
                                             would confirm and ultimately enforce,                   this manner should do so consistently                 types that pose a high risk to the
                                             with the exception of providers and                     for all providers who were denied as a                Medicare program. In the absence of
                                             suppliers that had an enrollment                        result of the moratorium. States are not              additional rulemaking, any enrollments
                                             application denied by their relevant                    required to seek CMS approval of their                that occur as part of the Demonstration,
                                             MAC as a result of implementation of a                  waiver process. Additionally, states will             assuming that the enrolled providers or
                                             moratorium. As detailed elsewhere in                    not be required to seek approval from                 suppliers are in compliance with all
                                             this document, once a provider or                       CMS to deny a waiver application. If a                Medicare requirements, will convert to
                                             supplier is enrolled pursuant to a                      provider receives an enrollment waiver                standard enrollments without
                                             waiver, that provider or supplier would                 from Medicare, that provider will be                  geographical billing restrictions at the
                                             be subjected to augmented investigation                 eligible to enroll in Medicaid or CHIP                end of the Demonstration.
                                             and monitoring in order to confirm                      without further review by the states.                    CMS recognizes that a moratorium is
                                             continued compliance with Medicare                      However, if a provider receives a                     a temporary tool that we have
                                             requirements.                                           Medicaid or CHIP waiver, the provider                 implemented in order to conduct
                                                Throughout the course of the                         must separately apply for a waiver with               targeted investigations and related
                                             Demonstration, CMS will work with all                   Medicare.                                             enforcement actions in high saturation,
                                             of its partners to identify fraudulent                     As provided in 42 CFR 455.470, a                   high risk areas. As required under our
                                             providers and suppliers and will take                   state Medicaid agency is not required to              regulations, we will re-evaluate the
                                             administrative action to remove such                    impose a moratorium if the state                      continued need for the moratoria every
                                             providers and suppliers from the                        Medicaid agency determines that                       6 months and may lift the moratoria at
                                             Medicare program. Additionally, within                  imposition of a temporary moratorium                  any time if the Secretary determines that
                                             30 to 60 days of a provider’s or                        would adversely affect beneficiaries’                 the moratoria are no longer needed, or
                                             supplier’s enrollment pursuant to a                     access to medical assistance and notifies             the circumstances warranting the
                                             waiver, CMS will perform proactive                      the Secretary in writing of this                      imposition of moratoria have abated or
                                             monitoring and oversight of such                        determination.                                        CMS has implemented program
                                             provider or supplier, including                                                                               safeguards to address the program
                                                                                                     D. Duration of the Demonstration
                                             proactive examination of claims data                                                                          vulnerability, among other rationale.7
                                             and investigation of billing anomalies.                    The Demonstration commenced on
                                                                                                     July 29, 2016 and was to continue for a               We will monitor the moratoria areas to
                                             Further, CMS will prioritize                                                                                  determine if it is appropriate to lift all
                                             Demonstration-related investigations                    period of 3 years, or until the moratoria
                                                                                                     are lifted, whichever occurs first.                   moratoria (and thus end the
                                             and will make referrals to appropriate                                                                        Demonstration), including the following
                                             law enforcement partners, including                     However, CMS is extending the
                                                                                                     Demonstration an additional 2 years, for              criteria:
                                             Department of Justice (DOJ), Office of                                                                           • Beneficiary access to care.
                                             Inspector General (OIG), and state law                  a total of 5 years, through July 28, 2021.               • Provider or supplier growth rates.
                                             enforcement agencies, for prosecution of                Since the commencement of the                            • The number of providers or
                                             fraud.                                                  demonstration, CMS thus far has                       suppliers per beneficiary.
                                                                                                     collected limited data on which to                       • Provider/supplier saturation.
                                             C. Medicaid and CHIP Implementation                     evaluate the effectiveness of the                        • Churn rate—the rate of providers/
                                               In addition to the Medicare program,                  demonstration. We expect that the                     suppliers entering and exiting the
                                             this revised Demonstration will also                    extension to 5 years will allow more                  program.
                                             apply to Medicaid and CHIP. The states                  providers and suppliers to enroll under                  • Claims paid per beneficiary.
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                                             will administer the Medicaid and CHIP                   the Demonstration, thus providing CMS                    • Enforcement actions, including:
                                             Demonstration and will independently                    with more data on which to evaluate the               Revocations, denials, investigations, and
                                             evaluate access to care. All                            Demonstration’s effectiveness. Should                 referrals to law enforcement and other
                                             Demonstration-related processes,                        CMS choose to lift all of the moratoria               related activities.
                                             including but not limited to heightened                 prior to July 28, 2021, we will not
                                             screening, enrollment, denials, and                     continue the Demonstration.                             7 42   CFR 424.570.



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                                             42042             Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 161 / Monday, August 20, 2018 / Rules and Regulations

                                             IV. Collection of Information                           2. Paperwork Burden Estimate (Costs)                  17004 of the 21st Century Cures Act.
                                             Requirements                                               This waiver form will be completed                 Effective for items and services
                                                                                                     by providers and suppliers seeking a                  furnished on or after October 1, 2017,
                                             A. Background
                                                                                                     waiver to enroll in a moratorium area.                the provision prohibits payment for
                                                Under the Paperwork Reduction Act                    The cost burden is estimated at $27.60                items and services furnished within a
                                             of 1995 (PRA), we are required to                       ($13.80 base pay) an hour for                         temporary moratorium area by providers
                                             publish a 60-day notice in the Federal                  completion of access to care analysis                 or suppliers who enroll after the
                                             Register and solicit public comment                     and miscellaneous administrative                      effective date of such moratorium and
                                             before a collection of information                      activities, totaling $69.00 per                       who are within a category of providers
                                             requirement is submitted to the Office of               application, equaling $2,070.00                       and suppliers subject to such
                                             Management and Budget (OMB) for                         annually. The cost burden is estimated                moratorium. We will allow payment to
                                             review and approval.                                    at $188.50 ($94.25 base pay) an hour for              be made to providers and suppliers who
                                                To fairly evaluate whether an                        the owner to obtain fingerprints and                  enroll under the Demonstration and
                                             information collection should be                        complete the waiver form totaling                     furnish items and services within a
                                             approved by OMB, section 3506(c)(2)(A)                  $659.75 per application, equaling                     moratorium area, including those who
                                             of the PRA requires that we solicit                     $19,792.5 annually. Estimated annual                  were approved prior to this revised
                                             comment on the following issues:                        burden for 30 newly enrolling                         Demonstration.
                                                • The need for the information                       applicants totals $21,862.5. To derive                   • Waiver of § 424.570(a)(1)(iv) and
                                             collection and its usefulness in carrying               average costs, we used data from the                  (c). This regulation establishes
                                             out the proper functions of our agency.                 Bureau of Labor Statistics’ May 2017                  moratoria rules for Medicare, Medicaid,
                                                • The accuracy of our burden                         National Occupational Employment and                  and CHIP. Specifically, we will: (1)
                                             estimates.                                              Wage Estimates (http://www.bls.gov/                   Exempt providers and suppliers from
                                                • The quality, utility, and clarity of               oes/current/oes_nat.htm#31-0000 for                   the moratoria if they submitted an
                                             the information to be collected.                        healthcare support occupations and                    application to their MAC prior to July
                                                • Our effort to minimize the                         http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/                       29, 2016 that was denied as a result of
                                             information collection burden on the                    oes111011.htm for chief executives.)                  implementation of statewide moratoria;
                                             affected public, including the use of                   Hourly wage rates include the costs of                and (2) exempt providers and suppliers
                                             automated collection techniques.                        fringe benefits (calculated at 100 percent            from any future moratoria if they have
                                                We are soliciting public comment on                  of salary) and the adjusted hourly wage.              submitted an application to their MAC
                                             each of the section 3506(c)(2)(A)-                                                                            prior to the implementation date of that
                                             required issues for the following                       C. Response to Comments                               moratoria, without regard to provider
                                             information collection requirements                        We have submitted a copy of the                    type or geographic location. This waiver
                                             (ICRs). This is covered under OMB                       Federal Register document to OMB for                  will be applicable to any moratoria that
                                             control number 0938–1313.                               its review of the document’s                          are implemented subsequent to, and for
                                                                                                     information collection and                            the duration of, this demonstration.
                                             B. Burden Estimate (Hours and Wages)
                                                                                                     recordkeeping requirements. These                        • Waiver of § 424.520(a) and (d),
                                             1. Paperwork Burden Estimate (Hours)                    requirements are not effective until they             which establishes specific effective date
                                                The provider and supplier burden                     have been approved by the OMB.                        requirements for certified providers and
                                                                                                        To obtain copies of the supporting                 ambulance suppliers, respectively. This
                                             associated with completion of the
                                                                                                     statement and any related forms for the               waiver will allow CMS to establish the
                                             waiver form is estimated at 6 hours per
                                                                                                     proposed collections discussed                        effective date for a provider or supplier
                                             form. This will include the following
                                                                                                     previously, please visit CMS’ website at              depending on whether access to care
                                             time burden per form:                                   https://www.cms.gov/Regulations-and-
                                                • 2 hours for completion of                                                                                issues exist in the service area.
                                                                                                     Guidance/Legislation/Paperwork                           The authorities CMS previously
                                             fingerprint-based criminal background                   ReductionActof1995/index.html, or call
                                             check (FCBC).                                                                                                 waived under the original
                                                                                                     the Reports Clearance Office at 410–                  Demonstration, which we will continue
                                                • 2 hours for completion of access to                786–1326.
                                             care assessment.                                                                                              to waive under the revised
                                                                                                        We invite public comments on these                 Demonstration, include the following:
                                                • 1.5 hours for completion of form.                  potential information collection
                                                • 0.5 hours for completion of other                                                                           • Waiver of §§ 424.518(c) and (d) and
                                                                                                     requirements. If you wish to comment,                 455.434(a), which describe the
                                             miscellaneous administrative activities.                please submit your comments
                                             There will be variation to this estimate                                                                      fingerprinting rules for enrollment in
                                                                                                     electronically as specified in the                    Medicare, Medicaid and CHIP.8 This
                                             based on proximity to a fingerprinting                  ADDRESSES section of this document and
                                             office as well as the complexity of the                                                                       waiver involves expanding the existing
                                                                                                     identify the document’s filecode (CMS–                regulatory authority in two ways: (1) To
                                             data that the provider or supplier elects               6073–N2) the ICR’s CFR citation, CMS
                                             to submit. To assist with completion of                                                                       include ambulance suppliers requesting
                                                                                                     ID number, and OMB control number.                    a waiver under the Demonstration
                                             the access to care assessment, CMS has
                                             HHA and ambulance saturation data                       V. Waiver Authority                                   within the categories of providers and
                                             available at https://data.cms.gov/                                                                            suppliers to which the FCBC
                                                                                                       Under section 402(b) of Public Law
                                             market-saturation.                                                                                            requirements apply; and (2) to include
                                                                                                     90–248, (42 U.S.C. 1395b–1(b)), certain
                                                CMS estimates 30 new applicants                                                                            managing employees within the
                                                                                                     requirements of the Act and
                                             requesting waivers for a total of 180                                                                         associated individuals subject to an
                                                                                                     implementing regulations would be
                                             burden hours annually. Additionally,                                                                          FCBC when the provider or supplier
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                                                                                                     waived to the extent necessary to
                                             the provider or supplier will have the                                                                        seeks to enroll pursuant to a waiver
                                                                                                     implement this demonstration.
                                             additional burden associated with                         Specifically, the authorities CMS is                under the Demonstration. Additionally,
                                             completion of the CMS–855, which is                     seeking to waive under this revised                     8 According to 42 CFR 457.990, the enrollment
                                             required for enrollment into Medicare.                  Demonstration include the following:                  screening requirements applicable to providers
                                             This burden is covered under OMB                          • Waiver of section 1866(j)(7)(C) of                enrolling in Medicaid apply equally to those
                                             control number 0938–0685.                               the Act, which was added by section                   enrolling in CHIP.



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                                                               Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 161 / Monday, August 20, 2018 / Rules and Regulations                                              42043

                                             CMS intends to modify the authority                     requirements for 3.7–4.2 GHz band                     burden for small business concerns with
                                             that currently requires denial or                       spectrum that will be available for new               fewer than 25 employees.
                                             revocation of providers or suppliers                    wireless uses while balancing desired
                                                                                                                                                           Congressional Review Act
                                             who fail to submit fingerprints, to                     speed to the market, efficiency of use,
                                             instead specify that a waiver application               and effectively accommodating                           The Commission will send a copy of
                                             will be rejected if the provider or                     incumbent Fixed Satellite Service (FSS)               this Order in a report to be sent to
                                             supplier fails to submit the required                   and Fixed Service (FS) operations in the              Congress and the Government
                                             fingerprints within 30 days.                            band.                                                 Accountability Office pursuant to the
                                                • Waiver of 1866(j)(3)(B) of the Act,                                                                      Congressional Review Act (CRA), see 5
                                                                                                     DATES:  The certification requirements                U.S.C. 801(a)(1)(A).
                                             which requires program instruction or                   are adopted effective August 20, 2018;
                                             regulatory interpretation in order to                   except for Earth Station and Space                    I. Introduction
                                             implement section 1866(j)(3) of the Act,                Station Information Collections in                       1. In this proceeding, the Commission
                                             Provisional Period of Enhanced                          paragraphs 7–12, which contain                        is pursuing the joint goals of making
                                             Oversight for New Providers of Services                 information collection requirements that              spectrum available for new wireless
                                             and Suppliers. CMS intends to                           have not been approved by the Office of               uses while balancing desired speed to
                                             implement the requirements of section                   Management and Budget. The FCC will                   the market, efficiency of use, and
                                             1866(j)(3) of the Act for purposes of this              publish a document in the Federal                     effectively accommodating incumbent
                                             Demonstration and in the absence of                     Register announcing the effective date                Fixed Satellite Service (FSS) and Fixed
                                             regulation or other instruction in order                for those requirements.                               Service (FS) operations in the band. To
                                             to allow for a 1-year period of enhanced
                                                                                                     FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:                      gain a clearer understanding of the
                                             oversight of newly enrolling providers                                                                        operations of current users in the 3.7–
                                             and suppliers under this Demonstration.                 Christopher Bair of the International
                                                                                                                                                           4.2 GHz band, the Commission is
                                                • Waiver of section 1866(j)(8) of the                Bureau, Satellite Division, at 202–418–
                                                                                                                                                           requiring certifications and collecting
                                             Act and the regulations at 42 CFR                       0945 or christopher.bair@fcc.gov. For
                                                                                                     information regarding the Paperwork                   information on current FSS uses.
                                             424.545, 42 CFR part 498, subparts D
                                             and E, and 42 CFR 405.803(b), which                     Reduction Act contact Cathy Williams,                 II. Background
                                             allow a provider or supplier the right to               Office of Managing Director, at (202)
                                                                                                                                                              2. In the 2017 Mid-Band Notice of
                                             request a hearing with an administrative                418–2918 or cathy.williams@fcc.gov.                   Inquiry (Mid-Band NOI), the
                                             law judge and the Department Appeals                    SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:      This is a             Commission began an evaluation of
                                             Board in the case of denial. Under this                 summary of the Commission’s Order,                    whether spectrum in-between 3.7 GHz
                                             Demonstration, denials of applications                  GN Docket No. 18–122, FCC 18–91,                      and 24 GHz can be made available for
                                             for a waiver may be appealed at a CMS                   adopted on July 12, 2018, and released                flexible use—particularly for wireless
                                             level only, and any applicant to the                    on July 13, 2018. The complete text of                broadband services.1
                                             Demonstration will waive their right to                 this document is available for public
                                             further appeal.                                                                                               III. Order: Collecting Information on
                                                                                                     inspection and copying from 8 a.m. to
                                                • Waiver of 1866(j)(7) of the Act and                                                                      Satellite Usage of the Band
                                                                                                     4:30 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) Monday
                                             the regulations at 42 CFR 424.570 and                   through Thursday or from 8 a.m. to                       3. The record in response to the Mid-
                                             455.470, which specify that the                         11:30 a.m. ET on Fridays in the FCC                   Band NOI reflects that the
                                             moratoria must be implemented at a                      Reference Information Center, 445 12th                Commission’s information regarding
                                             provider or supplier type level, in order               Street SW, Room CY–A257,                              current use of the band is inaccurate
                                             to allow a case-by-case waiver process                  Washington, DC 20554. The complete                    and/or incomplete. Therefore, the
                                             to moratoria.                                           text is available on the Commission’s                 Commission is collecting additional
                                               Dated: August 6, 2018.                                website at http://wireless.fcc.gov, or by             information to make an informed
                                                                                                     using the search function on the ECFS                 decision about the proposals discussed
                                             Seema Verma,
                                                                                                     web page at http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/                   herein—including the scope of future
                                             Administrator, Centers for Medicare &
                                                                                                     ecfs/. Alternative formats are available              FSS, FS, and potential mobile use of the
                                             Medicaid Services.
                                                                                                     to persons with disabilities by sending               band and the appropriate transition
                                             [FR Doc. 2018–17809 Filed 8–16–18; 4:15 pm]
                                                                                                     an email to fcc504@fcc.gov or by calling              methodology. It is important that the
                                             BILLING CODE 4120–01–P
                                                                                                     the Consumer & Governmental Affairs                   Commission obtain a clear
                                                                                                     Bureau at (202) 418–0530 (voice), (202)               understanding of the operations of
                                                                                                     418–0432 (tty).                                       current users in the band. This user data
                                             FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS                                                                                        will be vital to our consideration of how
                                             COMMISSION                                              Paperwork Reduction Act                               much spectrum could be made
                                                                                                       The Commission, as part of its                      available, how incumbent operators
                                             47 CFR Part 25                                                                                                could be protected, accommodated, or
                                                                                                     continuing effort to reduce paperwork
                                             [GN Docket Nos. 18–122, 17–183, RM–                     burdens, intends to invite the general                relocated, and the overall structure of
                                             11791, RM–11778; FCC 18–91]                             public and the Office of Management                   the band going forward.
                                                                                                     and Budget (OMB) to comment on the                       4. In furtherance of the Commission’s
                                             Expanding Flexible Use of the 3.7 to                                                                          goals of fostering more efficient and
                                                                                                     information collection requirements
                                             4.2 GHz Band                                                                                                  intensive use of the 3.7–4.2 GHz band
                                                                                                     contained in this document, as required
                                             AGENCY:  Federal Communications                         by the Paperwork Reduction Act of                     as expeditiously as possible while
                                                                                                     1995, Public Law 104–13. In addition,                 protecting existing operations in the
daltland on DSKBBV9HB2PROD with RULES




                                             Commission.
                                                                                                     pursuant to the Small Business                        band from harmful interference, by this
                                             ACTION: Final action.
                                                                                                     Paperwork Relief Act of 2002, Public                  Order the Commission adopts the
                                             SUMMARY:    In this document, the Federal               Law 107–198, see 44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(4),                  1 Expanding Flexible Use in Mid-Band Spectrum
                                             Communications Commission                               the Commission will also seek specific                Between 3.7 and 24 GHz, GN Docket No. 17–183,
                                             (Commission or FCC) adopts                              comment on how we might further                       Notice of Inquiry, 32 FCC Rcd 6373 (2017) (Mid-
                                             certification and information collection                reduce the information collection                     Band NOI).



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Document Created: 2018-08-18 01:28:38
Document Modified: 2018-08-18 01:28:38
CategoryRegulatory Information
CollectionFederal Register
sudoc ClassAE 2.7:
GS 4.107:
AE 2.106:
PublisherOffice of the Federal Register, National Archives and Records Administration
SectionRules and Regulations
ActionRevisions of the waiver demonstration.
DatesThe revisions to the waiver demonstration are effective August 20, 2018.
ContactJung Kim, (410) 786-9370. News media representatives must contact CMS' Public Affairs Office at (202) 690- 6145 or email them at [email protected]
FR Citation83 FR 42037 
CFR Citation42 CFR 405
42 CFR 424
42 CFR 455
42 CFR 498

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