83_FR_50028 83 FR 49836 - Medicare Program; Hospital Inpatient Prospective Payment Systems for Acute Care Hospitals and the Long Term Care Hospital Prospective Payment System and Policy Changes and Fiscal Year 2019 Rates; Quality Reporting Requirements for Specific Providers; Medicare and Medicaid Electronic Health Record (EHR) Incentive Programs (Promoting Interoperability Programs) Requirements for Eligible Hospitals, Critical Access Hospitals, and Eligible Professionals; Medicare Cost Reporting Requirements; and Physician Certification and Recertification of Claims; Correction

83 FR 49836 - Medicare Program; Hospital Inpatient Prospective Payment Systems for Acute Care Hospitals and the Long Term Care Hospital Prospective Payment System and Policy Changes and Fiscal Year 2019 Rates; Quality Reporting Requirements for Specific Providers; Medicare and Medicaid Electronic Health Record (EHR) Incentive Programs (Promoting Interoperability Programs) Requirements for Eligible Hospitals, Critical Access Hospitals, and Eligible Professionals; Medicare Cost Reporting Requirements; and Physician Certification and Recertification of Claims; Correction

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

Federal Register Volume 83, Issue 192 (October 3, 2018)

Page Range49836-49856
FR Document2018-21500

This document corrects technical and typographical errors in the final rule that appeared in the August 17, 2018 issue of the Federal Register titled ``Medicare Program; Hospital Inpatient Prospective Payment Systems for Acute Care Hospitals and the Long Term Care Hospital Prospective Payment System and Policy Changes and Fiscal Year 2019 Rates; Quality Reporting Requirements for Specific Providers; Medicare and Medicaid Electronic Health Record (EHR) Incentive Programs (Promoting Interoperability Programs) Requirements for Eligible Hospitals, Critical Access Hospitals, and Eligible Professionals; Medicare Cost Reporting Requirements; and Physician Certification and Recertification of Claims''.

Federal Register, Volume 83 Issue 192 (Wednesday, October 3, 2018)
[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 192 (Wednesday, October 3, 2018)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 49836-49856]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2018-21500]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services

42 CFR Parts 412, 413, 424, and 495

[CMS-1694-CN2]
RIN 0938-AT27


Medicare Program; Hospital Inpatient Prospective Payment Systems 
for Acute Care Hospitals and the Long Term Care Hospital Prospective 
Payment System and Policy Changes and Fiscal Year 2019 Rates; Quality 
Reporting Requirements for Specific Providers; Medicare and Medicaid 
Electronic Health Record (EHR) Incentive Programs (Promoting 
Interoperability Programs) Requirements for Eligible Hospitals, 
Critical Access Hospitals, and Eligible Professionals; Medicare Cost 
Reporting Requirements; and Physician Certification and Recertification 
of Claims; Correction

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

ACTION: Final rule; correction.

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SUMMARY: This document corrects technical and typographical errors in 
the final rule that appeared in the August 17, 2018 issue of the 
Federal Register titled ``Medicare Program; Hospital Inpatient 
Prospective Payment Systems for Acute Care Hospitals and the Long Term 
Care Hospital Prospective Payment System and Policy Changes and Fiscal 
Year 2019 Rates; Quality Reporting Requirements for Specific Providers; 
Medicare and Medicaid Electronic Health Record (EHR) Incentive Programs 
(Promoting Interoperability Programs) Requirements for Eligible 
Hospitals, Critical Access Hospitals, and Eligible Professionals; 
Medicare Cost Reporting Requirements; and Physician Certification and 
Recertification of Claims''.

DATES: The corrections in this document are effective October 1, 2018.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Donald Thompson and Michele Hudson, 
(410) 786-4487.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background

    In FR Doc. 2018-16766 of August 17, 2018 (83 FR 41144) there were a 
number of technical and typographical errors that are identified and 
corrected by the Correction of Errors section of this correcting 
document. The provisions in this correcting document are effective as 
if they had been included in the document that appeared in the August 
17, 2018 Federal Register. Accordingly, the corrections are effective 
October 1, 2018.

II. Summary of Errors

A. Summary of Errors in the Preamble

    On page 41144, under  FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section, we 
are correcting the names of the contacts for Medicare Promoting 
Interoperability Program issues.
    On page 41151, in our discussion regarding Changes to the Hospital 
Readmissions Reduction Program under ``Summary of Cost and Benefits'', 
we made errors in the impact figures.
    On pages 41200, 41219, 41236, and 41313, we made a technical error 
in using the term ``primary'' rather than ``principal'' when in 
describing certain diagnosis codes or conditions.
    On page 41254, we inadvertently omitted a base MS-DRG group to 
which the listed thoracoscopic procedures of pericardium and pleura may 
be assigned. Specifically, we are correcting the list of MS-DRGs on 
page 41254 to include MS-DRGs 166, 167, and 168 (Other Respiratory 
System O.R. Procedures with MCC, with CC, and without CC/MCC, 
respectively) in MDC 4 (Diseases and Disorders of the Respiratory 
System), consistent with the MS-DRGs to which other approaches for 
procedures involving drainage or extirpation of matter from the pleura 
are assigned.
    On page 41299, we made a technical error in describing which ICD-
10-PCS procedure codes will be used to identify cases involving the use 
of KYMRIAH and YESCARTA that are eligible for new technology add-on 
payments in FY 2019. Specifically, cases involving the use of KYMRIAH 
and YESCARTA that are eligible for new technology add-on payments will 
be identified by either of

[[Page 49837]]

the ICD-10-PCS procedure codes listed in the final rule (XW033C3 or 
XW043C3) rather than requiring the combination of both ICD-10-PCS 
procedure codes.
    On page 41311, we made a typographical error in describing which 
National Drug Code (NDC) will be used to identify cases involving 
VABOMERETM that are eligible for new technology add-on 
payments in FY 2019. Specifically, we are correcting the NDC code of 
65293-0009-01, which erroneously was missing an extra digit. In 
addition, we were made aware after the final rule that NDC 70842-0120-
01 can also be used to identify cases of VABOMERETM. 
Therefore, cases involving the use of VABOMERETM that are 
eligible for new technology add-on payments in FY 2019 will be 
identified with either of the following NDCs: 65293-0009-01 and 70842-
0120-01.
    On page 41320, we made a typographical error in describing which 
ICD-10-PCS procedure codes will be used to identify cases involving the 
remed[emacr][reg] SystemTM that are eligible for new 
technology add-on payments in FY 2019. Specifically, we are correcting 
the ICD-10-PCS procedure code 05H43MZ (Insertion of neurostimulator 
lead into left innominate vein, percutaneous approach), which had 
erroneously contained an extra digit.
    On page 41334, we made a technical error in describing which ICD-
10-PCS procedure codes will be used to identify cases involving 
ZEMDRITM that are eligible for new technology add-on 
payments in FY 2019. Specifically, cases involving the use of 
ZEMDRITM that are eligible for new technology add-on 
payments will be identified by either of the ICD-10-PCS procedure codes 
listed in the final rule (XW033G4 or XW043G4) rather than requiring the 
combination of both ICD-10-PCS procedure codes.
    On page 41342, we made a technical error in describing which ICD-
10-PCS procedure codes will be used to identify cases involving 
GIAPREZATM that are eligible for new technology add-on 
payments in FY 2019. Specifically, cases involving the use of 
GIAPREZATM that are eligible for new technology add-on 
payments will be identified by either of the ICD-10-PCS procedure codes 
listed in the final rule (XW033H4 or XW043H4) rather than requiring the 
combination of both ICD-10-PCS procedure codes.
    On page 41348, we made a typographical error in stating the 
applicant's estimated cost of the Sentinel[reg] Cerebral Protection 
System. Specifically, we stated that the applicant estimated the cost 
is $2,400, when we should have stated the cost is $2,800.
    On page 41362, we made a technical error in describing which ICD-
10-PCS procedure codes will be used to identify cases involving 
AndexXaTM that are eligible for new technology add-on 
payments in FY 2019. Specifically, cases involving the use of 
AndexXaTM that are eligible for new technology add-on 
payments will be identified by either of the ICD-10-PCS procedure codes 
listed in the final rule (XW03372 or XW04372) rather than requiring the 
combination of both ICD-10-PCS procedure codes.
    On pages 41364, 41365, 41368, and 41375, in our discussion of the 
wage indexes, we are correcting the number of hospitals with critical 
access hospital (CAH) status removed from the FY 2019 wage index, the 
number of hospitals used for the FY 2019 wage index, the number of 
hospital occupational mix surveys used for the FY 2019 wage index, and 
the values for the FY 2019 national average hourly wage (unadjusted for 
occupational mix), the FY 2019 occupational mix adjusted national 
average hourly wage, and the FY 2019 national average hourly wages for 
the occupational mix nursing subcategories, due to inadvertent errors 
related to the following:
     The inclusion of a CAH in the wage data (CMS Certification 
Number (CCN) 060016).
     Wage data collected from the Medicare cost reports of one 
hospital (CCN 100044).
     Occupational Mix data collected from one hospital (CCN 
010001).
    On page 41406, we are correcting a typographical error in our 
reference to the discussion of the comments received on the proposed 
methodology for Factor 3.
    On page 41415, in our discussion regarding Methodology for 
Calculating Factor 3 for FY 2019, we are correcting a technical error 
in the calculation of the CCR ceilings for FY 2014 and FY 2015 and the 
number of hospitals above the ceiling in each of those years.
    On page 41432, in our discussion regarding Regulatory Background of 
Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program, we made a typographical error 
in referencing the fiscal year in which the calculation of the 
proportion of ``dually eligible'' Medicare beneficiaries used to 
stratify hospitals into peer groups will begin.
    On page 41436, in our discussion regarding Identification of 
Aggregate Payments for Each Condition/Procedure and All Discharges, we 
inadvertently omitted language regarding which MedPAR data is included 
in the program calculations.
    On page 41446, we made a technical error in the heading for section 
IV.I.2.c. by inadvertently stating the incorrect number of measure 
removal proposals that we were finalizing in the FY 2019 IPPS/LTCH PPS 
final rule for the Hospital Value-Based Purchasing (VBP) Program.
    On page 41452, we made an error in the date of publication of a 
reference.
    On page 41469, in the table entitled ``Previously Adopted and Newly 
Displayed Performance Standards for the FY 2021 Program Year: Safety, 
Clinical Outcomes, and Efficiency and Cost Reduction Domains,'' we 
inadvertently did not display several of the numbers in the benchmark 
column to 3 decimal places.
    On page 41488, in our discussion regarding analysis of Hospital-
Acquired Condition Reduction Program, we made a technical error in 
referencing hospital's National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) 
Healthcare-Associated Infection (HAI) measures.
    On pages 41528 and 41529, we corrected the MS-LTC-DRG budget 
neutrality factor due to an error in the MS-LTC-DRG weights resulting 
from the inadvertent inclusion of an all-inclusive rate provider.
    On pages 41536 and 41537, due to the changes in the MS-LTC-DRG 
weights resulting from the correction to the MS-LTC-DRG budget 
neutrality factor (described previously) and the corrections in the 
LTCH PPS wage index referenced above and discussed in greater detail 
below, we made conforming changes to the budget neutrality adjustment 
factor for the cost of the elimination of the 25-percent threshold 
policy for FY 2019 and the area wage budget neutrality factor.
    On page 41556, in our discussion regarding claims-based-readmission 
measures, the National Quality Forum (NQF) number for the MORT-30-CABG 
measure was inadvertently listed as NQF #2515, which is the NQF number 
for the READM-30-CABG measure.
    On page 41558, in our discussion finalizing our proposals to remove 
the mortality measures, we inadvertently referenced the FY 2020 payment 
determination twice.
    On page 41576, in the table entitled ``Summary of Hospital IQR 
Program Measures Newly Finalized for Removal,'' an entry under 
``Claims-Based Coordination of Care Measures'' inadvertently included 
an ``A'' in the short name for the Pneumonia Readmission measure.
    On page 41579, in the table entitled ``Measures for the FY 2021 
Payment

[[Page 49838]]

Determination,'' we inadvertently omitted the entry for the FY 2021 
payment determination for MORT-30-CABG. In the same table, we made a 
typographical error by inadvertently including an asterisk at the end 
of Hospital 30-Day, All-Cause, Risk-Standardized Mortality Rate 
Following Acute Ischemic Stroke (MORT-30-STK). In the same table, we 
made a typographical error by inadvertently listing the incorrect NQF 
number for STK-06, Discharged on Statin Medication measure. In the same 
table, we inadvertently excluded the word ``Venous'' from the full 
measure name of VTE-2, Intensive Care Unit Venous Thromboembolism 
Prophylaxis.
    On page 41599, in our discussion of Social Risk Factors in the 
Hospital Inpatient Quality Reporting (IQR) Program, we inadvertently 
used the term ``measures'' instead of ``methods''.
    On page 41672, in our discussion regarding the electronic reporting 
of electronic clinical quality measures (eCQMs) for CY 2019, we 
incorrectly referred to the Spring 2017 version of the CQM electronic 
specifications as the most recent version. A more recent version of the 
specifications was issued after the proposed rule was published, which 
is the 2018 eCQM specifications update (published in May 2018).

B. Summary of Errors in the Addendum

    As discussed in section II.D. of this correcting document, we made 
several technical errors with regard to the calculation of Factor 3 of 
the uncompensated care payment methodology. Factor 3 is used to 
determine the total amount of the uncompensated care payment a hospital 
is eligible to receive for a fiscal year. This amount is then used to 
calculate the amount of the interim uncompensated care payments a 
hospital receives per discharge. Per discharge uncompensated care 
payments are included when determining total payments for purposes of 
all of the budget neutrality factors and the final outlier threshold. 
As a result, the revisions made to address these technical errors 
regarding the calculation of Factor 3 directly affected the calculation 
of total payments and required the recalculation of all the budget 
neutrality factors and the final outlier threshold.
    Because of the errors related to the wage data for the three 
hospitals (CCNs 010001, 060016 and 100044) as discussed in section 
II.A. of this correcting document, we recalculated the FY 2019 national 
average hourly wages unadjusted for occupational mix and adjusted for 
occupational mix which resulted in the recalculation of the final FY 
2019 IPPS wage indexes and the geographic adjustment factors (GAFs) 
(which are computed from the wage index). The final FY 2019 IPPS wage 
data are used in the calculation of the wage index budget neutrality 
adjustment when comparing total payments using the final FY 2018 IPPS 
wage index data to total payments using the final FY 2019 IPPS wage 
index data. Additionally, the final FY 2019 IPPS wage index data are 
used when determining total payments for purposes of the rest of the 
budget neutrality factors (except for the MS-DRG reclassification and 
recalibration budget neutrality factor) and the final outlier 
threshold. In addition, the final FY 2019 IPPS wage index data are used 
to calculate the FY 2019 LTCH PPS wage index values, certain budget 
neutrality factors, and the LTCH PPS standard Federal payment rate in 
the FY 2019 IPPS/LTCH PPS final rule.
    We also made inadvertent errors related to the status of four 
providers reclassified from urban to rural under section 1886(d)(8)(E) 
of the Act (codified in the regulations under Sec.  412.103 and 
hereinafter referred to as Sec.  412.103). Specifically, the 
reclassification status in the FY 2019 IPPS/LTCH PPS final rule did not 
properly reflect the application of urban to rural reclassification 
under Sec.  412.103 for four providers (CCNs 050025, 050573, 120001 and 
120002). We note, provider 050573 was approved by the MGCRB for 
reclassification (as already reflected in the FY 2019 IPPS/LTCH final 
rule) in addition to its urban to rural reclassification under Sec.  
412.103. Additionally, the final FY 2019 IPPS wage index with 
reclassification is used when determining total payments for purposes 
of all budget neutrality factors (except for the MS-DRG 
reclassification and recalibration budget neutrality factor and the 
wage index budget neutrality adjustment factor) and the final outlier 
threshold.
    Due to the correction of the combination of errors listed 
previously (revisions to Factor 3 of the uncompensated care payment 
methodology, the correction to the final FY 2019 IPPS wage index data 
adjusted for occupational mix and the correction to the geographic 
reclassification status of four hospitals), we recalculated all IPPS 
budget neutrality adjustment factors, the fixed-loss cost threshold, 
the final wage indexes (and GAFs), and the national operating 
standardized amounts and capital Federal rate. (We note there was no 
change to the rural community hospital demonstration program budget 
neutrality adjustment or the operating outlier adjustment factor 
resulting from the correction of this combination of errors.) 
Therefore, we made conforming changes to the following:
     On pages 41715 and 41727, the MS-DRG reclassification and 
recalibration budget neutrality adjustment factor.
     On page 41716, the following budget neutrality 
adjustments:
    ++ Wage index budget neutrality adjustment.
    ++ Reclassification hospital budget neutrality adjustment.
    ++ Rural floor budget neutrality adjustment.
     On page 41723, the calculation of the outlier fixed-loss 
cost threshold, total operating Federal payments, total operating 
outlier payments, and the outlier adjustment to the capital Federal 
rate.
     On pages 41724 through 41725, the table titled ``Changes 
From FY 2018 Standardized Amounts to the FY 2019 Standardized 
Amounts''.
    On page 41722, we are also correcting inadvertent technical errors 
in the figures reported for the covered charges and cases by quarter in 
the periods used to calculate the charge inflation factor. 
Specifically, we erroneously presented figures based on total charges 
for the applicable periods listed in the table rather than the covered 
charges and the case counts were not correctly aligned with the 
corresponding quarter. We note that although there were technical 
errors in the figures as presented in the table and the corresponding 
discussion on page 41722, the correct figures were used for the outlier 
calculations in the final rule. In addition, on page 41723, we are 
correcting technical errors in the description of the formula showing 
total outlier payments as a percentage of total operating Federal 
payments.
    On pages 41727 through 41729, in our discussion of the 
determination of the Federal hospital inpatient capital-related 
prospective payment rate update, due to the recalculation of the GAFs, 
we have made conforming corrections to the increase in the capital 
Federal rate, the GAF/DRG budget neutrality adjustment factors, the 
capital Federal rate, and the outlier threshold (as discussed 
previously), along with certain statistical figures (for example, 
percent change) in the accompanying discussions. Also, as a result of 
these errors we have made conforming corrections in the tables showing 
the comparison of factors and adjustments for the FY 2018 capital 
Federal rate and FY 2019 capital Federal rate and the proposed FY 2019 
capital Federal rate and final FY 2019 capital Federal rate.

[[Page 49839]]

    On pages 41730 through 41731, 41733, 41736 and 41737, due to 
corrections in the LTCH PPS wage index discussed previously, we are 
making conforming corrections to the following:
     The area wage level adjustment budget neutrality factor.
     The fixed-loss amount for FY 2019 LTCH PPS standard 
Federal payment rate discharges and the high-cost outlier (HCO) 
threshold.
     The budget neutrality adjustment factor for the cost of 
the elimination of the 25-percent threshold policy for FY 2019 and the 
FY 2019 LTCH PPS standard Federal payment rate.
     The fixed-loss amount for FY 2019 site neutral payment 
rate discharges and the high-cost outlier (HCO) threshold (based on the 
corrections to the IPPS fixed-loss amount discussed previously).
    On pages 41738 and 41739, we are making conforming corrections to 
the figures used in the example of computing the adjusted LTCH PPS 
Federal prospective payment for FY 2019.
    On pages 41740 and 41741, we are making conforming corrections to 
the following:
     National adjusted operating standardized amounts and 
capital standard Federal payment rate (which also include the rates 
payable to hospitals located in Puerto Rico) in Tables 1A, 1B, 1C, and 
1D as a result of the conforming corrections to certain budget 
neutrality factors and the outlier threshold (as described previously). 
We are also correcting a typographical error in the update factor 
presented in the column heading for a hospital that submitted quality 
data and is a meaningful EHR user.
     LTCH PPS standard Federal payment rate in Table 1E as a 
result of the correction to the LTCH PPS wage index values (as 
discussed previously).

C. Summary of Errors in the Appendices

    On pages 41742, 41744 through 41751, and 41763 through 41765 in our 
regulatory impact analyses, we made conforming corrections to the 
factors, values, and tables and accompanying discussion of the changes 
in operating and capital IPPS payments for FY 2019 and the effects of 
certain IPPS budget neutrality factors as a result of the technical 
errors that lead to conforming changes in our calculation of the 
operating and capital IPPS budget neutrality factors, outlier 
threshold, final wage indexes, operating standardized amounts, and 
capital Federal rate (as described in sections II.A. and II.B. of this 
correcting document).
    In particular, we made changes to the following tables:
     On pages 41744 through 41746, the table titled ``Table I--
Impact Analysis of Changes to the IPPS for Operating Costs for FY 
2019''.
     On pages 41748 through 41749, the table titled ``FY 2019 
IPPS Estimated Payments Due To Rural Floor With National Budget 
Neutrality''.
     On pages 41750 through 41751, the table titled ``Table 
II--Impact Analysis of Changes for FY 2019 Acute Care Hospital 
Operating Prospective Payment System [Payments per discharge]''.
     On pages 41764 through 41765, the table titled ``Table 
III--Comparison of Total Payments per Case [FY 2018 payments compared 
to FY 2019 payments]''.
    On pages 41753 through 41755, we are correcting the discussion of 
the ``Effects of the Changes to Medicare DSH and Uncompensated Care 
Payments for FY 2019'' for purposes of the Regulatory Impact Analysis 
in Appendix A of the FY 2019 IPPS/LTCH PPS final rule, including the 
table titled ``MODELED UNCOMPENSATED CARE PAYMENTS FOR ESTIMATED FY 
2019 DSHs BY HOSPITAL TYPE: MODEL UCP $ (IN MILLIONS) * FROM FY 2018 to 
FY 2019'' on pages 41753 and 41754, in light of the corrections 
discussed in section II.D. of this correcting document.
    On page 41756, in our discussion of the effects of changes under 
the FY 2019 Hospital Value-Based Purchasing (VBP) Program that appears 
in Appendix A, we are correcting an inadvertent reference to the word 
``proposed'' in the heading for section I.H.6.a in the first column at 
the bottom of the page and in line 1 of the last paragraph of the 
second column at the bottom of the page.
    On pages 41758 through 41759, in table entitled ``Estimated 
Proportion of Hospitals in the Worst-Performing Quartile (>75th 
Percentile) of the Total HAC Scores for the FY 2019 HAC Reduction 
Program'', we inadvertently included incorrect data.
    On pages 41766 and 41768 through 41769, we made conforming 
corrections to the LTCH PPS area wage level budget neutrality factor, 
the budget neutrality adjustment factor for the cost of the elimination 
of the 25-percent threshold policy for FY 2019, and the LTCH PPS 
standard Federal payment rate as described in section II.B. of this 
correcting document.
    On pages 41768 through 41770, we are making conforming corrections 
to ``Table IV--Impact of Payment Rate and Policy Changes to LTCH PPS 
Payments for Standard Payment Rate Cases for FY 2019'' and the 
corresponding summary text. We are also correcting the inadvertent 
mislabeling of the Pacific and Mountain rows in that table.

D. Summary of Errors in and Corrections to Files and Tables Posted on 
the CMS Website

    We are correcting the errors in the following IPPS tables that are 
listed on pages 41739 through 41740 of the FY 2019 IPPS/LTCH PPS final 
rule and are available on the internet on the CMS website at https://www.cms.gov/Medicare/Medicare-Fee-for-Service-Payment/AcuteInpatientPPS/FY2019-IPPS-Final-Rule-Home-Page.html. The tables 
that are available on the internet have been updated to reflect the 
revisions discussed in this correcting document.
    Table 2--Case-Mix Index and Wage Index Table by CCN-FY 2019. The 
wage data errors (as discussed in section II.A. of this correcting 
document) related to the three hospitals (CCNs 010001, 060016, and 
100044) required the recalculation of the FY 2019 national average 
hourly wages unadjusted for occupational mix and adjusted for 
occupational mix which resulted in recalculating the FY 2019 wage 
indexes. Additionally, for the four providers (CCNs 050025, 050573, 
120001, and 120002) for which we are applying urban to rural 
reclassification under Sec.  412.103 (as discussed in section II.B. of 
this correcting document), we are correcting the values where 
applicable in the columns titled ``FY 2019 Wage Index'', 
``Reclassified/Redesignated CBSA'', ``Hospital Reclassified as Rural 
Under Section 1886(d)(8)(E) of the Act (Sec.  412.103)'' and ``Dual 
Status 412.103 and MGCRB/LUGAR''. Also, the revisions to Factor 3 of 
the uncompensated care payment methodology and recalculation of the FY 
2019 wage index necessitated the recalculation of the rural floor 
budget neutrality factor (as discussed in section II.B. of this 
correcting document). Therefore, we are correcting the values in the 
column titled ``FY 2019 Wage Index'' for all hospitals. Additionally, 
for the two hospitals (CCNs 010001 and 100044) for which we 
inadvertently used the incorrect wage and occupational mix data (as 
discussed in section II.A. of this correcting document), we are 
correcting the average hourly wages in the columns titled ``Average 
Hourly Wage FY 2019'' and ``3-Year Average Hourly Wage (2017, 2018, 
2019)''. Furthermore, we are deleting provider 060016 from the wage 
index and Table 2 since it is a CAH (as discussed in section II.A. of 
this correcting document).

[[Page 49840]]

    Table 3.--Wage Index Table by CBSA--FY 2019. The correction of the 
wage data errors (as discussed in section II.A. of this correcting 
document) related to the three hospitals (CCNs 010001, 060016, and 
100044) required the recalculation of the FY 2019 national average 
hourly wage adjusted for occupational mix which resulted in 
recalculating the FY 2019 wage indexes. Also, the revisions to Factor 3 
of the uncompensated care payment methodology, recalculation of the FY 
2019 wage index, and correction of the reclassification errors 
discussed in section II.B. of this correcting document necessitated the 
recalculation of the rural floor budget neutrality factor (as discussed 
in section II.B. of this correcting document). Therefore, we are making 
corresponding changes to the wage indexes and GAFs of all CBSAs listed 
in Table 3. Specifically, we are correcting the values and flags in the 
columns titled ``Wage Index'', ``Reclassified Wage Index'', ``GAF'', 
``Reclassified GAF'', ``Pre-Frontier and/or Pre-Rural Floor Wage 
Index'' and ``Eligible for Rural Floor Wage Index''. Also, we are 
making changes to reflect the application of urban to rural 
reclassification under Sec.  412.103 for the four providers (CCNs 
050025, 050573, 120001 and 120002) discussed in section II.B. of this 
correcting document. Specifically, we are correcting the values and 
flags in the columns titled ``Wage Index'', ``Reclassified Wage 
Index'', ``GAF'', ``Reclassified GAF'', ``Pre-Frontier and/or Pre-Rural 
Floor Wage Index'' and ``Eligible for Rural Floor Wage Index''. 
Additionally, for the 3 CBSAs (06, 20020, and 38940) where the three 
hospitals (CCNs 010001, 060016, and 100044) for which there were wage 
data errors are located (as discussed in section II.A. of this 
correcting document), we are correcting the average hourly wages in the 
columns titled ``FY 2019 Average Hourly Wage'' and ``3-Year Average 
Hourly Wage (2017, 2018, 2019)''.
    Table 4.--List of Counties Eligible for the Out-Migration 
Adjustment under Section 1886(d)(13) of the Act--FY 2019. The 
correction of the wage data errors related to the three hospitals (CCNs 
010001, 060016, and 100044), as discussed in section II.A. of this 
correcting document, required the recalculation of the FY 2019 national 
average hourly wage adjusted for occupational mix which resulted in 
recalculating the FY 2019 wage indexes. Also, the revisions to Factor 3 
of the uncompensated care payment methodology, recalculation of the FY 
2019 wage indexes, and correction of the reclassification errors 
discussed in section II.B. of this correcting document necessitated the 
recalculation of the rural floor budget neutrality factor (as discussed 
in section II.B. of this correcting document). Also, we are making 
changes to reflect the application of urban to rural reclassification 
under Sec.  412.103 for the four providers (CCNs 050025, 050573, 120001 
and 120002), as discussed in section II.B. of this correcting document. 
Therefore, we are making corresponding changes to the eligible counties 
and out migration values listed in Table 4. Specifically, we are 
correcting the list of counties and values in the columns titled ``FIPS 
County Code'', ``County Name'', ``State'', ``State Code'', ``Fiscal 
Year Begin of Adjustment'' and ``FY 2019 Out Migration''.
    Table 18.--FY 2019 Medicare DSH Uncompensated Care Payment Factor 
3. We are correcting this table to reflect revisions to the Factor 3 
calculations for purposes of determining uncompensated care payments 
for the FY 2019 IPPS/LTCH PPS final rule for the following reasons:
     To reflect mergers where data for the merged hospital were 
not combined with the data for the surviving hospital.
     To correct the projected DSH eligibility for a SCH that 
now has CAH status, and therefore is no longer included in Table 18.
     To correct a provider's Factor 3 that was inadvertently 
calculated using the methodology for all-inclusive rate providers.
     To correct the Factor 3s that were computed for hospitals 
whose FY 2014 or FY 2015 cost report in the June 2018 extract of 
Healthcare Cost Report Information System (HCRIS) inadvertently omitted 
amended uncompensated care cost data that had been reported by the 
hospital on an amended Worksheet S-10 in a timely manner per Change 
Request (CR) 10378 issued on December 1, 2017, or where the FY 2014 or 
FY 2015 cost report for a DSH eligible hospital had inadvertently been 
uploaded into HCRIS without making the calculation modifications 
described in Transmittal 11, and to reflect the cost-to-charge ratio 
(CCR) trim changes resulting from the inclusion of the inadvertently 
omitted data.
    We are revising Factor 3 for all hospitals to correct these errors. 
We are also revising the amount of the total uncompensated care payment 
calculated for each DSH-eligible hospital. The total uncompensated care 
payment that a hospital receives is used to calculate the amount of the 
interim uncompensated care payments the hospital receives per 
discharge. We also corrected the per discharge interim uncompensated 
care payment for all hospitals to reflect the 2017 discharges as shown 
on the FY 2019 IPPS Impact File. We also corrected the per discharge 
interim uncompensated care payment calculated for a merged hospital to 
reflect the discharges for the subsumed hospital. Per discharge 
uncompensated care payments are included when determining total 
payments for purposes of all of the budget neutrality factors and the 
final outlier threshold. As a result, these corrections to the 
uncompensated care payments impacted the calculation of all the budget 
neutrality factors as well as the outlier fixed-loss cost threshold. 
These corrections will be reflected in Table 18 and the Medicare DSH 
Supplemental Data File. In section IV.C. of this correcting document, 
we have made corresponding revisions to the discussion of the ``Effects 
of the Changes to Medicare DSH and Uncompensated Care Payments for FY 
2019'' for purposes of the Regulatory Impact Analysis in Appendix A of 
the FY 2019 IPPS/LTCH PPS final rule to reflect the corrections 
discussed previously.
    We are also correcting the errors in the following LTCH PPS tables 
that are listed on 41739 through 41740 of the FY 2019 IPPS/LTCH PPS 
final rule and are available on the internet on the CMS website at 
https://www.cms.gov/Medicare/Medicare-Fee-for-Service-Payment/LongTermCareHospitalPPS/index.html under the list item for regulation 
number CMS-1694-F. The tables that are available on the internet have 
been updated to reflect the revisions discussed in this correcting 
document.
    Table 11.--MS-LTC-DRGs, Relative Weights, Geometric Average Length 
of Stay, Short-Stay Outlier (SSO) Threshold for Discharges Occurring 
from October 1, 2018 through September 30, 2019 under the LTCH PPS. We 
are correcting this table to reflect the revisions to the MS-LTC-DRG 
relative weights, geometric average length-of-stay, and short-stay 
outlier threshold due to the inadvertent inclusion of an all-inclusive 
rate provider as discussed in section II.A. of this correcting 
document.
    Table 12A.--LTCH PPS Wage Index for Urban Areas for Discharges 
Occurring from October 1, 2018 through September 30, 2019. We are 
correcting this table to reflect the revisions to the LTCH PPS wage 
index values discussed in section II.A. of this correcting document.
    Table 12B.--LTCH PPS Wage Index for Rural Areas for Discharges 
Occurring

[[Page 49841]]

from October 1, 2018 through September 30, 2019. We are correcting this 
table to reflect the revisions to the LTCH PPS wage index values 
discussed in section II.A. of this correcting document.

III. Waiver of Proposed Rulemaking, 60-Day Comment Period, and Delay in 
Effective Date

    Under 5 U.S.C. 553(b) of the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), 
the agency is required to publish a notice of the proposed rulemaking 
in the Federal Register before the provisions of a rule take effect. 
Similarly, section 1871(b)(1) of the Act requires the Secretary to 
provide for notice of the proposed rulemaking in the Federal Register 
and provide a period of not less than 60 days for public comment. In 
addition, section 553(d) of the APA, and section 1871(e)(1)(B)(i) of 
the Act mandate a 30-day delay in effective date after issuance or 
publication of a rule. Sections 553(b)(B) and 553(d)(3) of the APA 
provide for exceptions from the notice and comment and delay in 
effective date APA requirements; in cases in which these exceptions 
apply, sections 1871(b)(2)(C) and 1871(e)(1)(B)(ii) of the Act provide 
exceptions from the notice and 60-day comment period and delay in 
effective date requirements of the Act as well. Section 553(b)(B) of 
the APA and section 1871(b)(2)(C) of the Act authorize an agency to 
dispense with normal rulemaking requirements for good cause if the 
agency makes a finding that the notice and comment process are 
impracticable, unnecessary, or contrary to the public interest. In 
addition, both section 553(d)(3) of the APA and section 
1871(e)(1)(B)(ii) of the Act allow the agency to avoid the 30-day delay 
in effective date where such delay is contrary to the public interest 
and an agency includes a statement of support.
    We believe that this correcting document does not constitute a rule 
that would be subject to the notice and comment or delayed effective 
date requirements. The document corrects technical and typographical 
errors in the preamble, addendum, payment rates, tables, and appendices 
included or referenced in the FY 2019 IPPS/LTCH PPS final rule, but 
does not make substantive changes to the policies or payment 
methodologies that were adopted in the final rule. As a result, this 
correcting document is intended to ensure that the information in the 
FY 2019 IPPS/LTCH PPS final rule accurately reflects the policies 
adopted in that document.
    In addition, even if this were a rule to which the notice and 
comment procedures and delayed effective date requirements applied, we 
find that there is good cause to waive such requirements. Undertaking 
further notice and comment procedures to incorporate the corrections in 
this document into the final rule or delaying the effective date would 
be contrary to the public interest because it is in the public's 
interest for providers to receive appropriate payments in as timely a 
manner as possible, and to ensure that the FY 2019 IPPS/LTCH PPS final 
rule accurately reflects our methodologies and policies. Furthermore, 
such procedures would be unnecessary, as we are not making substantive 
changes to our methodologies or policies, but rather, we are simply 
implementing correctly the methodologies and policies that we 
previously proposed, requested comment on, and subsequently finalized. 
This correcting document is intended solely to ensure that the FY 2019 
IPPS/LTCH PPS final rule accurately reflects these methodologies and 
policies. Therefore, we believe we have good cause to waive the notice 
and comment and effective date requirements.

IV. Correction of Errors

    In FR Rule Doc. 2018-16766 of August 17, 2018 (83 FR 41144), we are 
making the following corrections:

A. Corrections of Errors in the Preamble

    1. On page 41144, third column, sixth and seventh full paragraph, 
the contact information ``Elizabeth Holland, (410) 786-1309, Promoting 
Interoperability Programs. Clinical Quality Measure Related Issues. 
Kathleen Johnson, (410) 786-3295 and Steven Johnson (410) 786-3332, 
Promoting Interoperability Programs Nonclinical Quality Measure Related 
Issues.'' is corrected to read ``Jessica Wright, (410) 786-3838, 
Medicare Promoting Interoperability Program''.
    2. On page 41151, second column, second bulleted paragraph,
    a. Line 13, the figure ``2,610'' is corrected to read ``2,599''.
    b. Line 19, the figure ``$566'' is corrected to read ``$550''.
    3. On page 41200, between the untitled tables, first column, first 
full paragraph, line 27, the phrase ``primary and secondary diagnoses'' 
is corrected to read ``principal and secondary diagnoses''.
    4. On page 41219, middle of the page, third column, partial 
paragraph, line 13, the phrase ``primary and secondary diagnoses'' is 
corrected to read ``principal and secondary diagnoses''.
    5. On page 41236, lower half of the page, third column, first 
partial paragraph, line 2, the phrase ``primary diagnosis'' is 
corrected to read ``principal diagnosis''.
    6. On page 41254, lower two-thirds of the page, first column, 
partial paragraph, lines 12 through 17, the phrase ``MS-DRGs 163, 164, 
and 165 (Major Chest Procedures with MCC, with CC, and without CC/MCC, 
respectively) in MDC 4 (Diseases and Disorders of the Respiratory 
System);'' to read ``MS-DRGs 163, 164, and 165 (Major Chest Procedures 
with MCC, with CC, and without CC/MCC, respectively) and MS-DRGs 166, 
167, and 168 (Other Respiratory System O.R. Procedures with MCC, with 
CC, and without CC/MCC, respectively) in MDC 4 (Diseases and Disorders 
of the Respiratory System);''.
    7. On page 41299, second column, first partial paragraph, lines 2 
through 7, the sentence ``Cases involving KYMRIAH and YESCARTA that are 
eligible for new technology add-on payments will be identified by ICD-
10-PCS procedure codes XW033C3 and XW043C3.'' is corrected to read 
``Cases involving KYMRIAH and YESCARTA that are eligible for new 
technology add-on payments will be identified by either of the 
following ICD-10-PCS procedure codes: XW033C3 (Introduction of 
engineered autologous chimeric antigen receptor T-cell immunotherapy 
into peripheral vein, percutaneous approach, new technology group 3) or 
XW043C3 (Introduction of engineered autologous chimeric antigen 
receptor T-cell immunotherapy into central vein, percutaneous approach, 
new technology group 3).''
    8. On page 41311, second column, first partial paragraph, lines 46 
through 51, the phrase ``FY 2019 cases involving the use of 
VABOMERE\TM\ that are eligible for the FY 2019 new technology add-on 
payments will be identified by the NDC of 65293-009-01 (VABOMERE\TM\ 
Meropenem-Vaborbactam Vial).'' is corrected to read ``FY 2019 cases 
involving the use of VABOMERE\TM\ that are eligible for the FY 2019 new 
technology add-on payments will be identified by the NDC of 65293-0009-
01 (VABOMERE\TM\ Meropenem-Vaborbactam Vial).''
    9. On page 41313, first column, first partial paragraph, line 8, 
the phrase ``primary diagnosis'' is corrected to read ``principal 
diagnosis''.
    10. On page 41320, second column, first partial paragraph, line 15, 
the code ``05H043MZ'' is corrected to read ``05H43MZ''.
    11. On page 41334, second column, first full paragraph, lines 20 
through 24,

[[Page 49842]]

the sentence ``Cases involving ZEMDRITM that are eligible 
for new technology add-on payments will be identified by ICD-10-PCS 
procedure codes XW033G4 and XW043G4.'' is corrected to read ``Cases 
involving ZEMDRITM that are eligible for new technology add-
on payments will be identified by either of the following ICD-10-PCS 
procedure codes: XW033G4 (Introduction of Plazomicin anti-infective 
into peripheral vein, percutaneous approach, new technology group 4) or 
XW043G4 (Introduction of Plazomicin anti-infective into central vein, 
percutaneous approach, new technology group 4).''
    12. On page 41342, second column, first partial paragraph, lines 3 
and 4, the phrase ``identified by ICD-10-PCS procedure codes XW033H4 
and XW043H4.'' is corrected to read ``identified by either of the 
following ICD-10-PCS procedure codes: XW033H4 (Introduction of 
synthetic human angiotensin II into peripheral vein, percutaneous 
approach, new technology group 4) or XW043H4 (Introduction of synthetic 
human angiotensin II into central vein, percutaneous approach, new 
technology group 4).''
    13. On page 41348, second column, first full paragraph, line 17, 
the figure ``$2,400'' is corrected to read ``$2,800''.
    14. On page 41362, first column, first partial paragraph, lines 4 
through 7, the phrase ``eligible for new technology add-on payments 
will be identified by ICD-10-PCS procedure codes XW03372 and XW04372.'' 
is corrected to read ``eligible for new technology add-on payments will 
be identified by either of the following ICD-10-PCS procedure codes: 
XW03372 (Introduction of Andexanet alfa, factor Xa inhibitor reversal 
agent into peripheral vein, percutaneous approach, new technology group 
2) or XW04372 (Introduction of Andexanet alfa, factor Xa inhibitor 
reversal agent into central vein, percutaneous approach, new technology 
group 2).''
    15. On page 41364, third column, first partial paragraph--
    a. Line 10, the figure ``3'' is corrected to read ``4''.
    b. Line 18, the figure ``11'' is corrected to read ``12''.
    c. Line 21, the figure ``3'' is corrected to read ``4''.
    d. Line 23, the figure ``3,283'' is corrected to read ``3,282''.
    e. Lines 23 through 24, the figure ``(3,260 + 28 - 2 - 3 = 3,283)'' 
is corrected to read ``(3,260 + 28 - 2 - 4 = 3,282)''.
    16. On page 41365--
    a. Second column, third full paragraph, last line, the figure 
``$42.997789358'' is corrected to read ``$42.998002633''.
    b. Third column, first partial paragraph, line 32, the figure 
``$42.997789358'' is corrected to read ``$42.998002633''.
    17. On page 41368, third column, first partial paragraph, line 21, 
the figure ``3,283'' is corrected to read ``3,282''.
    18. On page 41375--
    a. Second column--
    i. First partial paragraph--
    A. Line 2, the figure ``3,283'' is corrected to read ``3,282''.
    B. Line 3, the figure ``3,114'' is corrected to read ``3,113''.
    C. Lines 6 and 7, the parenthetical figures ``(3,114/3,283)'' are 
corrected to read ``(3,113/3,282)''.
    D. Last line, the figure ``$42.955567020'' is corrected to read 
``$42.955981146''.
    ii. Following the first full paragraph the untitled table is 
corrected to read as follows:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Final unadjusted national average     Final occupational mix adjusted
            hourly wage                  national average hourly wage
------------------------------------------------------------------------
              $42.998002633                        $42.955981146
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    b. Third column,
    i. Top of the column (before the first full paragraph), the 
untitled table is corrected to read as follows:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                          Average hourly
          Occupational mix nursing subcategory                 wage
------------------------------------------------------------------------
National RN.............................................    $41.65745883
National LPN and Surgical Technician....................     24.73751208
National Nurse Aide, Orderly, and Attendant.............     16.96596364
National Medical Assistant..............................     18.13187187
National Nurse Category.................................     35.03615689
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    ii. First full paragraph, line 4, the figure ``$35.04005228'' is 
corrected to read ``$35.03615689''.
    19. On page 41406, second column, first full paragraph, line 30, 
the term ``Facto'' is corrected to read ``Factor''.
    20. On page 41415, third column--
    a. Second full paragraph,
    i. Line 26, the phrase ``5 hospitals'' is corrected to read ``16 
hospitals''.
    ii. Line 28, the figure ``1.031'' is corrected to read ``1.032''.
    iii. Line 30, the figure ``0.93'' is corrected to read ``0.929''.
    b. Fourth full paragraph, line 10, the phrase ``14 hospitals'' is 
corrected to read ``25 hospitals''.
    21. On page 41432, first column, first partial paragraph, lines 2 
and 3, the phrase ``FY 2018'' is corrected to read ``FY 2019''.
    22. On page 41436, second column, last bulleted paragraph, the 
sentence, ``March 2018 update of the FY 2017 MedPAR files to identify 
claims within FY 2017'' is corrected to read ``March 2018 update of the 
FY 2017 MedPAR file to identify claims within FY 2017 with discharge 
dates that are on or before June 30, 2017.''
    23. On page 41446, third column, section heading ``c. Removal of 
Ten Measures From the Hospital VBP Program'' is corrected to read ``c. 
Removal of Four Measures From the Hospital VBP Program''.
    24. On page 41452, third column, footnote paragraph (footnote 241), 
the date ``(August 20, 2017)'' is corrected to read ``(August 30, 
2017)''.
    25. On page 41469, table titled ``Previously Adopted and Newly 
Displayed Performance Standards for the FY 2021 Program Year: Safety, 
Clinical Outcomes, and Efficiency and Cost Reduction Domains'', under 
``Safety Domain'', the entries in the ``Benchmark'' column for the 
CAUTI, CLABSI, MRSA Bacteremia, and Colon and Abdominal Hysterectomy 
SSI measures are corrected to read to three decimal places as follows:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                            Achievement
           Measure short name                threshold       Benchmark
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                              Safety Domain
------------------------------------------------------------------------
CAUTI...................................           0.774           0.000
CLABSI..................................           0.687           0.000
CDI.....................................           0.748           0.067
MRSA Bacteremia.........................           0.763           0.000

[[Page 49843]]

 
Colon and Abdominal Hysterectomy SSI....   0.754   0.000
                                           0.726   0.000
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    26. On page 41488, first column, last paragraph, line 7, the phrase 
``HAI data'' is corrected to read ``HAI measure''.
    27. On page 41528, third column, last paragraph, line 29, the 
figure ``0.9931052'' is corrected to read ``0.9935905''.
    28. On page 41529, first column, first full paragraph, line 7, the 
figure ``0.9931052'' is corrected to read ``0.9935905''.
    29. On page 41536, third column--
    a. First bulleted paragraph, line 2, the figure ``0.990884'' is 
corrected to read ``0.990878''.
    b. Second bulleted paragraph, line 2, the figure ``0.990741'' is 
corrected to read ``0.990737''.
    30. On page 41537--
    a. Second column, last paragraph, last line, the figure 
``0.990741'' is corrected to read ``0.990737''.
    b. Third column, second full paragraph--
    i. Line 6, the figure ``0.990884'' is corrected to read 
``0.990878''.
    ii. Lines 13, the figure ``0.990884'' is corrected to read 
``0.990878''.
    31. On page 41556, third column, last bulleted paragraph, line 4, 
the parenthetical phrase (NQF # 2515) is corrected to read ``(NQF # 
2558)''.
    32. On page 41558, second column, last paragraph, line 7, the 
phrase ``FYs 2020, 2021, and 2020'' is corrected to read ``FYs 2020, 
2021, and 2022''
    33. On page 41576, in the table titled ``SUMMARY OF HOSPITAL IQR 
PROGRAM MEASURES NEWLY FINALIZED FOR REMOVAL,'' under the ``Claims-
Based Coordination of Care Measures'', first column (Short name), the 
fifth entry ``READM-30-PNA'' is corrected to read ``READM-30-PN''.
    34. On page 41579, table titled ``MEASURES FOR THE FY 2021 PAYMENT 
DETERMINATION,'' under ``Claims-Based Mortality Measures'', the 
following entries are corrected by:
    a. Removing the inadvertently included asterisk at the end of the 
full measure name for MORT-30-STK; and
    b. Adding a row to the table to include an entry for MORT-30-CABG, 
which was inadvertently omitted, such that the table will read as 
follows:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                     Claims-Based Mortality Measures
------------------------------------------------------------------------
MORT-30-CABG...................  Hospital 30-Day, All-              2558
                                  Cause,
                                  Risk[dash]Standardized
                                  Mortality Rate
                                  Following Coronary
                                  Artery Bypass Graft
                                  (CABG) Surgery.
MORT-30-STK....................  Hospital 30-Day, All-               N/A
                                  Cause,
                                  Risk[dash]Standardized
                                  Mortality Rate
                                  Following Acute
                                  Ischemic Stroke.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    35. On page 41579, table titled ``MEASURES FOR THE FY 2021 PAYMENT 
DETERMINATION,'' under ``EHR-Based Clinical Process of Care Measures 
(that is, Electronic Clinical Quality Measures (eCQMs))'', third column 
(NQF #), line 11, for the entry for STK-06, the NQF number ``0438'' is 
corrected to read ``0439'' as follows:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
------------------------------------------------------------------------
STK-06.........................  Discharged on Statin               0439
                                  Medication.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    36. On page 41579, table titled ``MEASURES FOR THE FY 2021 PAYMENT 
DETERMINATION,'' under ``EHR-Based Clinical Process of Care Measures 
(that is, Electronic Clinical Quality Measures (eCQMs))'', second 
column (Measure Name), the last line down, the measure name for the 
entry for VTE-2 is corrected from ``Intensive Care Unit Thromboembolism 
Prophylaxis'' to reflect the complete measure name ``Intensive Care 
Unit Venous Thromboembolism Prophylaxis.''

------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
------------------------------------------------------------------------
VTE-2..........................  Intensive Care Unit                0372
                                  Venous Thromboembolism
                                  Prophylaxis.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    37. On page 41599, third column,
    a. Third full paragraph, lines 4 and 5, the phrase ``disparity 
measures'' is corrected to read ``disparity methods''.
    b. Last paragraph, line 9, the phrase ``disparity measures'' is 
corrected to read ``disparity methods''.
    38. On page 41672, first column, fourth paragraph, lines 9 through 
11, the phrase ``Spring 2017 version of the CQM electronic 
specifications'' is corrected to read ``2018 eCQM specifications update 
(published in May 2018)''.

B. Correction of Errors in the Addendum

    1. On page 41715, third column, fourth full paragraph, lines 3 and 
8, the figure ``0.997192'' is corrected to read ``0.997190''.
    2. On page 41716--
    a. First column, fourth full paragraph, line 9, the figure 
``1.000748'' is corrected to read ``1.000746''.
    b. Second column, second full paragraph, line 11, the figure 
``0.985932'' is corrected to read ``0.985335''.
    c. Third column, second full paragraph, line 3, the figure 
``0.993142'' is corrected to read ``0.993911''.
    3. On page 41722--
    a. Middle of the page, the untitled table is corrected to read as 
follows:

[[Page 49844]]



----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                    Covered charges                         Covered charges
                                    (April 1, 2016,     Cases (April 1,     (April 1, 2017,     Cases (April 1,
             Quarter               through March 31,     2016, through     through March 31,     2017, through
                                         2017)          March 31, 2017)          2018)          March 31, 2018)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
April-June......................    $135,512,389,540           2,415,120    $141,310,805,358           2,407,887
July-September..................     132,339,957,018           2,356,775     136,951,808,593           2,319,109
October-December................     138,602,493,305           2,413,871     141,939,083,023           2,363,685
January-March...................     150,230,629,335           2,559,371     120,924,791,134           1,983,155
                                 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Total.......................     556,685,469,198           9,745,137     541,126,488,108           9,073,836
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    b. Bottom of the page, first column,
    i. First paragraph,
    ii. Lines 5, the figures ``$57,448 ($559,839,156,948/9,745,137)'' 
are corrected to read ``$57,124 ($556,685,469,198/9,745,137)''.
    iii. Lines 9 through 10, the figures ``$59,939.96 
($543,885,328,430/9,073,836)'' are corrected to read ``$59,636 
($541,126,488,108/9,073,836)''.
    iv. Lines 13 through 14, the figures ``4.3 percent (1.04338)'' are 
corrected to read ``4.4 percent (1.04396)''.
    v. Line 14, the figures ``8.9 percent (1.08864)'' are corrected to 
read ``9.0 percent (1.08986)''.
    4. On page 41723, first column--
    a. Third full paragraph--
    i. Line 5, the figure ``$25,769'' is corrected to read ``$25,743''.
    ii. Line 7, the figure ``$88,484,589,041'' is corrected to read 
``$88,485,100,546''.
    iii. Line 8, the figure ``$4,755,375,555'' is corrected to read 
``$4,755,311,111''.
    iv. Lines 12 through 13, the parenthetical phrase 
``(($88,484,589,041/$93,239,964,596) x 100 = 5.1 percent)'' is 
corrected to read ``((1 - ($88,485,100,546/$93,240,411,657)) x 100 = 
5.1 percent)''.
    v. Last line, the figure ``$25,769'' is corrected to read 
``$25,743''.
    c. Following the sixth full paragraph, the untitled table is 
corrected to read as follows:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                Operating       Capital
                                               standardized     Federal
                                                 amounts         rate
------------------------------------------------------------------------
National...................................        0.948999    0.949417
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    5. On pages 41724 through 41725, the table titled ``CHANGES FROM FY 
2018 STANDARDIZED AMOUNTS TO THE FY 2019 STANDARDIZED AMOUNTS'', is 
corrected to read as follows:

                  Changes From FY 2018 Standardized Amounts to the FY 2019 Standardized Amounts
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                      Hospital submitted   Hospital did NOT    Hospital did NOT
                                  Hospital submitted   quality data and     submit quality      submit quality
                                   quality data and        is NOT a          data and is a     data and is NOT a
                                    is a meaningful     meaningful EHR      meaningful EHR      meaningful EHR
                                       EHR user              user                user                user
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FY 2018 Base Rate after           If Wage Index is    If Wage Index is    If Wage Index is    If Wage Index is
 removing:                         Greater Than        Greater Than        Greater Than        Greater Than
1. FY 2018 Geographic              1.0000:             1.0000:             1.0000:             1.0000:
 Reclassification Budget          Labor (68.3%):      Labor (68.3%):      Labor (68.3%):      Labor (68.3%):
 Neutrality (0.987985)             $4,059.36.          $4,059.36.          $4,059.36.          $4,059.36.
2. FY 2018 Operating Outlier      Nonlabor (30.4%):   Nonlabor (30.4%):   Nonlabor (30.4%):   Nonlabor (30.4%):
 Offset (0.948998)                 $1,884.07.          $1,884.07.          $1,884.07.          $1,884.07.
                                  If Wage Index is    If Wage Index is    If Wage Index is    If Wage Index is
                                   less Than or        less Than or        less Than or        less Than or
                                   Equal to 1.0000:    Equal to 1.0000:    Equal to 1.0000:    Equal to 1.0000:
                                  Labor (62%):        Labor (62%):        Labor (62%):        Labor (62%):
                                   $3,684.92.          $3,684.92.          $3,684.92.          $3,684.92.
                                  Nonlabor (38%):     Nonlabor (38%):     Nonlabor (38%):     Nonlabor (38%):
                                   $2,258.50.          $2,258.50.          $2,258.50.          $2,258.50.
FY 2019 Update Factor...........  1.0135............  0.99175...........  1.00625...........  0.9845.
FY 2019 MS-DRG Recalibration      0.99719...........  0.99719...........  0.99719...........  0.99719.
 Budget Neutrality Factor.
FY 2019 Wage Index Budget         1.000746..........  1.000746..........  1.000746..........  1.000746.
 Neutrality Factor.
FY 2019 Reclassification Budget   0.985335..........  0.985335..........  0.985335..........  0.985335.
 Neutrality Factor.
FY 2019 Operating Outlier Factor  0.948999..........  0.948999..........  0.948999..........  0.948999.
FY 2019 Rural Demonstration       0.999467..........  0.999467..........  0.999467..........  0.999467.
 Budget Neutrality Factor.
Adjustment for FY 2019 Required   1.005.............  1.005.............  1.005.............  1.005.
 under Section 414 of Public Law
 114-10 (MACRA).
National Standardized Amount for  Labor: $3,856.27..  Labor: $3,773.51..  Labor: $3,828.68..  Labor: $3,745.93.
 FY 2019 if Wage Index is         Nonlabor:           Nonlabor:           Nonlabor:           Nonlabor:
 Greater Than 1.0000; Labor/Non-   $1,789.81.          $1,751.40.          $1,777.01.          $1,738.60.
 Labor Share Percentage (68.3/
 31.7).
National Standardized Amount for  Labor: $3,500.57..  Labor: $3,425.44..  Labor: $3,475.53..  Labor: $3,400.41.
 FY 2019 if Wage Index is Less    Nonlabor:           Nonlabor:           Nonlabor:           Nonlabor:
 Than or Equal to 1.0000; Labor/   $2,145.51.          $2,099.47.          $2,130.16.          $2,084.12.
 Non-Labor Share Percentage (62/
 38).
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    6. On page 41727--
    a. First column, second full paragraph, line 13, the figure 
``0.997192'' is corrected to read, ``0.997190''.
    b. Second column, second full paragraph, line 6, the figure ``1.27 
percent'' is corrected to read ``1.20 percent''.
    7. On page 41728, third column--
    a. Second full paragraph, line 12, the figure ``0.9986'' is 
corrected to read ``0.9980''.
    b. Third full paragraph, line 14, the figure ``0.9975'' is 
corrected to read ``0.9969''.
    8. On page 41729--
    a. Top of the page--
    i. First column--
    A. First full paragraph--
    1. Line 2, the figure ``0.9975'' is corrected to read ``0.9969''.

[[Page 49845]]

    2. Line 4, the figure ``0.9986'' is corrected to read ``0.9980''.
    ii. Second column--
    B. First full paragraph--
    1. Line 8, the figure ``$459.72'' is corrected to read ``$459.41''.
    2. Line 17, the figure ``0.9975'' is corrected to read ``0.9969''.
    3. Third column, first paragraph--
    a. Line 14, the figure ``0.25'' is corrected to read ``0.31''.
    b. Line 20, the figure ``1.27'' is corrected to read ``1.20''.
    b. Middle of page,
    i. The table titled ``COMPARISON OF FACTORS AND ADJUSTMENTS: FY 
2018 CAPITAL FEDERAL RATE AND FY 2019 CAPITAL FEDERAL RATE'' is 
corrected to read as follows:

      Comparison of Factors and Adjustments: FY 2018 Capital Federal Rate and FY 2019 Capital Federal Rate
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                      FY 2018         FY 2019         Change      Percent change
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Update Factor \1\...............................          1.0130          1.0140           1.014            1.40
GAF/DRG Adjustment Factor \1\...................          0.9987          0.9969          0.9969           -0.31
Outlier Adjustment Factor \2\...................          0.9483          0.9494          1.0012            0.12
Capital Federal Rate............................         $453.95         $459.41          1.0120        \3\ 1.20
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ The update factor and the GAF/DRG budget neutrality adjustment factors are built permanently into the
  capital Federal rates. Thus, for example, the incremental change from FY 2018 to FY 2019 resulting from the
  application of the 0.9969 GAF/DRG budget neutrality adjustment factor for FY 2019 is a net change of 0.9969
  (or -0.31percent).
\2\ The outlier reduction factor is not built permanently into the capital Federal rate; that is, the factor is
  not applied cumulatively in determining the capital Federal rate. Thus, for example, the net change resulting
  from the application of the FY 2019 outlier adjustment factor is 0.9494/0.9483 or 1.0012 (or 0.12 percent).
\3\ Percent change may not sum due to rounding.

    ii. The table titled ``COMPARISON OF FACTORS AND ADJUSTMENTS: 
PROPOSED FY 2019 CAPITAL FEDERAL RATE AND FINAL FY 2019 CAPITAL FEDERAL 
RATE'' is corrected to read as follows:

 Comparison of Factors and Adjustments: Proposed FY 2019 Capital Federal Rate and Final FY 2019 Capital Federal
                                                      Rate
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                    Proposed FY                                   Percent change
                                                       2019        Final FY 2019      Change             *
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Update Factor...................................          1.0120          1.0140          1.0020            0.20
GAF/DRG Adjustment Factor.......................          0.9997          0.9969          0.9972           -0.28
Outlier Adjustment Factor.......................          0.9494          0.9494          0.0000            0.00
Capital Federal Rate............................         $459.78         $459.41          0.9992         -0.0008
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* Percent change may not sum due to rounding.

    c. Bottom of page, second column, first partial paragraph, last 
line, the figure, ``$25,769'' is corrected to read ``$25,743''.
    9. On page 41730, third column, last paragraph, line 21, the figure 
``0.999713.'' is corrected to read ``0.999215''.
    10. On page 41731, first column, first partial paragraph--
    a. Line 3, the figure ``0.990884'' is corrected to read 
``0.990878''.
    b. Lines 10 and 11, the mathematical phrase ``$41,579.65 
(calculated as $41,415.11 x 1.0135 x 0.999713x 0.990884)'' is corrected 
to read ``$41,558.68 (calculated as $41,415.11 x 1.0135 x 0.999215 x 0. 
990878)''.
    c. Lines 18 through 20, ``$40,759.12 (calculated as $41,415.11 x 
0.9935 x 0.999713x 0.990884)'' is corrected to read ``$40,738.57 
(calculated as $41,415.11 x 0.9935 x 0.999215 x 0. 990878)''.
    11. On page 41733, second column, last paragraph,
    a. Line 6, the figure ``0.999713'' is corrected to read 
``0.999215''.
    b. Line 11, the figure ``0.999713'' is corrected to read 
``0.999215``.
    12. On page 41736, second column--
    a. Third full paragraph--
    i. Line 26, the figure, ``$27,124'' is corrected to read 
``$27,121''.
    ii. Line 32, the figure, ``$27,124'' is corrected to read 
``$27,121''.
    iii. Last line, the figure, ``$27,124'' is corrected to read 
``$27,121''.
    b. Last partial paragraph, last line, the figure, ``$27,124'' is 
corrected to read ``$27,121''.
    13. On page 41737--
    a. Second column, last paragraph, line 8, the figure, ``$25,769'' 
is corrected to read ``$25,743''.
    b. Third column--
    i. First partial paragraph, last line, the figure, ``$25,769'' is 
corrected to read ``$25,743''.
    ii. Third full paragraph, line 3, the figure, ``$25,769'' is 
corrected to read ``$25,743''.
    14. On page 41738, third column, last paragraph, line 26, the 
figure ``$41,579.65'' is corrected to read ``$41,558.68''.
    15. On page 41739, top of page--
    a. Second column, second partial paragraph, last line, the figure 
``$41,579.65'' is corrected to read ``$41,558.68''.
    b. Third column, first partial paragraph, line 13, the 
parenthetical figure ``($41,189.62)'' is corrected to read 
``($41,190.33)''.
    c. Untitled table, the table is corrected to read as follows:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Unadjusted LTCH PPS Standard Federal Prospective Payment      $41,558.68
 Rate...................................................
Labor-Related Share.....................................         x 0.660
Labor-Related Portion of the LTCH PPS Standard Federal      = $27,428.73
 Payment Rate...........................................
Wage Index (CBSA 16974).................................          1.0511
Wage-Adjusted Labor Share of LTCH PPS Standard Federal      = $28,830.34
 Payment Rate...........................................
Nonlabor-Related Portion of the LTCH PPS Standard           + $14,129.95
 Federal Payment Rate ($41,558.68 x 0.340)..............

[[Page 49846]]

 
Adjusted LTCH PPS Standard Federal Payment Amount.......    = $42,960.29
MS-LTC-DRG 189 Relative Weight..........................        x 0.9588
Total Adjusted LTCH PPS Standard Federal Prospective        = $41,190.33
 Payment................................................
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    16. On page 41740, bottom of the page, the table titled ``TABLE 
1A-- NATIONAL ADJUSTED OPERATING STANDARDIZED AMOUNTS, LABOR/NONLABOR 
[(68.3 percent labor share/31.7 percent nonlabor share if wage index is 
greater than 1)--FY 2019]'' is corrected to read as follows:

                                       Table 1A--National Adjusted Operating Standardized Amounts, Labor/Nonlabor
                            [(68.3 percent labor share/31.7 percent nonlabor share if wage index is greater than 1)--FY 2019]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hospital submitted quality data and is   Hospital submitted quality data and  Hospital did NOT submit quality data  Hospital did NOT submit quality data
 a meaningful EHR user (update = 1.35   is NOT a meaningful EHR user (update  and is a meaningful EHR user (update    and is NOT a meaningful EHR user
               percent)                           = -0.825 percent)                     = 0.625 percent)                  (update = -1.55 percent)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
       Labor             Nonlabor             Labor             Nonlabor            Labor             Nonlabor            Labor             Nonlabor
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
       $3,856.27           $1,789.81          $3,773.51          $1,751.40          $3,828.68          $1,777.01          $3,745.93          $1,738.60
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    17. On page 41741--
    a. Top of the page--
    i. The table titled ``TABLE 1B--NATIONAL ADJUSTED OPERATING 
STANDARDIZED AMOUNTS, LABOR/NONLABOR [(62 percent labor share/38 
percent nonlabor share if wage index is less than or equal to 1)--FY 
2019]'' is corrected to read as follows:

                                       Table 1B--National Adjusted Operating Standardized Amounts, Labor/Nonlabor
                         [(62 percent labor share/38 percent nonlabor share if wage index is less than or equal to 1)--FY 2019]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hospital submitted quality data and is   Hospital submitted quality data and  Hospital did NOT submit quality data  Hospital did NOT submit quality data
 a meaningful EHR user (update = 1.35   is NOT a meaningful EHR user (update  and is a meaningful EHR user (update    and is NOT a meaningful EHR user
               percent)                           = -0.825 percent)                     = 0.625 percent)                  (update = -1.55 percent)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
       Labor             Nonlabor             Labor             Nonlabor            Labor             Nonlabor            Labor             Nonlabor
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
       $3,500.57           $2,145.51          $3,425.44          $2,099.47          $3,475.53          $3,475.53          $3,400.41          $2,084.12
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    ii. The table titled ``Table 1C--ADJUSTED OPERATING STANDARDIZED 
AMOUNTS FOR HOSPITALS IN PUERTO RICO, LABOR/NONLABOR [(National: 62 
percent labor share/38 percent nonlabor share because wage index is 
less than or equal to 1)--FY 2019]'' is corrected to read as follows:

         Table 1C--Adjusted Operating Standardized Amounts for Hospitals in Puerto Rico, Labor/Nonlabor
 [(National: 62 percent labor share/38 percent nonlabor share because wage index is less than or equal to 1)--FY
                                                      2019]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                               Rates if wage index is greater    Rates if wage index is less than or equal to 1
                                           than 1              -------------------------------------------------
     Standardized amount     ----------------------------------
                                   Labor           Nonlabor              Labor                   Nonlabor
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
National \1\................  Not Applicable.  Not Applicable.                $3,500.57                $2,145.51
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ For FY 2019, there are no CBSAs in Puerto Rico with a national wage index greater than 1.

    b. Middle of the page--
    i. The table titled ``Table 1D--CAPITAL STANDARD FEDERAL PAYMENT 
RATE [FY 2019]'' is corrected to read as follows:

             Table 1D--Capital Standard Federal Payment Rate
                                [FY 2019]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                               Rate
------------------------------------------------------------------------
National...............................................         $459.41
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    ii. The table titled ``Table 1E--LTCH PPS STANDARD FEDERAL PAYMENT 
RATE [FY 2019]'' is corrected to read as follows:

[[Page 49847]]



            Table 1E--LTCH PPS Standard Federal Payment Rate
                                [FY 2019]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                   Full update (1.35  Reduced update * (-
                                       percent)          0.65 Percent)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Standard Federal Rate...........         $41,558.68          $40,738.57
------------------------------------------------------------------------
* For LTCHs that fail to submit quality reporting data for FY 2019 in
  accordance with the LTCH Quality Reporting Program (LTCH QRP), the
  annual update is reduced by 2.0 percentage points as required by
  section 1886(m)(5) of the Act.

C. Corrections of Errors in the Appendices

    1. On page 41742--
    a. Second column, second full paragraph--
    i. Line 1, the figure ``3,256'' is corrected to read ``3,255''.
    ii. Line 7, the figure ``1,398'' is corrected to read ``1,399''.
    2. On pages 41744 through 41746, the table and table notes for the 
table titled ``TABLE I--IMPACT ANALYSIS OF CHANGES TO THE IPPS FOR 
OPERATING COSTS FOR FY 2019'' are corrected to read as follows:

                                                         TABLE I--Impact Analysis of Changes to the IPPS for Operating Costs for FY 2019
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                                   FY 2019
                                                                                                 weights and                                        Rural floor
                                                                                Hospital rate    DRG changes    FY 2019 wage                           with       Application of
                                                                  Number of      update and         with          data with      FY 2019 MGCRB    application of   the frontier     All FY 2019
                                                                hospitals \1\    adjustment    application of  application of  reclassifications  national rural  wage index and      changes
                                                                                 under MACRA    recalibration    wage budget                       floor budget    outmigration
                                                                                                   budget        neutrality                         neutrality      adjustment
                                                                                                 neutrality
                                                                      (1) \2\         (2) \3\         (3) \4\         (4) \5\            (5) \6\         (6) \7\         (7) \8\
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
All Hospitals................................................           3,255             1.8               0               0                  0               0             0.1             2.4
By Geographic Location:
    Urban hospitals..........................................           2,483             1.8               0               0               -0.1               0             0.1             2.5
    Large urban areas........................................           1,302             1.8             0.1               0               -0.8               0               0             2.4
    Other urban areas........................................           1,181             1.8               0               0                0.6               0             0.2             2.5
    Rural hospitals..........................................             772             1.5            -0.3            -0.1                1.2            -0.1             0.1             1.2
Bed Size (Urban):
    0-99 beds................................................             644             1.7            -0.5             0.1               -0.8             0.2             0.2             1.7
    100-199 beds.............................................             763             1.8               0               0               -0.1             0.2             0.2             2.2
    200-299 beds.............................................             433             1.8               0               0                0.1               0             0.1             2.3
    300-499 beds.............................................             424             1.8             0.1               0                  0            -0.1             0.1             2.5
    500 or more beds.........................................             219             1.8             0.1               0               -0.2               0               0             2.9
Bed Size (Rural):
    0-49 beds................................................             305             1.4            -0.5               0                0.2            -0.1             0.2             0.9
    50-99 beds...............................................             274             1.3            -0.4               0                0.7            -0.1             0.2             1.1
    100-149 beds.............................................             108             1.6            -0.5            -0.1                0.9            -0.1               0             1.2
    150-199 beds.............................................              45             1.7            -0.1            -0.2                  2            -0.2             0.3             1.4
    200 or more beds.........................................              40             1.7             0.1            -0.2                2.3            -0.2               0             1.5
Urban by Region:
    New England..............................................             113             1.8             0.1            -0.5                2.7             2.4             0.1             4.7
    Middle Atlantic..........................................             310             1.8             0.2               0                0.2            -0.3             0.1             2.3
    South Atlantic...........................................             401             1.8               0            -0.1               -0.6            -0.3               0               2
    East North Central.......................................             386             1.8             0.1            -0.2               -0.5            -0.3             0.1               2
    East South Central.......................................             147             1.8               0               0               -0.5            -0.3               0             2.1
    West North Central.......................................             158             1.8            -0.1               0               -0.9            -0.3             0.6             2.1
    West South Central.......................................             379             1.8               0             0.2               -0.8            -0.3               0             2.3
    Mountain.................................................             164             1.7            -0.1            -0.7                0.4             0.6             0.3             2.2
    Pacific..................................................             374             1.8            -0.1             0.8                0.1             0.2             0.1             3.3
    Puerto Rico..............................................              51             1.8               0            -1.2               -1.3             0.1             0.1             0.7
Rural by Region:
    New England..............................................              20             1.5             0.1            -0.5                1.5            -0.2               0             0.9
    Middle Atlantic..........................................              53             1.5            -0.2            -0.1                0.6            -0.1             0.1             1.4
    South Atlantic...........................................             122             1.6            -0.2            -0.2                1.7            -0.1             0.1             1.2
    East North Central.......................................             114             1.5            -0.3             0.1                0.9            -0.1               0             1.1
    East South Central.......................................             150             1.7            -0.1            -0.2                2.5            -0.3             0.1             1.8
    West North Central.......................................              94             1.3            -0.5               0                0.1               0             0.2             0.9
    West South Central.......................................             145             1.5            -0.3             0.2                1.3            -0.3             0.2             1.5
    Mountain.................................................              51             1.3            -1.1            -0.4               -0.1            -0.1             0.8             0.8
    Pacific..................................................              23             1.4            -0.4            -0.2                0.8            -0.1               0               1
By Payment Classification:
    Urban hospitals..........................................           2,264             1.8               0               0               -0.6             0.1             0.1             2.3
    Large urban areas........................................           1,317             1.8             0.1               0               -0.7               0               0             2.4
    Other urban areas........................................             947             1.8               0               0               -0.4             0.2             0.2             2.1
    Rural areas..............................................             991             1.7            -0.1               0                2.1            -0.2             0.1             2.7
Teaching Status:
    Nonteaching..............................................           2,156             1.7            -0.1               0                0.1             0.1             0.1             2.1
    Fewer than 100 residents.................................             849             1.8               0               0               -0.2            -0.1             0.2             2.2
    100 or more residents....................................             250             1.8             0.2               0                0.1            -0.1               0             3.1
Urban DSH:

[[Page 49848]]

 
    Non-DSH..................................................             520             1.8            -0.3            -0.2               -0.2            -0.1             0.2               2
    100 or more beds.........................................           1,462             1.8             0.1               0               -0.6             0.1             0.1             2.3
    Less than 100 beds.......................................             367             1.7            -0.2             0.3               -0.6             0.2             0.1             1.9
Rural DSH:
    SCH......................................................             255             1.2            -0.6            -0.1                  0               0               0             0.7
    RRC......................................................             382             1.7               0             0.1                2.4            -0.3             0.1             3.1
    100 or more beds.........................................              33             1.8               0            -0.6                1.6            -0.4             0.1             2.9
    Less than 100 beds.......................................             236             1.6            -0.3               0                0.7            -0.2             0.3             1.5
Urban teaching and DSH:
    Both teaching and DSH....................................             805             1.8             0.1               0               -0.7               0             0.1             2.4
    Teaching and no DSH......................................              89             1.9            -0.1            -0.1               -0.5            -0.1               0             2.3
    No teaching and DSH......................................           1,024             1.8               0             0.1               -0.4             0.3             0.1             2.2
    No teaching and no DSH...................................             346             1.8            -0.3            -0.2               -0.6            -0.1             0.2             1.7
Special Hospital Types:
    RRC......................................................             327             1.8               0             0.2                2.7            -0.3             0.2             3.4
    SCH......................................................             311             1.1            -0.5             0.1               -0.1               0               0             0.8
    MDH......................................................             140             1.5            -0.5            -0.1                0.7               0               0             1.2
    SCH and RRC..............................................             134             1.4            -0.2            -0.2                0.3               0             0.1             1.2
    MDH and RRC..............................................              16             1.5            -0.4               0                0.8            -0.1               0             1.1
Type of Ownership:
    Voluntary................................................           1,898             1.8               0               0                0.1               0             0.1             2.4
    Proprietary..............................................             856             1.8               0            -0.1               -0.1               0             0.1             2.1
    Government...............................................             501             1.7               0             0.2               -0.2            -0.1               0             2.5
Medicare Utilization as a Percent of Inpatient Days:
    0-25.....................................................             602             1.8             0.1            -0.1               -0.4            -0.1               0             2.3
    25-50....................................................           2,138             1.8               0               0                  0               0             0.1             2.5
    50-65....................................................             421             1.7            -0.2            -0.1                0.5             0.3             0.1             1.7
    Over 65..................................................              73             1.1             0.5            -0.1               -0.4            -0.2             0.1             2.5
FY 2019 Reclassifications by the Medicare Geographic
 Classification Review Board:
    All Reclassified Hospitals...............................             859             1.8               0             0.1                2.4            -0.3               0             2.8
    Non-Reclassified Hospitals...............................           2,396             1.8               0               0               -1.1             0.1             0.1             2.2
    Urban Hospitals Reclassified.............................             588             1.8               0             0.1                2.5            -0.3               0             3.1
    Urban Non-reclassified Hospitals.........................           1,835             1.8               0               0               -1.2             0.1             0.1             2.3
    Rural Hospitals Reclassified Full Year...................             271             1.5            -0.2            -0.1                2.1            -0.2             0.1             1.5
    Rural Non-reclassified Hospitals Full Year...............             454             1.4            -0.5            -0.1               -0.4            -0.1             0.2             0.8
    All Section 401 Reclassified Hospitals...................             266             1.7               0             0.1                2.5            -0.3             0.1             3.4
    Other Reclassified Hospitals (Section 1886(d)(8)(B)).....              47             1.7            -0.2            -0.1                2.8            -0.3               0             1.5
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Because data necessary to classify some hospitals by category were missing, the total number of hospitals in each category may not equal the national total. Discharge data are from FY
  2017, and hospital cost report data are from reporting periods beginning in FY 2016 and FY 2015.
\2\ This column displays the payment impact of the hospital rate update and other adjustments, including the 1.35 percent adjustment to the national standardized amount and the hospital-
  specific rate (the estimated 2.9 percent market basket update reduced by 0.8 percentage point for the multifactor productivity adjustment and the 0.75 percentage point reduction under the
  Affordable Care Act), and the 0.5 percent adjustment to the national standardized amount required under section 414 of the MACRA.
\3\ This column displays the payment impact of the changes to the Version 36 GROUPER, the changes to the relative weights and the recalibration of the MS-DRG weights based on FY 2017 MedPAR
  data in accordance with section 1886(d)(4)(C)(iii) of the Act. This column displays the application of the recalibration budget neutrality factor of 0.997190 in accordance with section
  1886(d)(4)(C)(iii) of the Act.
\4\ This column displays the payment impact of the update to wage index data using FY 2015 cost report data and the OMB labor market area delineations based on 2010 Decennial Census data. This
  column displays the payment impact of the application of the wage budget neutrality factor, which is calculated separately from the recalibration budget neutrality factor, and is calculated
  in accordance with section 1886(d)(3)(E)(i) of the Act. The wage budget neutrality factor is 1.000746.
\5\ Shown here are the effects of geographic reclassifications by the Medicare Geographic Classification Review Board (MGCRB). The effects demonstrate the FY 2019 payment impact of going from
  no reclassifications to the reclassifications scheduled to be in effect for FY 2019. Reclassification for prior years has no bearing on the payment impacts shown here. This column reflects
  the geographic budget neutrality factor of 0.985335.

[[Page 49849]]

 
\6\ This column displays the effects of the rural floor and expiration of the imputed floor. The Affordable Care Act requires the rural floor budget neutrality adjustment to be 100 percent
  national level adjustment. The rural floor budget neutrality factor applied to the wage index is 0.993911.
\7\ This column shows the combined impact of the policy required under section 10324 of the Affordable Care Act that hospitals located in frontier States have a wage index no less than 1.0 and
  of section 1886(d)(13) of the Act, as added by section 505 of Public Law 108-173, which provides for an increase in a hospital's wage index if a threshold percentage of residents of the
  county where the hospital is located commute to work at hospitals in counties with higher wage indexes. These are not budget neutral policies.
\8\ This column shows the estimated change in payments from FY 2018 to FY 2019.

    3. On page 41746, lower half of page, second column, third 
paragraph, line 6, the figure ``0.997192'' is corrected to read 
``0.997190''.
    4. On page 41747--
    a. Top half of page, second column, first partial paragraph, line 
19, the figure ``1.000748'' is corrected to read ``1.000746''.
    b. Lower half of page, third column, first partial paragraph--
    i. First line, the figure ``0.985932'' is corrected to read 
``0.985335''.
    ii. Line 11, ``which will experience no change'' is corrected to 
read, ``which will experience a 0.1 percent decrease''.
    5. On page 41748, top of page--
    a. First column, second full paragraph--
    i. Line 6, the figure ``0.993142'' is corrected to read 
``0.993911''.
    ii. Line 7, the figure ``0.69 percent'' is corrected to read ``0.61 
percent''.
    b. Second column, first full paragraph--
    i. Line 1, the figure ``263'' is corrected to read ``253''.
    ii. Line 5, the figure ``0.993142'' is corrected to read 
``0.993911''.
    iii. Line 7, the figure ``0.2'' is corrected to read ``0.1''.
    iv. Line 22, the figure ``2.5'' is corrected to read ``2.4''.
    v. Line 30, the figure ``$121 million'' is corrected to read ``$123 
million''.
    6. On pages 41748 and 41749, the table titled ``FY 2019 IPPS 
ESTIMATED PAYMENTS DUE TO RURAL FLOOR WITH NATIONAL BUDGET NEUTRALITY'' 
is corrected to read as follows:

               FY 2019 IPPS Estimated Payments Due to Rural Floor With National Budget Neutrality
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                  Percent change
                                                                     Number of      in payments
                                                                  hospitals that      due to
                      State                          Number of     would receive  application of  Difference (in
                                                     hospitals       the rural      rural floor     $ millions)
                                                                       floor        with budget
                                                                                    neutrality
                                                             (1)             (2)             (3)             (4)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alabama.........................................              84               2            -0.3             $-5
Alaska..........................................               6               3             0.1               0
Arizona.........................................              56              33             1.3              26
Arkansas........................................              45               0            -0.3              -3
California......................................             297              59             0.4              42
Colorado........................................              45               9             0.7               9
Connecticut.....................................              30               8             1.3              21
Delaware........................................               6               0            -0.3              -2
Washington, DC..................................               7               0            -0.3              -2
Florida.........................................             168               7            -0.3             -20
Georgia.........................................             101               0            -0.3              -8
Hawaii..........................................              12               6            -0.1               0
Idaho...........................................              14               0            -0.3              -1
Illinois........................................             125               2            -0.3             -14
Indiana.........................................              85               0            -0.3              -7
Iowa............................................              34               0            -0.3              -3
Kansas..........................................              51               0            -0.2              -2
Kentucky........................................              64               0            -0.3              -5
Louisiana.......................................              90               0            -0.3              -5
Maine...........................................              17               0            -0.3              -2
Massachusetts...................................              56              29             3.3             123
Michigan........................................              94               0            -0.3             -14
Minnesota.......................................              49               0            -0.2              -6
Mississippi.....................................              59               0            -0.3              -3
Missouri........................................              72               0            -0.2              -6
Montana.........................................              13               1            -0.2              -1
Nebraska........................................              23               0            -0.3              -2
Nevada..........................................              22               3             0.4               3
New Hampshire...................................              13               8             2.4              14
New Jersey......................................              64               0            -0.4             -16
New Mexico......................................              24               2            -0.2              -1
New York........................................             149              16            -0.3             -21
North Carolina..................................              84               0            -0.3              -9
North Dakota....................................               6               3             0.4               1
Ohio............................................             130               7            -0.3             -11
Oklahoma........................................              79               2            -0.3              -4
Oregon..........................................              34               1            -0.2              -2
Pennsylvania....................................             150               3            -0.3             -17
Puerto Rico.....................................              51              11             0.1               0
Rhode Island....................................              11               0            -0.4              -1

[[Page 49850]]

 
South Carolina..................................              54               6            -0.1              -1
South Dakota....................................              17               0            -0.2              -1
Tennessee.......................................              90               6            -0.3              -7
Texas...........................................             310              13            -0.3             -18
Utah............................................              31               0            -0.3              -2
Vermont.........................................               6               0            -0.2               0
Virginia........................................              74               1            -0.2              -6
Washington......................................              48               3            -0.3              -7
West Virginia...................................              29               2            -0.2              -1
Wisconsin.......................................              66               5            -0.3              -5
Wyoming.........................................              10               2               0               0
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    7. On pages 41750 and 41751, the table titled ``TABLE II--IMPACT 
ANALYSIS OF CHANGES FOR FY 2019 ACUTE CARE HOSPITAL OPERATING 
PROSPECTIVE PAYMENT SYSTEM [Payments per discharge]'' is corrected to 
read as follows:

    Table II--Impact Analysis of Changes for FY 2019 Acute Care Hospital Operating Prospective Payment System
                                            [Payments per discharge]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                     Estimated       Estimated
                                                     Number of      average FY      average FY        FY 2019
                                                     hospitals     2018 payment    2019 payment       changes
                                                                   per discharge   per discharge
                                                             (1)             (2)             (3)             (4)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
All Hospitals...................................           3,255          12,172          12,463             2.4
By Geographic Location:
    Urban hospitals.............................           2,483          12,508          12,819             2.5
    Large urban areas...........................           1,302          12,986          13,302             2.4
    Other urban areas...........................           1,181          12,049          12,355             2.5
    Rural hospitals.............................             772           9,193           9,307             1.2
Bed Size (Urban):
    0-99 beds...................................             644           9,945          10,113             1.7
    100-199 beds................................             763          10,399          10,623             2.2
    200-299 beds................................             433          11,384          11,650             2.3
    300-499 beds................................             424          12,606          12,917             2.5
    500 or more beds............................             219          15,449          15,893             2.9
Bed Size (Rural):
    0-49 beds...................................             305           7,826           7,897             0.9
    50-99 beds..................................             274           8,746           8,843             1.1
    100-149 beds................................             108           9,150           9,256             1.2
    150-199 beds................................              45           9,667           9,805             1.4
    200 or more beds............................              40          10,734          10,899             1.5
Urban by Region:
    New England.................................             113          13,491          14,131             4.7
    Middle Atlantic.............................             310          14,099          14,429             2.3
    South Atlantic..............................             401          11,145          11,372               2
    East North Central..........................             386          11,830          12,072               2
    East South Central..........................             147          10,517          10,742             2.1
    West North Central..........................             158          12,266          12,524             2.1
    West South Central..........................             379          11,310          11,574             2.3
    Mountain....................................             164          12,938          13,218             2.2
    Pacific.....................................             374          15,773          16,289             3.3
    Puerto Rico.................................              51           9,117           9,185             0.7
Rural by Region:
    New England.................................              20          12,613          12,728             0.9
    Middle Atlantic.............................              53           9,137           9,265             1.4
    South Atlantic..............................             122           8,497           8,598             1.2
    East North Central..........................             114           9,444           9,551             1.1

[[Page 49851]]

 
    East South Central..........................             150           8,142           8,285             1.8
    West North Central..........................              94          10,019          10,112             0.9
    West South Central..........................             145           7,844           7,958             1.5
    Mountain....................................              51          11,139          11,226             0.8
    Pacific.....................................              23          12,734          12,858               1
By Payment Classification:
    Urban hospitals.............................           2,264          12,276          12,557             2.3
    Large urban areas...........................           1,317          12,974          13,290             2.4
    Other urban areas...........................             947          11,325          11,559             2.1
    Rural areas.................................             991          11,833          12,155             2.7
Teaching Status:
    Nonteaching.................................           2,156          10,059          10,267             2.1
    Fewer than 100 residents....................             849          11,616          11,866             2.2
    100 or more residents.......................             250          17,680          18,220             3.1
Urban DSH:
    Non-DSH.....................................             520          10,533          10,748               2
    100 or more beds............................           1,462          12,643          12,939             2.3
    Less than 100 beds..........................             367           9,220           9,397             1.9
Rural DSH:
    SCH.........................................             255          10,239          10,313             0.7
    RRC.........................................             382          12,516          12,901             3.1
    100 or more beds............................              33          13,322          13,711             2.9
    Less than 100 beds..........................             236           7,300           7,410             1.5
Urban teaching and DSH:
    Both teaching and DSH.......................             805          13,783          14,112             2.4
    Teaching and no DSH.........................              89          11,402          11,664             2.3
    No teaching and DSH.........................           1,024          10,322          10,549             2.2
    No teaching and no DSH......................             346           9,951          10,125             1.7
Special Hospital Types:
    RRC.........................................             327          12,440          12,863             3.4
    SCH.........................................             311          11,126          11,219             0.8
    MDH.........................................             140           7,958           8,056             1.2
    SCH and RRC.................................             134          11,502          11,640             1.2
    MDH and RRC.................................              16          10,039          10,149             1.1
Type of Ownership:
    Voluntary...................................           1,898          12,323          12,624             2.4
    Proprietary.................................             856          10,658          10,879             2.1
    Government..................................             501          13,378          13,708             2.5
Medicare Utilization as a Percent of Inpatient
 Days:
    0-25........................................             602          14,927          15,266             2.3
    25-50.......................................           2,138          11,996          12,294             2.5
    50-65.......................................             421           9,817           9,985             1.7
    Over 65.....................................              73           7,271           7,450             2.5
FY 2019 Reclassifications by the Medicare
 Geographic Classification Review Board:
    All Reclassified Hospitals..................             859          12,226          12,572             2.8
    Non-Reclassified Hospitals..................           2,396          12,148          12,415             2.2
    Urban Hospitals Reclassified................             588          12,821          13,212             3.1
    Urban Nonreclassified Hospitals.............           1,835          12,349          12,629             2.3
    Rural Hospitals Reclassified Full Year......             271           9,566           9,710             1.5
    Rural Nonreclassified Hospitals Full Year...             454           8,750           8,821             0.8
    All Section 401 Reclassified Hospitals......             266          13,625          14,091             3.4
    Other Reclassified Hospitals (Section                     47           8,609           8,736             1.5
     1886(d)(8)(B)).............................
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    8. On pages 41753 through 41754 the table titled ``MODELED 
UNCOMPENSATED CARE PAYMENTS FOR ESTIMATED FY 2019 DSHs BY HOSPITAL 
TYPE: MODEL UCP $ (IN MILLIONS) * FROM FY 2018 to FY 2019'' is 
corrected to read as follows:

[[Page 49852]]



  Modeled Uncompensated Care Payments for Estimated FY 2019 DSHs by Hospital Type: Model UCP $ (in Millions) *
                                             From FY 2018 to FY 2019
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                   FY 2018 final
                                                      rule CN      FY 2019 final      Dollar
                                     Number of     estimated UCP  rule estimated  difference: FY  Percent change
                                  estimated DSHs       $ (in         UCP $ (in     2019- FY 2018        **
                                                     millions)       millions)     (in millions)
                                             (1)             (2)             (3)             (4)             (5)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total...........................           2,447          $6,767          $8,273          $1,506           22.26
By Geographic Location:
    Urban Hospitals.............           1,953           6,422           7,802           1,380           21.49
    Large Urban Areas...........           1,046           3,847           4,706             859           22.33
    Other Urban Areas...........             907           2,575           3,096             521           20.22
    Rural Hospitals.............             494             345             471             126           36.64
Bed Size (Urban):
    0 to 99 Beds................             342             177             257              79           44.80
    100 to 249 Beds.............             860           1,519           1,903             384           25.28
    250+ Beds...................             751           4,726           5,642             916           19.39
    Bed Size (Rural):...........
    0 to 99 Beds................             365             164             229              64           39.19
    100 to 249 Beds.............             116             146             200              54           36.66
    250+ Beds...................              13              34              43               8           24.33
Urban by Region:
    New England.................              91             259             279              20            7.76
    Middle Atlantic.............             244           1,004           1,058              55            5.45
    South Atlantic..............             320           1,343           1,769             426           31.69
    East North Central..........             323             864           1,010             146           16.92
    East South Central..........             133             389             477              88           22.71
    West North Central..........             104             312             386              74           23.68
    West South Central..........             254             981           1,423             442           45.03
    Mountain....................             125             313             397              84           26.78
    Pacific.....................             318             874             899              25            2.88
    Puerto Rico.................              41              82             102              20           24.47
Rural by Region:
    New England.................               9              14              17               3           19.24
    Middle Atlantic.............              26              19              22               2           12.43
    South Atlantic..............              88              79             116              37           47.54
    East North Central..........              69              40              56              16           41.12
    East South Central..........             135              93             106              13           13.78
    West North Central..........              29              16              22               6           40.28
    West South Central..........             106              66             102              36           53.62
    Mountain....................              27              14              26              12           84.16
    Pacific.....................               5               4               5               1           24.85
By Payment Classification:
    Urban Hospitals.............           1,866           5,917           7,257           1,340           22.65
    Large Urban Areas...........           1,058           3,855           4,717             862           22.37
    Other Urban Areas...........             808           2,062           2,540             478           23.16
    Rural Hospitals.............             581             850           1,016             166           19.54
Teaching Status:
    Nonteaching.................           1,509           2,020           2,597             578           28.62
    Fewer than 100 residents....             694           2,246           2,744             498           22.17
    100 or more residents.......             244           2,501           2,931             430           17.20
Type of Ownership:
    Voluntary...................           1,447           4,137           4,895             758           18.32
    Proprietary.................             561           1,015           1,259             244           24.05
    Government..................             439           1,615           2,119             504           31.24
Medicare Utilization Percent:
 ***
    0 to 25.....................             472           2,255           2,720             464           20.60
    25 to 50....................           1,674           4,290           5,266             977           22.77
    50 to 65....................             262             215             276              61           28.34
    Greater than 65.............              36               7              11               4           56.55
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Source: Dobson [verbar] DaVanzo analysis of 2013-2015 Hospital Cost Reports.
* Dollar UCP calculated by [0.75 * estimated section 1886(d)(5)(F) payments * Factor 2 * Factor 3]. When summed
  across all hospitals projected to receive DSH payments, uncompensated care payments are estimated to be $6,767
  million in FY 2018 and $8,273 million in FY 2019.
** Percentage change is determined as the difference between Medicare UCP payments modeled for the FY 2019 IPPS/
  LTCH PPS proposed rule (column 3) and Medicare UCP payments modeled for the FY 2018 IPPS/LTCH PPS final rule
  correction notice (column 2) divided by Medicare UCP payments modeled for the FY 2018 final rule correction
  notice (column 2) times 100 percent.
*** Hospitals with Missing or Unknown Medicare Utilization are not shown in table.

    9. On page 41754,
    a. Second column, first full paragraph,
    i. Line 5, the figure ``36.66'' is corrected to read ``36.64''.
    ii. Line 8, the figure ``21.48'' is corrected to read ``21.49''.

[[Page 49853]]

    b. Third column, first partial paragraph,
    i. Line 2, the figure ``39.52'' is corrected to read ``39.19''.
    ii. Line 5, the figure ``36.35'' is corrected to read ``36.66''
    iii. Line 7, the figure ``24.35'' is corrected to read ``24.33''.
    iv. Line 13, the figure ``44.83'' is corrected to read ``44.80''.
    v. Line 16, the figure ``25.23'' is corrected to read ``25.28''.
    vi. Line 19, the figure ``19.40'' is corrected to read ``19.39''.
    10. On page 41755, first column, second paragraph--
    a. Line 5, the figure ``22.14'' is corrected to read ``22.17''.
    b. Line 9, the figure ``17.23'' is corrected to read ``17.20''.
    c. Line 12, the figure ``31.26'' is corrected to read ``31.24''.
    d. Line 12, the figure ``24.06'' is corrected to read ``24.05''.
    e. Line 15, the figure ``18.30'' is corrected to read ``18.32''.
    11. On page 41756, bottom of the page--
    a. First column, before the first paragraph, the section heading 
``a. Effects of Proposed Changes for FY 2019'' is corrected to read 
``a. Effects of Changes for FY 2019''.
    b. Second column, last paragraph, line 1, the phrase ``The proposed 
estimated impacts'' is corrected to read ``The estimated impacts''.
    12. On pages 41758 through 41759, the table titled ``ESTIMATED 
PROPORTION OF HOSPITALS IN THE WORST-PERFORMING QUARTILE (>75th 
PERCENTILE) OF THE TOTAL HAC SCORES FOR THE FY 2019 HAC REDUCTION 
PROGRAM'' is corrected to read as follows:

  Estimated Proportion of Hospitals in the Worst-Performing Quartile (>75th Percentile) of the Total HAC Scores
                                      for the FY 2019 HAC Reduction Program
                                          [By hospital characteristic]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                     Number of      Percent of
                                                                                   hospitals in    hospitals in
                     Hospital characteristic                         Number of      the worst-      the worst-
                                                                     hospitals      performing      performing
                                                                                   quartile \a\    quartile \b\
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total \c\.......................................................           3,219             804            25.0
By Geographic Location (n = 3,201): \d\
    Urban hospitals.............................................           2,416             628            26.0
        1-99 beds...............................................             622             133            21.4
        100-199 beds............................................             728             182            25.0
        200-299 beds............................................             430             119            27.7
        300-399 beds............................................             278              80            28.8
        400-499 beds............................................             145              39            26.9
        500 or more beds........................................             213              75            35.2
    Rural hospitals.............................................             785             165            21.0
        1-49 beds...............................................             304              68            22.4
        50-99 beds..............................................             282              56            19.9
        100-149 beds............................................             116              22            19.0
        150-199 beds............................................              44              10            22.7
        200 or more beds........................................              39               9            23.1
By Safety-Net Status (n = 3,201): \e\
    Non-safety net..............................................           2,555             576            22.5
    Safety-net..................................................             646             217            33.6
By DSH Percent (n = 3,201): \f\
    0-24........................................................           1,313             292            22.2
    25-49.......................................................           1,507             366            24.3
    50-64.......................................................             198              75            37.9
    65 and over.................................................             183              60            32.8
By Teaching Status (n = 3,201): \g\
    Non-teaching................................................           2,121             484            22.8
    Fewer than 100 residents....................................             832             196            23.6
    100 or more residents.......................................             248             113            45.6
By Ownership (n = 3,173):
    Voluntary...................................................           1,868             466            24.9
    Proprietary.................................................             813             175            21.5
    Government..................................................             492             145            29.5
By MCR Percent (n = 3,175): \h\
    0-24........................................................             511             144            28.2
    25-49.......................................................           2,118             505            23.8
    50-64.......................................................             473             117            24.7
    65 and over.................................................              73              15            20.5
By Region (n = 3,217): \i\
    New England.................................................             133              43            32.3
    Mid-Atlantic................................................             364             101            27.7
    South Atlantic..............................................             522             133            25.5
    East North Central..........................................             498             108            21.7
    East South Central..........................................             299              68            22.7
    West North Central..........................................             256              57            22.3
    West South Central..........................................             519             114            22.0
    Mountain....................................................             229              60            26.2

[[Page 49854]]

 
    Pacific.....................................................             397             118            29.7
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Source: FY 2019 HAC Reduction Program Final Rule Results are based on CMS PSI 90 Composite data from October
  2015 through June 2017 and CDC CLABSI, CAUTI, SSI, CDI, and MRSA results from January 2016 through December
  2017. Hospital Characteristics are based on the FY 2019 Hospital Inpatient Prospective Payment System (IPPS)
  Proposed Rule Impact File.
\a\ This column is the number of non-Maryland hospitals with a Total HAC Score within the corresponding
  characteristic that are estimated to be in the worst-performing quartile.
\b\ This column is the percent of non-Maryland hospitals within each characteristic that are estimated to be in
  the worst-performing quartile. The percentages are calculated by dividing the number of non-Maryland hospitals
  with a Total HAC Score in the worst-performing quartile by the total number of non-Maryland hospitals with a
  Total HAC Score within that characteristic.
\c\ The number of non-Maryland hospitals with a FY 2019 Total HAC Score (N=3,219). Note that not all hospitals
  have data for all hospital characteristics.
\d\ The number of hospitals that had information for geographic location with bed size, Safety-net status,
  Disproportionate Share Hospital (DSH) percent, teaching status, and ownership status (n=3,201).
\e\ A hospital is considered a Safety-net hospital if it is in the top quintile for DSH percent.
\f\ The DSH patient percentage is equal to the sum of (1) the percentage of Medicare inpatient days attributable
  to patients eligible for both Medicare Part A and Supplemental Security Income and (2) the percentage of total
  inpatient days attributable to patients eligible for Medicaid but not Medicare Part A.
\g\ A hospital is considered a teaching hospital if it has an Indirect Medical Education adjustment factor for
  Operation PPS (TCHOP) greater than zero.
\h\ Not all hospitals had data for MCR percent (n=3,175).
\i\ Not all hospitals had data for Region (n=3,217).

    13. On page 41763--
    a. Second column, fourth bullet, the figure ``0.9975'' is corrected 
to read ``0.9969''.
    b. Third column, first full paragraph, line 5, the figure ``3,256'' 
is corrected to read ``3,255''.
    14. On page 41764, third column--
    a. Line 12, the figure ``1.0'' is corrected to read ``1.1''.
    b. Line 14, the figure ``3.0'' is corrected to read ``2.9''.
    15. On pages 41764 through 41765, the table titled ``TABLE III--
COMPARISON OF TOTAL PAYMENTS PER CASE [FY 2018 payments compared to FY 
2019 payments]'' is corrected to read as follows:

                                Table III--Comparison of Total Payments per Case
                                 [FY 2018 payments compared to FY 2019 payments]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                    Average FY      Average FY
                                                     Number of    2018 payments/  2019 payments/  Percent change
                                                     hospitals         case            case
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By Geographic Location:
    All hospitals...............................           3,255            $943            $963             2.1
    Large urban areas (populations over 1                  2,483             974             997             2.3
     million)...................................
    Other urban areas (populations of 1 million            1,302           1,011           1,042             3.2
     of fewer)..................................
    Urban hospitals.............................           1,181             939             952             1.4
        0-99 beds...............................             644             789             812             3.0
        100-199 beds............................             763             835             854             2.4
        200-299 beds............................             433             902             922             2.2
        300-499 beds............................             424             981           1,003             2.2
        500 or more beds........................             219           1,170           1,197             2.3
    Rural hospitals.............................             772             666             659            -0.9
        0-49 beds...............................             305             541             556             2.6
        50-99 beds..............................             274             606             621             2.3
        100-149 beds............................             108             677             654            -3.3
        150-199 beds............................              45             729             706            -3.2
        200 or more beds........................              40             808             781            -3.3
By Region:
    Urban by Region.............................           2,483             974             997             2.3
        New England.............................             113           1,068           1,108             3.8
        Middle Atlantic.........................             310           1,069           1,090             2.0
        South Atlantic..........................             401             866             883             2.0
        East North Central......................             386             938             951             1.4
        East South Central......................             147             821             838             2.1
        West North Central......................             158             959             977             1.9
        West South Central......................             379             881             908             3.1
        Mountain................................             164           1,011           1,028             1.5
        Pacific.................................             374           1,238           1,281             3.4
        Puerto Rico.............................              51             447             455             1.7

[[Page 49855]]

 
    Rural by Region.............................             772             666             660            -0.9
        New England.............................              20             922             918            -0.5
        Middle Atlantic.........................              53             639             638            -0.3
        South Atlantic..........................             122             619             610            -1.4
        East North Central......................             114             675             671            -0.6
        East South Central......................             150             623             606            -2.6
        West North Central......................              94             706             704            -0.2
        West South Central......................             145             590             588            -0.3
        Mountain................................              51             742             752             1.2
        Pacific.................................              23             865             864            -0.5
By Payment Classification:
    All hospitals...............................           3,255             943             963             2.1
    Large urban areas (populations over 1                  1,317           1,010           1,042             3.2
     million)...................................
    Other urban areas (populations of 1 million              947             895             919             2.6
     of fewer)..................................
    Rural areas.................................             991             884             875            -1.1
Teaching Status:
    Non-teaching................................           2,156             800             816             1.9
    Fewer than 100 Residents....................             849             909             925             1.8
    100 or more Residents.......................             250           1,308           1,342             2.7
    Urban DSH:
        Non-DSH.................................             520             867             890             2.6
        100 or more beds........................           1,462             984           1,013             3.0
        Less than 100 beds......................             367             720             743             3.1
    Rural DSH:
        Sole Community (SCH/EACH)...............             255             680             681             0.1
        Referral Center (RRC/EACH)..............             382             947             931            -1.6
        Other Rural:
            100 or more beds....................              33           1,068           1,053            -1.4
            Less than 100 beds..................             236             530             543             2.4
    Urban teaching and DSH:
        Both teaching and DSH...................             805           1,055           1,087             3.1
        Teaching and no DSH.....................              89             912             934             2.4
        No teaching and DSH.....................           1,024             833             856             2.8
        No teaching and no DSH..................             346             847             871             2.8
Rural Hospital Types:
    Plain Rural.................................             178             831             831             0.0
    RRC/EACH....................................             327             968             960            -0.7
    SCH/EACH....................................             312             749             752             0.5
    SCH, RRC and EACH...........................             134             807             797            -1.3
Hospitals Reclassified by the Medicare
 Geographic Classification Review Board:
    FY2018 Reclassifications:
        All Urban Reclassified..................             588             995           1,006             1.1
        All Urban Non-Reclassified..............           1,835             966             996             2.9
        All Rural Reclassified..................             271             704             690            -1.8
        All Rural Non-Reclassified..............             454             613             615             0.2
        All Section 401 Reclassified Hospitals..             266           1,033           1,022            -1.1
        Other Reclassified Hospitals (Section                 47             651             661             1.6
         1886(d)(8)(B)).........................
    Type of Ownership:
        Voluntary...............................           1,898             959             976             1.8
        Proprietary.............................             856             851             871             2.3
        Government..............................             501             981           1,011             3.1
    Medicare Utilization as a Percent of
     Inpatient Days:
        0-25....................................             601           1,076           1,104             2.6
        25-50...................................           2,139             942             961             2.1
        50-65...................................             421             774             784             1.3
        Over 65.................................              73             567             582             2.7
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    16. On page 41766,
    a. First column, last paragraph,
    i. Line 4, the figure ``41,579.65'' is corrected to read 
``$41,558.68''.
    ii. Line 8, the figure ``0.999713'' is corrected to read 
``0.999215''.
    b. Second column,
    i. First partial paragraph,
    A. Line 4, the figure ``0.990884'' is corrected to read 
``0.990878''.
    B. Line 12, the figure ``$40,759.12'' is corrected to read 
``$40,738.57''.
    ii. Second full paragraph, line 14, the figure ``0.999713'' is 
corrected to read ``0.999215''.
    iii. Last paragraph, line 7, the figure ``0.990884'' is corrected 
to read ``0.990878''.
    17. On page 41768, first column,
    a. Line 8, the figure ``41,579.65'' is corrected to read 
``$41,558.68''.
    b. Line 9, the figure ``40,759.12'' is corrected to read 
``$40,738.57''.

[[Page 49856]]

    18. On pages 41768 and 41769, the table entitled ``TABLE IV--IMPACT 
OF PAYMENT RATE AND POLICY CHANGES TO LTCH PPS PAYMENTS FOR LTCH PPS 
STANDARD FEDERAL PAYMENT RATE CASES FOR FY 2019'', is corrected to read 
as follows:

          Table IV--Impact of Payment Rate and Policy Changes to LTCH PPS Payments for LTCH PPS Standard Federal Payment Rate Cases for FY 2019
                                           [Estimated FY 2018 payments compared to estimated FY 2019 payments]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                                          Percent change  Percent change
                                                                            Average FY      Average FY     due to change  due to changes  Percent change
                                                          Number of LTCH   2018 LTCH PPS   2019 LTCH PPS   to the annual   to area wage     due to all
           LTCH classification               Number of     PPS standard     payment per     payment per    update to the    adjustment       standard
                                               LTCHS       payment rate      standard        standard        standard        with wage     payment rate
                                                               cases       payment rate    payment rate    federal rate       budget        changes \4\
                                                                                                \1\             \2\       neutrality \3\
(1)                                                  (2)             (3)             (4)             (5)             (6)             (7)             (8)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
All Providers...........................             409          75,416         $46,852         $47,334             1.3               0             1.0
By Location:
    Rural...............................              21           2,457          39,339          39,714             1.3            -0.1             1.0
    Urban...............................             388          72,959          47,105          47,591             1.3               0             1.0
        Large...........................             195          40,491          50,164          50,740             1.3               0             1.1
        Other...........................             193          32,468          43,291          43,664             1.3               0             0.9
By Participation Date:
    Before Oct. 1983....................              11           1,923          43,083          43,225             1.3            -0.5             0.3
    Oct. 1983-Sept. 1993................              42           9,632          51,709          52,481             1.3             0.2             1.5
    Oct. 1993-Sept. 2002................             169          31,338          45,565          45,991             1.3               0             0.9
    After October 2002..................             187          32,523          46,877          47,347             1.3               0             1.0
By Ownership Type:
    Voluntary...........................              77          10,614          48,824          49,614             1.3             0.3             1.6
    Proprietary.........................             319          63,040          46,378          46,799             1.3            -0.1             0.9
    Government..........................              13           1,762          51,945          52,739             1.3             0.0             1.5
By Region:
    New England.........................              12           2,707          43,164          43,275             1.3            -0.4             0.3
    Middle Atlantic.....................              24           5,959          50,920          51,553             1.3            -0.1             1.2
    South Atlantic......................              66          13,792          47,641          48,127             1.3            -0.1             1.0
    East North Central..................              68          11,843          46,386          46,711             1.3            -0.3             0.7
    East South Central..................              36           6,385          45,490          45,978             1.3               0             1.1
    West North Central..................              28           4,412          45,951          46,428             1.3            -0.3             1.0
    West South Central..................             120          18,361          41,402          41,785             1.3             0.2             0.9
    Mountain............................              29           4,070          47,897          48,125             1.4            -0.5             0.5
    Pacific.............................              26           7,887          58,121          59,205             1.3             0.7             1.9
By Bed Size:
    Beds: 0-24..........................              43           4,206          44,740          45,008             1.3            -0.4             0.6
    Beds: 25-49.........................             185          26,270          44,623          45,044             1.3               0             0.9
    Beds: 50-74.........................             107          20,178          47,733          48,246             1.3               0             1.1
    Beds: 75-124........................              43          12,086          50,145          50,770             1.3             0.1             1.2
    Beds: 125-199.......................              22           7,709          47,404          47,768             1.3            -0.3             0.8
    Beds: 200+..........................               9           4,967          47,988          48,682             1.3             0.5             1.4
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Estimated FY 2019 LTCH PPS payments for LTCH PPS standard Federal payment rate criteria based on the payment rate and factor changes applicable to
  such cases presented in the preamble of and the Addendum to this final rule.
\2\ Percent change in estimated payments per discharge for LTCH PPS standard Federal payment rate cases from FY 2018 to FY 2019 for the annual update to
  the LTCH PPS standard Federal payment rate.
\3\ Percent change in estimated payments per discharge for LTCH PPS standard Federal payment rate cases from FY 2018 to FY 2019 for changes to the area
  wage level adjustment under Sec.   412.525(c) (as discussed in section V.B. of the Addendum to this final rule).
\4\ Percent change in estimated payments per discharge for LTCH PPS standard Federal payment rate cases from FY 2018 (shown in Column 4) to FY 2019
  (shown in Column 5), including all of the changes to the rates and factors applicable to such cases presented in the preamble and the Addendum to this
  final rule. We note that this column, which shows the percent change in estimated payments per discharge for all changes, does not equal the sum of
  the percent changes in estimated payments per discharge for the annual update to the LTCH PPS standard Federal payment rate (Column 6) and the changes
  to the area wage level adjustment with budget neutrality (Column 7) due to the effect of estimated changes in estimated payments to aggregate HCO
  payments for LTCH PPS standard Federal payment rate cases (as discussed in this impact analysis), as well as other interactive effects that cannot be
  isolated.

    19. On page 41769, lower two-thirds of the page--
    a. First column, last paragraph, line 13, the figure ``0.999713'' 
is corrected to read ``0.999215''.
    b. Second column,
    i. First partial paragraph, line 1, the figure ``0.999713'' is 
corrected to read ``0.999215''.
    ii. Last paragraph, line 16, the figure ``0.9'' is corrected to 
read ``1.0''.
    c. Third column, second full paragraph, line 5, the figure ``0.4'' 
is corrected to read ``0.3''.
    20. On page 41770, first column,
    a. First full paragraph, line 5, the word ``Pacific'' is corrected 
to read ``Mountain'',
    b. First full paragraph, line 7, the word ``Mountain'' is corrected 
to read ``Pacific'',
    c. First full paragraph, line 9, the figure ``0.4'' is corrected to 
read ``0.5'',
    d. Second full paragraph, line 9, the figure ``1.5'' is corrected 
to read ``1.4''.

    Dated: September 27, 2018.
Wilma M. Robinson,
Deputy Executive Secretary to the Department, Department of Health and 
Human Services.
[FR Doc. 2018-21500 Filed 9-28-18; 4:15 pm]
BILLING CODE 4120-01-P



                                             49836                 Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 192 / Wednesday, October 3, 2018 / Rules and Regulations

                                                                                                 TABLE 45—IMPACT TO THE SNF PPS FOR FY 2019—Continued
                                                                                                                                                                                                                        Number       Update    Total
                                                                                                                                                                                                                           of         wage    change
                                                                                                                                                                                                                        facilities    data      (%)
                                                                                                                                                                                                                        FY 2019        (%)

                                                 Pacific ...........................................................................................................................................................        1,421       1.0       3.4
                                                 Outlying .........................................................................................................................................................             6      ¥0.5       1.9
                                             Rural by region:
                                                 New England ................................................................................................................................................                 134      ¥0.7       1.6
                                                 Middle Atlantic ..............................................................................................................................................               215       0.1       2.5
                                                 South Atlantic ...............................................................................................................................................               494       0.1       2.5
                                                 East North Central ........................................................................................................................................                  931       0.1       2.5
                                                 East South Central .......................................................................................................................................                   523      ¥0.3       2.1
                                                 West North Central .......................................................................................................................................                 1,074       0.3       2.7
                                                 West South Central ......................................................................................................................................                    734       1.0       3.5
                                                 Mountain .......................................................................................................................................................             229       0.2       2.6
                                                 Pacific ...........................................................................................................................................................           95      ¥0.5       1.9
                                             Ownership:
                                                 Profit .............................................................................................................................................................     10,887        0.0       2.4
                                                 Non-Profit ......................................................................................................................................................         3,570       ¥0.1       2.3
                                                 Government ..................................................................................................................................................             1,014        0.0       2.4
                                               Note: The Total column includes the 2.4 percent market basket increase required by section 53111 of the BBA 2018. Additionally, we found
                                             no SNFs in rural outlying areas.


                                                7. On page 39287, bottom of the page,                                    ACTION:       Final rule; correction.                                       II. Summary of Errors
                                             column 2, line 6 and 7 the phrase
                                                                                                                                                                                                     A. Summary of Errors in the Preamble
                                             ‘‘urban rural West South Central region’’                                   SUMMARY:   This document corrects
                                             is corrected to read ‘‘rural West South                                     technical and typographical errors in                                          On page 41144, under FOR FURTHER
                                             Central region.’’                                                           the final rule that appeared in the                                         INFORMATION CONTACT section, we are
                                                                                                                         August 17, 2018 issue of the Federal                                        correcting the names of the contacts for
                                               Dated: September 27, 2018.
                                                                                                                         Register titled ‘‘Medicare Program;                                         Medicare Promoting Interoperability
                                             Ann C. Agnew,
                                                                                                                         Hospital Inpatient Prospective Payment                                      Program issues.
                                             Executive Secretary to the Department,                                                                                                                     On page 41151, in our discussion
                                             Department of Health and Human Services.
                                                                                                                         Systems for Acute Care Hospitals and
                                                                                                                         the Long Term Care Hospital                                                 regarding Changes to the Hospital
                                             [FR Doc. 2018–21499 Filed 9–28–18; 4:15 pm]                                                                                                             Readmissions Reduction Program under
                                                                                                                         Prospective Payment System and Policy
                                             BILLING CODE 4120–01–P
                                                                                                                         Changes and Fiscal Year 2019 Rates;                                         ‘‘Summary of Cost and Benefits’’, we
                                                                                                                         Quality Reporting Requirements for                                          made errors in the impact figures.
                                                                                                                         Specific Providers; Medicare and                                               On pages 41200, 41219, 41236, and
                                             DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND                                                                                                                                41313, we made a technical error in
                                             HUMAN SERVICES                                                              Medicaid Electronic Health Record
                                                                                                                         (EHR) Incentive Programs (Promoting                                         using the term ‘‘primary’’ rather than
                                                                                                                         Interoperability Programs) Requirements                                     ‘‘principal’’ when in describing certain
                                             Centers for Medicare & Medicaid
                                                                                                                         for Eligible Hospitals, Critical Access                                     diagnosis codes or conditions.
                                             Services                                                                                                                                                   On page 41254, we inadvertently
                                                                                                                         Hospitals, and Eligible Professionals;
                                                                                                                         Medicare Cost Reporting Requirements;                                       omitted a base MS–DRG group to which
                                             42 CFR Parts 412, 413, 424, and 495                                                                                                                     the listed thoracoscopic procedures of
                                                                                                                         and Physician Certification and
                                             [CMS–1694–CN2]                                                              Recertification of Claims’’.                                                pericardium and pleura may be
                                                                                                                                                                                                     assigned. Specifically, we are correcting
                                             RIN 0938–AT27                                                               DATES:  The corrections in this document                                    the list of MS–DRGs on page 41254 to
                                                                                                                         are effective October 1, 2018.                                              include MS–DRGs 166, 167, and 168
                                             Medicare Program; Hospital Inpatient
                                             Prospective Payment Systems for                                             FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:                                            (Other Respiratory System O.R.
                                             Acute Care Hospitals and the Long                                           Donald Thompson and Michele                                                 Procedures with MCC, with CC, and
                                             Term Care Hospital Prospective                                              Hudson, (410) 786–4487.                                                     without CC/MCC, respectively) in MDC
                                             Payment System and Policy Changes                                                                                                                       4 (Diseases and Disorders of the
                                                                                                                         SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:                                                  Respiratory System), consistent with the
                                             and Fiscal Year 2019 Rates; Quality
                                             Reporting Requirements for Specific                                         I. Background                                                               MS–DRGs to which other approaches
                                             Providers; Medicare and Medicaid                                                                                                                        for procedures involving drainage or
                                             Electronic Health Record (EHR)                                                 In FR Doc. 2018–16766 of August 17,                                      extirpation of matter from the pleura are
                                             Incentive Programs (Promoting                                               2018 (83 FR 41144) there were a number                                      assigned.
                                             Interoperability Programs)                                                  of technical and typographical errors                                          On page 41299, we made a technical
                                             Requirements for Eligible Hospitals,                                        that are identified and corrected by the                                    error in describing which ICD–10–PCS
                                             Critical Access Hospitals, and Eligible                                     Correction of Errors section of this                                        procedure codes will be used to identify
                                                                                                                         correcting document. The provisions in                                      cases involving the use of KYMRIAH
daltland on DSKBBV9HB2PROD with RULES




                                             Professionals; Medicare Cost
                                             Reporting Requirements; and                                                 this correcting document are effective as                                   and YESCARTA that are eligible for new
                                             Physician Certification and                                                 if they had been included in the                                            technology add-on payments in FY
                                             Recertification of Claims; Correction                                       document that appeared in the August                                        2019. Specifically, cases involving the
                                                                                                                         17, 2018 Federal Register. Accordingly,                                     use of KYMRIAH and YESCARTA that
                                             AGENCY: Centers for Medicare &                                              the corrections are effective October 1,                                    are eligible for new technology add-on
                                             Medicaid Services (CMS), HHS.                                               2018.                                                                       payments will be identified by either of


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                                                              Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 192 / Wednesday, October 3, 2018 / Rules and Regulations                                       49837

                                             the ICD–10–PCS procedure codes listed                   when we should have stated the cost is                MedPAR data is included in the
                                             in the final rule (XW033C3 or                           $2,800.                                               program calculations.
                                             XW043C3) rather than requiring the                         On page 41362, we made a technical                    On page 41446, we made a technical
                                             combination of both ICD–10–PCS                          error in describing which ICD–10–PCS                  error in the heading for section IV.I.2.c.
                                             procedure codes.                                        procedure codes will be used to identify              by inadvertently stating the incorrect
                                                On page 41311, we made a                             cases involving AndexXaTM that are                    number of measure removal proposals
                                             typographical error in describing which                 eligible for new technology add-on                    that we were finalizing in the FY 2019
                                             National Drug Code (NDC) will be used                   payments in FY 2019. Specifically,                    IPPS/LTCH PPS final rule for the
                                             to identify cases involving                             cases involving the use of AndexXaTM                  Hospital Value-Based Purchasing (VBP)
                                             VABOMERETM that are eligible for new                    that are eligible for new technology add-             Program.
                                             technology add-on payments in FY                        on payments will be identified by either                 On page 41452, we made an error in
                                             2019. Specifically, we are correcting the               of the ICD–10–PCS procedure codes                     the date of publication of a reference.
                                             NDC code of 65293–0009–01, which                        listed in the final rule (XW03372 or                     On page 41469, in the table entitled
                                             erroneously was missing an extra digit.                 XW04372) rather than requiring the                    ‘‘Previously Adopted and Newly
                                             In addition, we were made aware after                   combination of both ICD–10–PCS                        Displayed Performance Standards for
                                             the final rule that NDC 70842–0120–01                   procedure codes.                                      the FY 2021 Program Year: Safety,
                                             can also be used to identify cases of                      On pages 41364, 41365, 41368, and                  Clinical Outcomes, and Efficiency and
                                             VABOMERETM. Therefore, cases                            41375, in our discussion of the wage                  Cost Reduction Domains,’’ we
                                             involving the use of VABOMERETM that                    indexes, we are correcting the number                 inadvertently did not display several of
                                             are eligible for new technology add-on                  of hospitals with critical access hospital            the numbers in the benchmark column
                                             payments in FY 2019 will be identified                  (CAH) status removed from the FY 2019                 to 3 decimal places.
                                             with either of the following NDCs:                      wage index, the number of hospitals                      On page 41488, in our discussion
                                             65293–0009–01 and 70842–0120–01.                        used for the FY 2019 wage index, the                  regarding analysis of Hospital-Acquired
                                                On page 41320, we made a                             number of hospital occupational mix                   Condition Reduction Program, we made
                                             typographical error in describing which                 surveys used for the FY 2019 wage                     a technical error in referencing
                                             ICD–10–PCS procedure codes will be                      index, and the values for the FY 2019                 hospital’s National Healthcare Safety
                                             used to identify cases involving the                                                                          Network (NHSN) Healthcare-Associated
                                                                                                     national average hourly wage
                                             remedē® SystemTM that are eligible for                                                                       Infection (HAI) measures.
                                                                                                     (unadjusted for occupational mix), the
                                             new technology add-on payments in FY                                                                             On pages 41528 and 41529, we
                                                                                                     FY 2019 occupational mix adjusted
                                             2019. Specifically, we are correcting the                                                                     corrected the MS–LTC–DRG budget
                                                                                                     national average hourly wage, and the
                                             ICD–10–PCS procedure code 05H43MZ                                                                             neutrality factor due to an error in the
                                                                                                     FY 2019 national average hourly wages
                                             (Insertion of neurostimulator lead into                                                                       MS–LTC–DRG weights resulting from
                                                                                                     for the occupational mix nursing
                                             left innominate vein, percutaneous                                                                            the inadvertent inclusion of an all-
                                                                                                     subcategories, due to inadvertent errors
                                             approach), which had erroneously                                                                              inclusive rate provider.
                                                                                                     related to the following:
                                             contained an extra digit.                                                                                        On pages 41536 and 41537, due to the
                                                On page 41334, we made a technical                      • The inclusion of a CAH in the wage               changes in the MS–LTC–DRG weights
                                             error in describing which ICD–10–PCS                    data (CMS Certification Number (CCN)                  resulting from the correction to the MS–
                                             procedure codes will be used to identify                060016).                                              LTC–DRG budget neutrality factor
                                             cases involving ZEMDRITM that are                          • Wage data collected from the                     (described previously) and the
                                             eligible for new technology add-on                      Medicare cost reports of one hospital                 corrections in the LTCH PPS wage index
                                             payments in FY 2019. Specifically,                      (CCN 100044).                                         referenced above and discussed in
                                             cases involving the use of ZEMDRITM                        • Occupational Mix data collected                  greater detail below, we made
                                             that are eligible for new technology add-               from one hospital (CCN 010001).                       conforming changes to the budget
                                             on payments will be identified by either                   On page 41406, we are correcting a                 neutrality adjustment factor for the cost
                                             of the ICD–10–PCS procedure codes                       typographical error in our reference to               of the elimination of the 25-percent
                                             listed in the final rule (XW033G4 or                    the discussion of the comments received               threshold policy for FY 2019 and the
                                             XW043G4) rather than requiring the                      on the proposed methodology for Factor                area wage budget neutrality factor.
                                             combination of both ICD–10–PCS                          3.                                                       On page 41556, in our discussion
                                             procedure codes.                                           On page 41415, in our discussion                   regarding claims-based-readmission
                                                On page 41342, we made a technical                   regarding Methodology for Calculating                 measures, the National Quality Forum
                                             error in describing which ICD–10–PCS                    Factor 3 for FY 2019, we are correcting               (NQF) number for the MORT–30–CABG
                                             procedure codes will be used to identify                a technical error in the calculation of               measure was inadvertently listed as
                                             cases involving GIAPREZATM that are                     the CCR ceilings for FY 2014 and FY                   NQF #2515, which is the NQF number
                                             eligible for new technology add-on                      2015 and the number of hospitals above                for the READM–30–CABG measure.
                                             payments in FY 2019. Specifically,                      the ceiling in each of those years.                      On page 41558, in our discussion
                                             cases involving the use of GIAPREZATM                      On page 41432, in our discussion                   finalizing our proposals to remove the
                                             that are eligible for new technology add-               regarding Regulatory Background of                    mortality measures, we inadvertently
                                             on payments will be identified by either                Hospital Readmissions Reduction                       referenced the FY 2020 payment
                                             of the ICD–10–PCS procedure codes                       Program, we made a typographical error                determination twice.
                                             listed in the final rule (XW033H4 or                    in referencing the fiscal year in which                  On page 41576, in the table entitled
                                             XW043H4) rather than requiring the                      the calculation of the proportion of                  ‘‘Summary of Hospital IQR Program
                                             combination of both ICD–10–PCS                          ‘‘dually eligible’’ Medicare beneficiaries            Measures Newly Finalized for
                                                                                                     used to stratify hospitals into peer
daltland on DSKBBV9HB2PROD with RULES




                                             procedure codes.                                                                                              Removal,’’ an entry under ‘‘Claims-
                                                On page 41348, we made a                             groups will begin.                                    Based Coordination of Care Measures’’
                                             typographical error in stating the                         On page 41436, in our discussion                   inadvertently included an ‘‘A’’ in the
                                             applicant’s estimated cost of the                       regarding Identification of Aggregate                 short name for the Pneumonia
                                             Sentinel® Cerebral Protection System.                   Payments for Each Condition/Procedure                 Readmission measure.
                                             Specifically, we stated that the                        and All Discharges, we inadvertently                     On page 41579, in the table entitled
                                             applicant estimated the cost is $2,400,                 omitted language regarding which                      ‘‘Measures for the FY 2021 Payment


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                                             49838            Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 192 / Wednesday, October 3, 2018 / Rules and Regulations

                                             Determination,’’ we inadvertently                       which resulted in the recalculation of                the operating outlier adjustment factor
                                             omitted the entry for the FY 2021                       the final FY 2019 IPPS wage indexes                   resulting from the correction of this
                                             payment determination for MORT–30–                      and the geographic adjustment factors                 combination of errors.) Therefore, we
                                             CABG. In the same table, we made a                      (GAFs) (which are computed from the                   made conforming changes to the
                                             typographical error by inadvertently                    wage index). The final FY 2019 IPPS                   following:
                                             including an asterisk at the end of                     wage data are used in the calculation of                 • On pages 41715 and 41727, the
                                             Hospital 30-Day, All-Cause, Risk-                       the wage index budget neutrality                      MS–DRG reclassification and
                                             Standardized Mortality Rate Following                   adjustment when comparing total                       recalibration budget neutrality
                                             Acute Ischemic Stroke (MORT–30–                         payments using the final FY 2018 IPPS                 adjustment factor.
                                             STK). In the same table, we made a                      wage index data to total payments using                  • On page 41716, the following
                                             typographical error by inadvertently                    the final FY 2019 IPPS wage index data.               budget neutrality adjustments:
                                             listing the incorrect NQF number for                    Additionally, the final FY 2019 IPPS                     ++ Wage index budget neutrality
                                             STK–06, Discharged on Statin                            wage index data are used when                         adjustment.
                                             Medication measure. In the same table,                  determining total payments for purposes                  ++ Reclassification hospital budget
                                             we inadvertently excluded the word                      of the rest of the budget neutrality                  neutrality adjustment.
                                             ‘‘Venous’’ from the full measure name of                factors (except for the MS–DRG                           ++ Rural floor budget neutrality
                                             VTE–2, Intensive Care Unit Venous                       reclassification and recalibration budget             adjustment.
                                             Thromboembolism Prophylaxis.                            neutrality factor) and the final outlier                 • On page 41723, the calculation of
                                                On page 41599, in our discussion of                  threshold. In addition, the final FY 2019             the outlier fixed-loss cost threshold,
                                             Social Risk Factors in the Hospital                     IPPS wage index data are used to                      total operating Federal payments, total
                                             Inpatient Quality Reporting (IQR)                       calculate the FY 2019 LTCH PPS wage                   operating outlier payments, and the
                                             Program, we inadvertently used the                      index values, certain budget neutrality               outlier adjustment to the capital Federal
                                             term ‘‘measures’’ instead of ‘‘methods’’.               factors, and the LTCH PPS standard                    rate.
                                                On page 41672, in our discussion                     Federal payment rate in the FY 2019                      • On pages 41724 through 41725, the
                                             regarding the electronic reporting of                   IPPS/LTCH PPS final rule.                             table titled ‘‘Changes From FY 2018
                                             electronic clinical quality measures                       We also made inadvertent errors                    Standardized Amounts to the FY 2019
                                             (eCQMs) for CY 2019, we incorrectly                     related to the status of four providers               Standardized Amounts’’.
                                             referred to the Spring 2017 version of                  reclassified from urban to rural under                   On page 41722, we are also correcting
                                             the CQM electronic specifications as the                section 1886(d)(8)(E) of the Act                      inadvertent technical errors in the
                                             most recent version. A more recent                      (codified in the regulations under                    figures reported for the covered charges
                                             version of the specifications was issued                § 412.103 and hereinafter referred to as              and cases by quarter in the periods used
                                             after the proposed rule was published,                  § 412.103). Specifically, the                         to calculate the charge inflation factor.
                                             which is the 2018 eCQM specifications                   reclassification status in the FY 2019                Specifically, we erroneously presented
                                             update (published in May 2018).                         IPPS/LTCH PPS final rule did not                      figures based on total charges for the
                                                                                                     properly reflect the application of urban             applicable periods listed in the table
                                             B. Summary of Errors in the Addendum                                                                          rather than the covered charges and the
                                                                                                     to rural reclassification under § 412.103
                                                As discussed in section II.D. of this                for four providers (CCNs 050025,                      case counts were not correctly aligned
                                             correcting document, we made several                    050573, 120001 and 120002). We note,                  with the corresponding quarter. We note
                                             technical errors with regard to the                     provider 050573 was approved by the                   that although there were technical errors
                                             calculation of Factor 3 of the                          MGCRB for reclassification (as already                in the figures as presented in the table
                                             uncompensated care payment                              reflected in the FY 2019 IPPS/LTCH                    and the corresponding discussion on
                                             methodology. Factor 3 is used to                        final rule) in addition to its urban to               page 41722, the correct figures were
                                             determine the total amount of the                       rural reclassification under § 412.103.               used for the outlier calculations in the
                                             uncompensated care payment a hospital                   Additionally, the final FY 2019 IPPS                  final rule. In addition, on page 41723,
                                             is eligible to receive for a fiscal year.               wage index with reclassification is used              we are correcting technical errors in the
                                             This amount is then used to calculate                   when determining total payments for                   description of the formula showing total
                                             the amount of the interim                               purposes of all budget neutrality factors             outlier payments as a percentage of total
                                             uncompensated care payments a                           (except for the MS–DRG reclassification               operating Federal payments.
                                             hospital receives per discharge. Per                    and recalibration budget neutrality                      On pages 41727 through 41729, in our
                                             discharge uncompensated care                            factor and the wage index budget                      discussion of the determination of the
                                             payments are included when                              neutrality adjustment factor) and the                 Federal hospital inpatient capital-
                                             determining total payments for purposes                 final outlier threshold.                              related prospective payment rate
                                             of all of the budget neutrality factors                    Due to the correction of the                       update, due to the recalculation of the
                                             and the final outlier threshold. As a                   combination of errors listed previously               GAFs, we have made conforming
                                             result, the revisions made to address                   (revisions to Factor 3 of the                         corrections to the increase in the capital
                                             these technical errors regarding the                    uncompensated care payment                            Federal rate, the GAF/DRG budget
                                             calculation of Factor 3 directly affected               methodology, the correction to the final              neutrality adjustment factors, the capital
                                             the calculation of total payments and                   FY 2019 IPPS wage index data adjusted                 Federal rate, and the outlier threshold
                                             required the recalculation of all the                   for occupational mix and the correction               (as discussed previously), along with
                                             budget neutrality factors and the final                 to the geographic reclassification status             certain statistical figures (for example,
                                             outlier threshold.                                      of four hospitals), we recalculated all               percent change) in the accompanying
                                                Because of the errors related to the                 IPPS budget neutrality adjustment                     discussions. Also, as a result of these
                                             wage data for the three hospitals (CCNs                                                                       errors we have made conforming
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                                                                                                     factors, the fixed-loss cost threshold, the
                                             010001, 060016 and 100044) as                           final wage indexes (and GAFs), and the                corrections in the tables showing the
                                             discussed in section II.A. of this                      national operating standardized                       comparison of factors and adjustments
                                             correcting document, we recalculated                    amounts and capital Federal rate. (We                 for the FY 2018 capital Federal rate and
                                             the FY 2019 national average hourly                     note there was no change to the rural                 FY 2019 capital Federal rate and the
                                             wages unadjusted for occupational mix                   community hospital demonstration                      proposed FY 2019 capital Federal rate
                                             and adjusted for occupational mix                       program budget neutrality adjustment or               and final FY 2019 capital Federal rate.


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                                                              Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 192 / Wednesday, October 3, 2018 / Rules and Regulations                                       49839

                                                On pages 41730 through 41731,                           In particular, we made changes to the              text. We are also correcting the
                                             41733, 41736 and 41737, due to                          following tables:                                     inadvertent mislabeling of the Pacific
                                             corrections in the LTCH PPS wage index                     • On pages 41744 through 41746, the                and Mountain rows in that table.
                                             discussed previously, we are making                     table titled ‘‘Table I—Impact Analysis of
                                                                                                     Changes to the IPPS for Operating Costs               D. Summary of Errors in and
                                             conforming corrections to the following:
                                                • The area wage level adjustment                     for FY 2019’’.                                        Corrections to Files and Tables Posted
                                             budget neutrality factor.                                  • On pages 41748 through 41749, the                on the CMS Website
                                                • The fixed-loss amount for FY 2019                  table titled ‘‘FY 2019 IPPS Estimated                    We are correcting the errors in the
                                             LTCH PPS standard Federal payment                       Payments Due To Rural Floor With                      following IPPS tables that are listed on
                                             rate discharges and the high-cost outlier               National Budget Neutrality’’.                         pages 41739 through 41740 of the FY
                                             (HCO) threshold.                                           • On pages 41750 through 41751, the                2019 IPPS/LTCH PPS final rule and are
                                                • The budget neutrality adjustment                   table titled ‘‘Table II—Impact Analysis               available on the internet on the CMS
                                             factor for the cost of the elimination of               of Changes for FY 2019 Acute Care                     website at https://www.cms.gov/
                                             the 25-percent threshold policy for FY                  Hospital Operating Prospective Payment                Medicare/Medicare-Fee-for-Service-
                                             2019 and the FY 2019 LTCH PPS                           System [Payments per discharge]’’.                    Payment/AcuteInpatientPPS/FY2019-
                                             standard Federal payment rate.                             • On pages 41764 through 41765, the                IPPS-Final-Rule-Home-Page.html. The
                                                • The fixed-loss amount for FY 2019                  table titled ‘‘Table III—Comparison of                tables that are available on the internet
                                             site neutral payment rate discharges and                Total Payments per Case [FY 2018                      have been updated to reflect the
                                             the high-cost outlier (HCO) threshold                   payments compared to FY 2019                          revisions discussed in this correcting
                                             (based on the corrections to the IPPS                   payments]’’.                                          document.
                                             fixed-loss amount discussed                                On pages 41753 through 41755, we
                                                                                                     are correcting the discussion of the                     Table 2—Case-Mix Index and Wage
                                             previously).
                                                On pages 41738 and 41739, we are                     ‘‘Effects of the Changes to Medicare                  Index Table by CCN–FY 2019. The wage
                                             making conforming corrections to the                    DSH and Uncompensated Care                            data errors (as discussed in section II.A.
                                             figures used in the example of                          Payments for FY 2019’’ for purposes of                of this correcting document) related to
                                             computing the adjusted LTCH PPS                         the Regulatory Impact Analysis in                     the three hospitals (CCNs 010001,
                                             Federal prospective payment for FY                      Appendix A of the FY 2019 IPPS/LTCH                   060016, and 100044) required the
                                             2019.                                                   PPS final rule, including the table titled            recalculation of the FY 2019 national
                                                On pages 41740 and 41741, we are                     ‘‘MODELED UNCOMPENSATED CARE                          average hourly wages unadjusted for
                                             making conforming corrections to the                    PAYMENTS FOR ESTIMATED FY 2019                        occupational mix and adjusted for
                                             following:                                              DSHs BY HOSPITAL TYPE: MODEL                          occupational mix which resulted in
                                                • National adjusted operating                        UCP $ (IN MILLIONS) * FROM FY 2018                    recalculating the FY 2019 wage indexes.
                                             standardized amounts and capital                        to FY 2019’’ on pages 41753 and 41754,                Additionally, for the four providers
                                             standard Federal payment rate (which                    in light of the corrections discussed in              (CCNs 050025, 050573, 120001, and
                                             also include the rates payable to                       section II.D. of this correcting                      120002) for which we are applying
                                             hospitals located in Puerto Rico) in                    document.                                             urban to rural reclassification under
                                             Tables 1A, 1B, 1C, and 1D as a result of                   On page 41756, in our discussion of                § 412.103 (as discussed in section II.B.
                                             the conforming corrections to certain                   the effects of changes under the FY 2019              of this correcting document), we are
                                             budget neutrality factors and the outlier               Hospital Value-Based Purchasing (VBP)                 correcting the values where applicable
                                             threshold (as described previously). We                 Program that appears in Appendix A,                   in the columns titled ‘‘FY 2019 Wage
                                             are also correcting a typographical error               we are correcting an inadvertent                      Index’’, ‘‘Reclassified/Redesignated
                                             in the update factor presented in the                   reference to the word ‘‘proposed’’ in the             CBSA’’, ‘‘Hospital Reclassified as Rural
                                             column heading for a hospital that                      heading for section I.H.6.a in the first              Under Section 1886(d)(8)(E) of the Act
                                             submitted quality data and is a                         column at the bottom of the page and in               (§ 412.103)’’ and ‘‘Dual Status 412.103
                                             meaningful EHR user.                                    line 1 of the last paragraph of the second            and MGCRB/LUGAR’’. Also, the
                                                • LTCH PPS standard Federal                          column at the bottom of the page.                     revisions to Factor 3 of the
                                             payment rate in Table 1E as a result of                    On pages 41758 through 41759, in                   uncompensated care payment
                                             the correction to the LTCH PPS wage                     table entitled ‘‘Estimated Proportion of              methodology and recalculation of the
                                             index values (as discussed previously).                 Hospitals in the Worst-Performing                     FY 2019 wage index necessitated the
                                                                                                     Quartile (>75th Percentile) of the Total              recalculation of the rural floor budget
                                             C. Summary of Errors in the Appendices                                                                        neutrality factor (as discussed in section
                                                                                                     HAC Scores for the FY 2019 HAC
                                                On pages 41742, 41744 through                        Reduction Program’’, we inadvertently                 II.B. of this correcting document).
                                             41751, and 41763 through 41765 in our                   included incorrect data.                              Therefore, we are correcting the values
                                             regulatory impact analyses, we made                        On pages 41766 and 41768 through                   in the column titled ‘‘FY 2019 Wage
                                             conforming corrections to the factors,                  41769, we made conforming corrections                 Index’’ for all hospitals. Additionally,
                                             values, and tables and accompanying                     to the LTCH PPS area wage level budget                for the two hospitals (CCNs 010001 and
                                             discussion of the changes in operating                  neutrality factor, the budget neutrality              100044) for which we inadvertently
                                             and capital IPPS payments for FY 2019                   adjustment factor for the cost of the                 used the incorrect wage and
                                             and the effects of certain IPPS budget                  elimination of the 25-percent threshold               occupational mix data (as discussed in
                                             neutrality factors as a result of the                   policy for FY 2019, and the LTCH PPS                  section II.A. of this correcting
                                             technical errors that lead to conforming                standard Federal payment rate as                      document), we are correcting the
                                             changes in our calculation of the                       described in section II.B. of this                    average hourly wages in the columns
                                             operating and capital IPPS budget                                                                             titled ‘‘Average Hourly Wage FY 2019’’
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                                                                                                     correcting document.
                                             neutrality factors, outlier threshold,                     On pages 41768 through 41770, we                   and ‘‘3-Year Average Hourly Wage
                                             final wage indexes, operating                           are making conforming corrections to                  (2017, 2018, 2019)’’. Furthermore, we
                                             standardized amounts, and capital                       ‘‘Table IV—Impact of Payment Rate and                 are deleting provider 060016 from the
                                             Federal rate (as described in sections                  Policy Changes to LTCH PPS Payments                   wage index and Table 2 since it is a
                                             II.A. and II.B. of this correcting                      for Standard Payment Rate Cases for FY                CAH (as discussed in section II.A. of
                                             document).                                              2019’’ and the corresponding summary                  this correcting document).


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                                             49840            Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 192 / Wednesday, October 3, 2018 / Rules and Regulations

                                                Table 3.—Wage Index Table by                         the reclassification errors discussed in              hospital receives per discharge. We also
                                             CBSA—FY 2019. The correction of the                     section II.B. of this correcting document             corrected the per discharge interim
                                             wage data errors (as discussed in section               necessitated the recalculation of the                 uncompensated care payment for all
                                             II.A. of this correcting document)                      rural floor budget neutrality factor (as              hospitals to reflect the 2017 discharges
                                             related to the three hospitals (CCNs                    discussed in section II.B. of this                    as shown on the FY 2019 IPPS Impact
                                             010001, 060016, and 100044) required                    correcting document). Also, we are                    File. We also corrected the per discharge
                                             the recalculation of the FY 2019                        making changes to reflect the                         interim uncompensated care payment
                                             national average hourly wage adjusted                   application of urban to rural                         calculated for a merged hospital to
                                             for occupational mix which resulted in                  reclassification under § 412.103 for the              reflect the discharges for the subsumed
                                             recalculating the FY 2019 wage indexes.                 four providers (CCNs 050025, 050573,                  hospital. Per discharge uncompensated
                                             Also, the revisions to Factor 3 of the                  120001 and 120002), as discussed in                   care payments are included when
                                             uncompensated care payment                              section II.B. of this correcting document.            determining total payments for purposes
                                             methodology, recalculation of the FY                    Therefore, we are making corresponding                of all of the budget neutrality factors
                                             2019 wage index, and correction of the                  changes to the eligible counties and out              and the final outlier threshold. As a
                                             reclassification errors discussed in                    migration values listed in Table 4.                   result, these corrections to the
                                             section II.B. of this correcting document               Specifically, we are correcting the list of           uncompensated care payments
                                             necessitated the recalculation of the                   counties and values in the columns                    impacted the calculation of all the
                                             rural floor budget neutrality factor (as                titled ‘‘FIPS County Code’’, ‘‘County                 budget neutrality factors as well as the
                                             discussed in section II.B. of this                      Name’’, ‘‘State’’, ‘‘State Code’’, ‘‘Fiscal           outlier fixed-loss cost threshold. These
                                             correcting document). Therefore, we are                 Year Begin of Adjustment’’ and ‘‘FY                   corrections will be reflected in Table 18
                                             making corresponding changes to the                     2019 Out Migration’’.                                 and the Medicare DSH Supplemental
                                             wage indexes and GAFs of all CBSAs                         Table 18.—FY 2019 Medicare DSH                     Data File. In section IV.C. of this
                                             listed in Table 3. Specifically, we are                 Uncompensated Care Payment Factor 3.                  correcting document, we have made
                                             correcting the values and flags in the                  We are correcting this table to reflect               corresponding revisions to the
                                             columns titled ‘‘Wage Index’’,                          revisions to the Factor 3 calculations for            discussion of the ‘‘Effects of the Changes
                                             ‘‘Reclassified Wage Index’’, ‘‘GAF’’,                   purposes of determining                               to Medicare DSH and Uncompensated
                                             ‘‘Reclassified GAF’’, ‘‘Pre-Frontier and/               uncompensated care payments for the                   Care Payments for FY 2019’’ for
                                             or Pre-Rural Floor Wage Index’’ and                     FY 2019 IPPS/LTCH PPS final rule for                  purposes of the Regulatory Impact
                                             ‘‘Eligible for Rural Floor Wage Index’’.                the following reasons:                                Analysis in Appendix A of the FY 2019
                                             Also, we are making changes to reflect                     • To reflect mergers where data for                IPPS/LTCH PPS final rule to reflect the
                                             the application of urban to rural                       the merged hospital were not combined                 corrections discussed previously.
                                                                                                     with the data for the surviving hospital.                We are also correcting the errors in
                                             reclassification under § 412.103 for the
                                                                                                        • To correct the projected DSH                     the following LTCH PPS tables that are
                                             four providers (CCNs 050025, 050573,
                                                                                                     eligibility for a SCH that now has CAH                listed on 41739 through 41740 of the FY
                                             120001 and 120002) discussed in                         status, and therefore is no longer
                                             section II.B. of this correcting document.                                                                    2019 IPPS/LTCH PPS final rule and are
                                                                                                     included in Table 18.                                 available on the internet on the CMS
                                             Specifically, we are correcting the                        • To correct a provider’s Factor 3 that
                                             values and flags in the columns titled                                                                        website at https://www.cms.gov/
                                                                                                     was inadvertently calculated using the                Medicare/Medicare-Fee-for-Service-
                                             ‘‘Wage Index’’, ‘‘Reclassified Wage                     methodology for all-inclusive rate                    Payment/LongTermCareHospitalPPS/
                                             Index’’, ‘‘GAF’’, ‘‘Reclassified GAF’’,                 providers.                                            index.html under the list item for
                                             ‘‘Pre-Frontier and/or Pre-Rural Floor                      • To correct the Factor 3s that were               regulation number CMS–1694–F. The
                                             Wage Index’’ and ‘‘Eligible for Rural                   computed for hospitals whose FY 2014                  tables that are available on the internet
                                             Floor Wage Index’’. Additionally, for the               or FY 2015 cost report in the June 2018               have been updated to reflect the
                                             3 CBSAs (06, 20020, and 38940) where                    extract of Healthcare Cost Report                     revisions discussed in this correcting
                                             the three hospitals (CCNs 010001,                       Information System (HCRIS)                            document.
                                             060016, and 100044) for which there                     inadvertently omitted amended                            Table 11.—MS–LTC–DRGs, Relative
                                             were wage data errors are located (as                   uncompensated care cost data that had                 Weights, Geometric Average Length of
                                             discussed in section II.A. of this                      been reported by the hospital on an                   Stay, Short-Stay Outlier (SSO)
                                             correcting document), we are correcting                 amended Worksheet S–10 in a timely                    Threshold for Discharges Occurring
                                             the average hourly wages in the                         manner per Change Request (CR) 10378                  from October 1, 2018 through
                                             columns titled ‘‘FY 2019 Average                        issued on December 1, 2017, or where                  September 30, 2019 under the LTCH
                                             Hourly Wage’’ and ‘‘3-Year Average                      the FY 2014 or FY 2015 cost report for                PPS. We are correcting this table to
                                             Hourly Wage (2017, 2018, 2019)’’.                       a DSH eligible hospital had                           reflect the revisions to the MS–LTC–
                                                Table 4.—List of Counties Eligible for               inadvertently been uploaded into HCRIS                DRG relative weights, geometric average
                                             the Out-Migration Adjustment under                      without making the calculation                        length-of-stay, and short-stay outlier
                                             Section 1886(d)(13) of the Act—FY                       modifications described in Transmittal                threshold due to the inadvertent
                                             2019. The correction of the wage data                   11, and to reflect the cost-to-charge ratio           inclusion of an all-inclusive rate
                                             errors related to the three hospitals                   (CCR) trim changes resulting from the                 provider as discussed in section II.A. of
                                             (CCNs 010001, 060016, and 100044), as                   inclusion of the inadvertently omitted                this correcting document.
                                             discussed in section II.A. of this                      data.                                                    Table 12A.—LTCH PPS Wage Index
                                             correcting document, required the                          We are revising Factor 3 for all                   for Urban Areas for Discharges
                                             recalculation of the FY 2019 national                   hospitals to correct these errors. We are             Occurring from October 1, 2018 through
                                             average hourly wage adjusted for                        also revising the amount of the total
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                                                                                                                                                           September 30, 2019. We are correcting
                                             occupational mix which resulted in                      uncompensated care payment                            this table to reflect the revisions to the
                                             recalculating the FY 2019 wage indexes.                 calculated for each DSH-eligible                      LTCH PPS wage index values discussed
                                             Also, the revisions to Factor 3 of the                  hospital. The total uncompensated care                in section II.A. of this correcting
                                             uncompensated care payment                              payment that a hospital receives is used              document.
                                             methodology, recalculation of the FY                    to calculate the amount of the interim                   Table 12B.—LTCH PPS Wage Index
                                             2019 wage indexes, and correction of                    uncompensated care payments the                       for Rural Areas for Discharges Occurring


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                                                              Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 192 / Wednesday, October 3, 2018 / Rules and Regulations                                        49841

                                             from October 1, 2018 through                               In addition, even if this were a rule to              5. On page 41236, lower half of the
                                             September 30, 2019. We are correcting                   which the notice and comment                          page, third column, first partial
                                             this table to reflect the revisions to the              procedures and delayed effective date                 paragraph, line 2, the phrase ‘‘primary
                                             LTCH PPS wage index values discussed                    requirements applied, we find that there              diagnosis’’ is corrected to read
                                             in section II.A. of this correcting                     is good cause to waive such                           ‘‘principal diagnosis’’.
                                             document.                                               requirements. Undertaking further                        6. On page 41254, lower two-thirds of
                                                                                                     notice and comment procedures to                      the page, first column, partial
                                             III. Waiver of Proposed Rulemaking,                                                                           paragraph, lines 12 through 17, the
                                                                                                     incorporate the corrections in this
                                             60-Day Comment Period, and Delay in                                                                           phrase ‘‘MS–DRGs 163, 164, and 165
                                                                                                     document into the final rule or delaying
                                             Effective Date                                                                                                (Major Chest Procedures with MCC,
                                                                                                     the effective date would be contrary to
                                                Under 5 U.S.C. 553(b) of the                         the public interest because it is in the              with CC, and without CC/MCC,
                                             Administrative Procedure Act (APA),                     public’s interest for providers to receive            respectively) in MDC 4 (Diseases and
                                             the agency is required to publish a                     appropriate payments in as timely a                   Disorders of the Respiratory System);’’
                                             notice of the proposed rulemaking in                    manner as possible, and to ensure that                to read ‘‘MS–DRGs 163, 164, and 165
                                             the Federal Register before the                         the FY 2019 IPPS/LTCH PPS final rule                  (Major Chest Procedures with MCC,
                                             provisions of a rule take effect.                       accurately reflects our methodologies                 with CC, and without CC/MCC,
                                             Similarly, section 1871(b)(1) of the Act                and policies. Furthermore, such                       respectively) and MS–DRGs 166, 167,
                                             requires the Secretary to provide for                   procedures would be unnecessary, as                   and 168 (Other Respiratory System O.R.
                                             notice of the proposed rulemaking in                    we are not making substantive changes                 Procedures with MCC, with CC, and
                                             the Federal Register and provide a                      to our methodologies or policies, but                 without CC/MCC, respectively) in MDC
                                             period of not less than 60 days for                     rather, we are simply implementing                    4 (Diseases and Disorders of the
                                             public comment. In addition, section                    correctly the methodologies and policies              Respiratory System);’’.
                                             553(d) of the APA, and section                          that we previously proposed, requested                   7. On page 41299, second column,
                                             1871(e)(1)(B)(i) of the Act mandate a 30-               comment on, and subsequently                          first partial paragraph, lines 2 through 7,
                                             day delay in effective date after issuance              finalized. This correcting document is                the sentence ‘‘Cases involving
                                                                                                     intended solely to ensure that the FY                 KYMRIAH and YESCARTA that are
                                             or publication of a rule. Sections
                                                                                                     2019 IPPS/LTCH PPS final rule                         eligible for new technology add-on
                                             553(b)(B) and 553(d)(3) of the APA
                                                                                                     accurately reflects these methodologies               payments will be identified by ICD–10–
                                             provide for exceptions from the notice
                                                                                                     and policies. Therefore, we believe we                PCS procedure codes XW033C3 and
                                             and comment and delay in effective date
                                                                                                     have good cause to waive the notice and               XW043C3.’’ is corrected to read ‘‘Cases
                                             APA requirements; in cases in which
                                                                                                     comment and effective date                            involving KYMRIAH and YESCARTA
                                             these exceptions apply, sections
                                                                                                                                                           that are eligible for new technology add-
                                             1871(b)(2)(C) and 1871(e)(1)(B)(ii) of the              requirements.
                                                                                                                                                           on payments will be identified by either
                                             Act provide exceptions from the notice                  IV. Correction of Errors                              of the following ICD–10–PCS procedure
                                             and 60-day comment period and delay
                                                                                                       In FR Rule Doc. 2018–16766 of                       codes: XW033C3 (Introduction of
                                             in effective date requirements of the Act
                                                                                                     August 17, 2018 (83 FR 41144), we are                 engineered autologous chimeric antigen
                                             as well. Section 553(b)(B) of the APA
                                                                                                     making the following corrections:                     receptor T-cell immunotherapy into
                                             and section 1871(b)(2)(C) of the Act
                                                                                                                                                           peripheral vein, percutaneous approach,
                                             authorize an agency to dispense with                    A. Corrections of Errors in the Preamble              new technology group 3) or XW043C3
                                             normal rulemaking requirements for
                                                                                                        1. On page 41144, third column, sixth              (Introduction of engineered autologous
                                             good cause if the agency makes a
                                                                                                     and seventh full paragraph, the contact               chimeric antigen receptor T-cell
                                             finding that the notice and comment
                                                                                                     information ‘‘Elizabeth Holland, (410)                immunotherapy into central vein,
                                             process are impracticable, unnecessary,
                                                                                                     786–1309, Promoting Interoperability                  percutaneous approach, new technology
                                             or contrary to the public interest. In
                                                                                                     Programs. Clinical Quality Measure                    group 3).’’
                                             addition, both section 553(d)(3) of the                                                                          8. On page 41311, second column,
                                                                                                     Related Issues. Kathleen Johnson, (410)
                                             APA and section 1871(e)(1)(B)(ii) of the                                                                      first partial paragraph, lines 46 through
                                                                                                     786–3295 and Steven Johnson (410)
                                             Act allow the agency to avoid the 30-                                                                         51, the phrase ‘‘FY 2019 cases involving
                                                                                                     786–3332, Promoting Interoperability
                                             day delay in effective date where such                                                                        the use of VABOMERETM that are
                                                                                                     Programs Nonclinical Quality Measure
                                             delay is contrary to the public interest                                                                      eligible for the FY 2019 new technology
                                                                                                     Related Issues.’’ is corrected to read
                                             and an agency includes a statement of                                                                         add-on payments will be identified by
                                                                                                     ‘‘Jessica Wright, (410) 786–3838,
                                             support.                                                                                                      the NDC of 65293–009–01
                                                                                                     Medicare Promoting Interoperability
                                                We believe that this correcting                      Program’’.                                            (VABOMERETM Meropenem-
                                             document does not constitute a rule that                   2. On page 41151, second column,                   Vaborbactam Vial).’’ is corrected to read
                                             would be subject to the notice and                      second bulleted paragraph,                            ‘‘FY 2019 cases involving the use of
                                             comment or delayed effective date                          a. Line 13, the figure ‘‘2,610’’ is                VABOMERETM that are eligible for the
                                             requirements. The document corrects                     corrected to read ‘‘2,599’’.                          FY 2019 new technology add-on
                                             technical and typographical errors in                      b. Line 19, the figure ‘‘$566’’ is                 payments will be identified by the NDC
                                             the preamble, addendum, payment                         corrected to read ‘‘$550’’.                           of 65293–0009–01 (VABOMERETM
                                             rates, tables, and appendices included                     3. On page 41200, between the                      Meropenem-Vaborbactam Vial).’’
                                             or referenced in the FY 2019 IPPS/LTCH                  untitled tables, first column, first full                9. On page 41313, first column, first
                                             PPS final rule, but does not make                       paragraph, line 27, the phrase ‘‘primary              partial paragraph, line 8, the phrase
                                             substantive changes to the policies or                  and secondary diagnoses’’ is corrected                ‘‘primary diagnosis’’ is corrected to read
                                             payment methodologies that were
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                                                                                                     to read ‘‘principal and secondary                     ‘‘principal diagnosis’’.
                                             adopted in the final rule. As a result,                 diagnoses’’.                                             10. On page 41320, second column,
                                             this correcting document is intended to                    4. On page 41219, middle of the page,              first partial paragraph, line 15, the code
                                             ensure that the information in the FY                   third column, partial paragraph, line 13,             ‘‘05H043MZ’’ is corrected to read
                                             2019 IPPS/LTCH PPS final rule                           the phrase ‘‘primary and secondary                    ‘‘05H43MZ’’.
                                             accurately reflects the policies adopted                diagnoses’’ is corrected to read                         11. On page 41334, second column,
                                             in that document.                                       ‘‘principal and secondary diagnoses’’.                first full paragraph, lines 20 through 24,


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                                             49842                 Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 192 / Wednesday, October 3, 2018 / Rules and Regulations

                                             the sentence ‘‘Cases involving                                                  b. Line 18, the figure ‘‘11’’ is corrected                                     Occupational mix nursing            Average
                                             ZEMDRITM that are eligible for new                                           to read ‘‘12’’.                                                                        subcategory                  hourly wage
                                             technology add-on payments will be                                              c. Line 21, the figure ‘‘3’’ is corrected
                                             identified by ICD–10–PCS procedure                                           to read ‘‘4’’.                                                                National Nurse Category ......        35.03615689
                                             codes XW033G4 and XW043G4.’’ is                                                 d. Line 23, the figure ‘‘3,283’’ is
                                             corrected to read ‘‘Cases involving                                          corrected to read ‘‘3,282’’.                                                     ii. First full paragraph, line 4, the
                                             ZEMDRITM that are eligible for new                                              e. Lines 23 through 24, the figure                                         figure ‘‘$35.04005228’’ is corrected to
                                             technology add-on payments will be                                           ‘‘(3,260 + 28 ¥ 2 ¥ 3 = 3,283)’’ is                                           read ‘‘$35.03615689’’.
                                             identified by either of the following                                        corrected to read ‘‘(3,260 + 28 ¥ 2 ¥                                            19. On page 41406, second column,
                                             ICD–10–PCS procedure codes:                                                  4 = 3,282)’’.                                                                 first full paragraph, line 30, the term
                                             XW033G4 (Introduction of Plazomicin                                             16. On page 41365—                                                         ‘‘Facto’’ is corrected to read ‘‘Factor’’.
                                             anti-infective into peripheral vein,                                            a. Second column, third full                                                  20. On page 41415, third column—
                                             percutaneous approach, new technology                                        paragraph, last line, the figure                                                 a. Second full paragraph,
                                             group 4) or XW043G4 (Introduction of                                         ‘‘$42.997789358’’ is corrected to read                                           i. Line 26, the phrase ‘‘5 hospitals’’ is
                                             Plazomicin anti-infective into central                                       ‘‘$42.998002633’’.                                                            corrected to read ‘‘16 hospitals’’.
                                             vein, percutaneous approach, new                                                b. Third column, first partial                                                ii. Line 28, the figure ‘‘1.031’’ is
                                             technology group 4).’’                                                       paragraph, line 32, the figure                                                corrected to read ‘‘1.032’’.
                                                12. On page 41342, second column,                                         ‘‘$42.997789358’’ is corrected to read                                           iii. Line 30, the figure ‘‘0.93’’ is
                                             first partial paragraph, lines 3 and 4, the                                  ‘‘$42.998002633’’.                                                            corrected to read ‘‘0.929’’.
                                             phrase ‘‘identified by ICD–10–PCS                                               17. On page 41368, third column, first                                        b. Fourth full paragraph, line 10, the
                                             procedure codes XW033H4 and                                                  partial paragraph, line 21, the figure                                        phrase ‘‘14 hospitals’’ is corrected to
                                             XW043H4.’’ is corrected to read                                              ‘‘3,283’’ is corrected to read ‘‘3,282’’.                                     read ‘‘25 hospitals’’.
                                                                                                                             18. On page 41375—                                                            21. On page 41432, first column, first
                                             ‘‘identified by either of the following
                                                                                                                             a. Second column—                                                          partial paragraph, lines 2 and 3, the
                                             ICD–10–PCS procedure codes:                                                     i. First partial paragraph—
                                             XW033H4 (Introduction of synthetic                                                                                                                         phrase ‘‘FY 2018’’ is corrected to read
                                                                                                                             A. Line 2, the figure ‘‘3,283’’ is
                                             human angiotensin II into peripheral                                                                                                                       ‘‘FY 2019’’.
                                                                                                                          corrected to read ‘‘3,282’’.
                                             vein, percutaneous approach, new                                                B. Line 3, the figure ‘‘3,114’’ is                                            22. On page 41436, second column,
                                             technology group 4) or XW043H4                                               corrected to read ‘‘3,113’’.                                                  last bulleted paragraph, the sentence,
                                             (Introduction of synthetic human                                                C. Lines 6 and 7, the parenthetical                                        ‘‘March 2018 update of the FY 2017
                                             angiotensin II into central vein,                                            figures ‘‘(3,114/3,283)’’ are corrected to                                    MedPAR files to identify claims within
                                             percutaneous approach, new technology                                        read ‘‘(3,113/3,282)’’.                                                       FY 2017’’ is corrected to read ‘‘March
                                             group 4).’’                                                                     D. Last line, the figure                                                   2018 update of the FY 2017 MedPAR
                                                13. On page 41348, second column,                                         ‘‘$42.955567020’’ is corrected to read                                        file to identify claims within FY 2017
                                             first full paragraph, line 17, the figure                                    ‘‘$42.955981146’’.                                                            with discharge dates that are on or
                                             ‘‘$2,400’’ is corrected to read ‘‘$2,800’’.                                     ii. Following the first full paragraph                                     before June 30, 2017.’’
                                                14. On page 41362, first column, first                                    the untitled table is corrected to read as                                       23. On page 41446, third column,
                                             partial paragraph, lines 4 through 7, the                                    follows:                                                                      section heading ‘‘c. Removal of Ten
                                             phrase ‘‘eligible for new technology                                                                                                                       Measures From the Hospital VBP
                                             add-on payments will be identified by                                                                                  Final occupational                  Program’’ is corrected to read ‘‘c.
                                                                                                                               Final unadjusted
                                             ICD–10–PCS procedure codes XW03372                                                                                        mix adjusted                     Removal of Four Measures From the
                                                                                                                               national average
                                             and XW04372.’’ is corrected to read                                                                                     national average                   Hospital VBP Program’’.
                                                                                                                                 hourly wage                           hourly wage
                                             ‘‘eligible for new technology add-on                                                                                                                          24. On page 41452, third column,
                                             payments will be identified by either of                                           $42.998002633                          $42.955981146                    footnote paragraph (footnote 241), the
                                             the following ICD–10–PCS procedure                                                                                                                         date ‘‘(August 20, 2017)’’ is corrected to
                                             codes: XW03372 (Introduction of                                                b. Third column,                                                            read ‘‘(August 30, 2017)’’.
                                             Andexanet alfa, factor Xa inhibitor                                            i. Top of the column (before the first                                         25. On page 41469, table titled
                                             reversal agent into peripheral vein,                                         full paragraph), the untitled table is                                        ‘‘Previously Adopted and Newly
                                             percutaneous approach, new technology                                        corrected to read as follows:                                                 Displayed Performance Standards for
                                             group 2) or XW04372 (Introduction of                                                                                                                       the FY 2021 Program Year: Safety,
                                             Andexanet alfa, factor Xa inhibitor                                              Occupational mix nursing                           Average                Clinical Outcomes, and Efficiency and
                                             reversal agent into central vein,                                                     subcategory                                 hourly wage              Cost Reduction Domains’’, under
                                             percutaneous approach, new technology                                                                                                                      ‘‘Safety Domain’’, the entries in the
                                                                                                                          National RN ..........................              $41.65745883
                                             group 2).’’                                                                  National LPN and Surgical                                                     ‘‘Benchmark’’ column for the CAUTI,
                                                15. On page 41364, third column, first                                      Technician .........................                24.73751208             CLABSI, MRSA Bacteremia, and Colon
                                             partial paragraph—                                                           National Nurse Aide, Orderly,                                                 and Abdominal Hysterectomy SSI
                                                a. Line 10, the figure ‘‘3’’ is corrected                                   and Attendant ....................                  16.96596364             measures are corrected to read to three
                                             to read ‘‘4’’.                                                               National Medical Assistant ...                        18.13187187             decimal places as follows:

                                                                                                                                                                                                                               Achievement
                                                                                                                    Measure short name                                                                                                        Benchmark
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                threshold

                                                                                                                                                   Safety Domain
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                                             CAUTI ......................................................................................................................................................................             0.774          0.000
                                             CLABSI ....................................................................................................................................................................              0.687          0.000
                                             CDI ...........................................................................................................................................................................          0.748          0.067
                                             MRSA Bacteremia ...................................................................................................................................................                      0.763          0.000




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                                                                  Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 192 / Wednesday, October 3, 2018 / Rules and Regulations                                                                          49843

                                                                                                                                                                                                           Achievement
                                                                                                              Measure short name                                                                                                 Benchmark
                                                                                                                                                                                                            threshold

                                             Colon and Abdominal Hysterectomy SSI ................................................................................................................                 • 0.754           • 0.000
                                                                                                                                                                                                                   • 0.726           • 0.000



                                                26. On page 41488, first column, last                                 a. Second column, last paragraph, last                          PROGRAM MEASURES NEWLY
                                             paragraph, line 7, the phrase ‘‘HAI data’’                            line, the figure ‘‘0.990741’’ is corrected                         FINALIZED FOR REMOVAL,’’ under
                                             is corrected to read ‘‘HAI measure’’.                                 to read ‘‘0.990737’’.                                              the ‘‘Claims-Based Coordination of Care
                                                27. On page 41528, third column, last                                 b. Third column, second full                                    Measures’’, first column (Short name),
                                             paragraph, line 29, the figure                                        paragraph—                                                         the fifth entry ‘‘READM–30–PNA’’ is
                                             ‘‘0.9931052’’ is corrected to read                                       i. Line 6, the figure ‘‘0.990884’’ is                           corrected to read ‘‘READM–30–PN’’.
                                             ‘‘0.9935905’’.                                                        corrected to read ‘‘0.990878’’.                                       34. On page 41579, table titled
                                                28. On page 41529, first column, first                                ii. Lines 13, the figure ‘‘0.990884’’ is                        ‘‘MEASURES FOR THE FY 2021
                                             full paragraph, line 7, the figure                                    corrected to read ‘‘0.990878’’.                                    PAYMENT DETERMINATION,’’ under
                                             ‘‘0.9931052’’ is corrected to read                                       31. On page 41556, third column, last                           ‘‘Claims-Based Mortality Measures’’, the
                                             ‘‘0.9935905’’.                                                        bulleted paragraph, line 4, the                                    following entries are corrected by:
                                                29. On page 41536, third column—                                   parenthetical phrase (NQF # 2515) is
                                                a. First bulleted paragraph, line 2, the                           corrected to read ‘‘(NQF # 2558)’’.                                   a. Removing the inadvertently
                                             figure ‘‘0.990884’’ is corrected to read                                 32. On page 41558, second column,                               included asterisk at the end of the full
                                             ‘‘0.990878’’.                                                         last paragraph, line 7, the phrase ‘‘FYs                           measure name for MORT–30–STK; and
                                                b. Second bulleted paragraph, line 2,                              2020, 2021, and 2020’’ is corrected to                                b. Adding a row to the table to
                                             the figure ‘‘0.990741’’ is corrected to                               read ‘‘FYs 2020, 2021, and 2022’’                                  include an entry for MORT–30–CABG,
                                             read ‘‘0.990737’’.                                                       33. On page 41576, in the table titled                          which was inadvertently omitted, such
                                                30. On page 41537—                                                 ‘‘SUMMARY OF HOSPITAL IQR                                          that the table will read as follows:

                                                                                                                           Claims-Based Mortality Measures

                                             MORT–30–CABG .....................................              Hospital 30-Day, All-Cause, Risk-Standardized Mortality Rate Following Coronary                                           2558
                                                                                                               Artery Bypass Graft (CABG) Surgery.
                                             MORT–30–STK ........................................            Hospital 30-Day, All-Cause, Risk-Standardized Mortality Rate Following Acute                                               N/A
                                                                                                               Ischemic Stroke.



                                               35. On page 41579, table titled                                     ‘‘EHR-Based Clinical Process of Care                               column (NQF #), line 11, for the entry
                                             ‘‘MEASURES FOR THE FY 2021                                            Measures (that is, Electronic Clinical                             for STK–06, the NQF number ‘‘0438’’ is
                                             PAYMENT DETERMINATION,’’ under                                        Quality Measures (eCQMs))’’, third                                 corrected to read ‘‘0439’’ as follows:

                                             STK–06 .....................................................    Discharged on Statin Medication .................................................................................         0439



                                                36. On page 41579, table titled                                    Quality Measures (eCQMs))’’, second                                Prophylaxis’’ to reflect the complete
                                             ‘‘MEASURES FOR THE FY 2021                                            column (Measure Name), the last line                               measure name ‘‘Intensive Care Unit
                                             PAYMENT DETERMINATION,’’ under                                        down, the measure name for the entry                               Venous Thromboembolism
                                             ‘‘EHR-Based Clinical Process of Care                                  for VTE–2 is corrected from ‘‘Intensive                            Prophylaxis.’’
                                             Measures (that is, Electronic Clinical                                Care Unit Thromboembolism

                                             VTE–2 .......................................................   Intensive Care Unit Venous Thromboembolism Prophylaxis ......................................                             0372



                                                37. On page 41599, third column,                                   read ‘‘2018 eCQM specifications update                                b. Second column, second full
                                                a. Third full paragraph, lines 4 and 5,                            (published in May 2018)’’.                                         paragraph, line 11, the figure
                                             the phrase ‘‘disparity measures’’ is                                  B. Correction of Errors in the Addendum                            ‘‘0.985932’’ is corrected to read
                                             corrected to read ‘‘disparity methods’’.                                                                                                 ‘‘0.985335’’.
                                                                                                                      1. On page 41715, third column,
                                                b. Last paragraph, line 9, the phrase                              fourth full paragraph, lines 3 and 8, the                             c. Third column, second full
                                             ‘‘disparity measures’’ is corrected to                                figure ‘‘0.997192’’ is corrected to read                           paragraph, line 3, the figure ‘‘0.993142’’
                                             read ‘‘disparity methods’’.                                           ‘‘0.997190’’.                                                      is corrected to read ‘‘0.993911’’.
                                                38. On page 41672, first column,                                      2. On page 41716—                                                  3. On page 41722—
                                             fourth paragraph, lines 9 through 11, the                                a. First column, fourth full paragraph,
                                             phrase ‘‘Spring 2017 version of the CQM                               line 9, the figure ‘‘1.000748’’ is                                    a. Middle of the page, the untitled
                                                                                                                                                                                      table is corrected to read as follows:
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                                             electronic specifications’’ is corrected to                           corrected to read ‘‘1.000746’’.




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                                             49844                Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 192 / Wednesday, October 3, 2018 / Rules and Regulations

                                                                                                                                          Covered charges                           Cases                         Covered charges                            Cases
                                                                                                                                           (April 1, 2016,                      (April 1, 2016,                    (April 1, 2017,                       (April 1, 2017,
                                                                                 Quarter                                                      through                              through                            through                               through
                                                                                                                                          March 31, 2017)                      March 31, 2017)                    March 31, 2018)                       March 31, 2018)

                                             April–June ........................................................................          $135,512,389,540                                  2,415,120              $141,310,805,358                             2,407,887
                                             July–September ...............................................................                132,339,957,018                                  2,356,775               136,951,808,593                             2,319,109
                                             October–December ..........................................................                   138,602,493,305                                  2,413,871               141,939,083,023                             2,363,685
                                             January–March ................................................................                150,230,629,335                                  2,559,371               120,924,791,134                             1,983,155

                                                   Total ..........................................................................          556,685,469,198                                9,745,137                541,126,488,108                            9,073,836



                                                b. Bottom of the page, first column,                                       4. On page 41723, first column—                                                 v. Last line, the figure ‘‘$25,769’’ is
                                                i. First paragraph,                                                        a. Third full paragraph—                                                      corrected to read ‘‘$25,743’’.
                                                ii. Lines 5, the figures ‘‘$57,448                                         i. Line 5, the figure ‘‘$25,769’’ is                                            c. Following the sixth full paragraph,
                                             ($559,839,156,948/9,745,137)’’ are                                         corrected to read ‘‘$25,743’’.                                                   the untitled table is corrected to read as
                                             corrected to read ‘‘$57,124                                                                                                                                 follows:
                                                                                                                           ii. Line 7, the figure
                                             ($556,685,469,198/9,745,137)’’.
                                                iii. Lines 9 through 10, the figures                                    ‘‘$88,484,589,041’’ is corrected to read
                                                                                                                        ‘‘$88,485,100,546’’.                                                                                                    Operating        Capital
                                             ‘‘$59,939.96 ($543,885,328,430/                                                                                                                                                                  standardized       Federal
                                             9,073,836)’’ are corrected to read                                            iii. Line 8, the figure                                                                                              amounts           rate
                                             ‘‘$59,636 ($541,126,488,108/                                               ‘‘$4,755,375,555’’ is corrected to read
                                             9,073,836)’’.                                                              ‘‘$4,755,311,111’’.                                                              National .............                0.948999         0.949417
                                                iv. Lines 13 through 14, the figures                                       iv. Lines 12 through 13, the
                                             ‘‘4.3 percent (1.04338)’’ are corrected to                                 parenthetical phrase                                                                5. On pages 41724 through 41725, the
                                             read ‘‘4.4 percent (1.04396)’’.                                            ‘‘(($88,484,589,041/$93,239,964,596) ×                                           table titled ‘‘CHANGES FROM FY 2018
                                                v. Line 14, the figures ‘‘8.9 percent                                   100 = 5.1 percent)’’ is corrected to read                                        STANDARDIZED AMOUNTS TO THE
                                             (1.08864)’’ are corrected to read ‘‘9.0                                    ‘‘((1 ¥ ($88,485,100,546/                                                        FY 2019 STANDARDIZED AMOUNTS’’,
                                             percent (1.08986)’’.                                                       $93,240,411,657)) × 100 = 5.1 percent)’’.                                        is corrected to read as follows:
                                                                    CHANGES FROM FY 2018 STANDARDIZED AMOUNTS TO THE FY 2019 STANDARDIZED AMOUNTS
                                                                                                               Hospital submitted quality                Hospital submitted quality                  Hospital did NOT submit                    Hospital did NOT submit
                                                                                                                     data and is a                          data and is NOT a                         quality data and is a                     quality data and is NOT a
                                                                                                                meaningful EHR user                       meaningful EHR user                         meaningful EHR user                         meaningful EHR user

                                             FY 2018 Base Rate after removing:                               If Wage Index is Greater                   If Wage Index is Greater                   If Wage Index is Greater                    If Wage Index is Greater
                                                 1. FY 2018 Geographic Reclassification                         Than 1.0000:                               Than 1.0000:                               Than 1.0000:                                Than 1.0000:
                                                   Budget Neutrality (0.987985)                              Labor (68.3%): $4,059.36 ..                Labor (68.3%): $4,059.36 ..                Labor (68.3%): $4,059.36 ..                 Labor (68.3%): $4,059.36.
                                                 2. FY 2018 Operating Outlier Offset                         Nonlabor (30.4%):                          Nonlabor (30.4%):                          Nonlabor (30.4%):                           Nonlabor (30.4%):
                                                   (0.948998)                                                   $1,884.07.                                 $1,884.07.                                 $1,884.07.                                  $1,884.07.
                                                                                                             If Wage Index is less Than                 If Wage Index is less Than                 If Wage Index is less Than                  If Wage Index is less Than
                                                                                                                or Equal to 1.0000:                        or Equal to 1.0000:                        or Equal to 1.0000:                         or Equal to 1.0000:
                                                                                                                  Labor (62%):                               Labor (62%):                               Labor (62%):                                Labor (62%):
                                                                                                                    $3,684.92.                                 $3,684.92.                                 $3,684.92.                                  $3,684.92.
                                                                                                                  Nonlabor (38%):                            Nonlabor (38%):                            Nonlabor (38%):                             Nonlabor (38%):
                                                                                                                    $2,258.50.                                 $2,258.50.                                 $2,258.50.                                  $2,258.50.
                                             FY 2019 Update Factor ...................................       1.0135 ................................    0.99175 ..............................     1.00625 ..............................      0.9845.
                                             FY 2019 MS–DRG Recalibration Budget Neu-                        0.99719 ..............................     0.99719 ..............................     0.99719 ..............................      0.99719.
                                               trality Factor.
                                             FY 2019 Wage Index Budget Neutrality Fac-                       1.000746 ............................      1.000746 ............................      1.000746 ............................       1.000746.
                                               tor.
                                             FY 2019 Reclassification Budget Neutrality                      0.985335 ............................      0.985335 ............................      0.985335 ............................       0.985335.
                                               Factor.
                                             FY 2019 Operating Outlier Factor ...................            0.948999 ............................      0.948999 ............................      0.948999 ............................       0.948999.
                                             FY 2019 Rural Demonstration Budget Neu-                         0.999467 ............................      0.999467 ............................      0.999467 ............................       0.999467.
                                               trality Factor.
                                             Adjustment for FY 2019 Required under Sec-                      1.005 ..................................   1.005 ..................................   1.005 ..................................    1.005.
                                               tion 414 of Public Law 114–10 (MACRA).
                                             National Standardized Amount for FY 2019 if                     Labor: $3,856.27 ................          Labor: $3,773.51 ................          Labor: $3,828.68 ................           Labor: $3,745.93.
                                               Wage Index is Greater Than 1.0000; Labor/                     Nonlabor: $1,789.81 ..........             Nonlabor: $1,751.40 ..........             Nonlabor: $1,777.01 ..........              Nonlabor: $1,738.60.
                                               Non-Labor Share Percentage (68.3/31.7).
                                             National Standardized Amount for FY 2019 if                     Labor: $3,500.57 ................          Labor: $3,425.44 ................          Labor: $3,475.53 ................           Labor: $3,400.41.
                                               Wage Index is Less Than or Equal to                           Nonlabor: $2,145.51 ..........             Nonlabor: $2,099.47 ..........             Nonlabor: $2,130.16 ..........              Nonlabor: $2,084.12.
                                               1.0000; Labor/Non-Labor Share Percentage
                                               (62/38).


                                                6. On page 41727—                                                       percent’’ is corrected to read ‘‘1.20                                               b. Third full paragraph, line 14, the
                                                a. First column, second full                                            percent’’.                                                                       figure ‘‘0.9975’’ is corrected to read
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                                             paragraph, line 13, the figure                                                7. On page 41728, third column—                                               ‘‘0.9969’’.
                                                                                                                                                                                                            8. On page 41729—
                                             ‘‘0.997192’’ is corrected to read,                                            a. Second full paragraph, line 12, the                                           a. Top of the page—
                                             ‘‘0.997190’’.                                                              figure ‘‘0.9986’’ is corrected to read                                              i. First column—
                                                b. Second column, second full                                           ‘‘0.9980’’.                                                                         A. First full paragraph—
                                             paragraph, line 6, the figure ‘‘1.27                                                                                                                           1. Line 2, the figure ‘‘0.9975’’ is
                                                                                                                                                                                                         corrected to read ‘‘0.9969’’.


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                                                                  Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 192 / Wednesday, October 3, 2018 / Rules and Regulations                                                                                         49845

                                               2. Line 4, the figure ‘‘0.9986’’ is                                      2. Line 17, the figure ‘‘0.9975’’ is                                      b. Middle of page,
                                             corrected to read ‘‘0.9980’’.                                            corrected to read ‘‘0.9969’’.                                               i. The table titled ‘‘COMPARISON OF
                                               ii. Second column—                                                       3. Third column, first paragraph—                                       FACTORS AND ADJUSTMENTS: FY
                                                                                                                        a. Line 14, the figure ‘‘0.25’’ is
                                               B. First full paragraph—                                                                                                                         2018 CAPITAL FEDERAL RATE AND
                                                                                                                      corrected to read ‘‘0.31’’.
                                               1. Line 8, the figure ‘‘$459.72’’ is                                     b. Line 20, the figure ‘‘1.27’’ is                                      FY 2019 CAPITAL FEDERAL RATE’’ is
                                             corrected to read ‘‘$459.41’’.                                           corrected to read ‘‘1.20’’.                                               corrected to read as follows:

                                              COMPARISON OF FACTORS AND ADJUSTMENTS: FY 2018 CAPITAL FEDERAL RATE AND FY 2019 CAPITAL FEDERAL RATE
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                Percent
                                                                                                                                                                      FY 2018                   FY 2019                   Change                change

                                             Update Factor 1 ................................................................................................                1.0130                    1.0140                     1.014                1.40
                                             GAF/DRG Adjustment Factor 1 ........................................................................                            0.9987                    0.9969                    0.9969              ¥0.31
                                             Outlier Adjustment Factor 2 ..............................................................................                      0.9483                    0.9494                    1.0012                0.12
                                             Capital Federal Rate ........................................................................................                  $453.95                   $459.41                    1.0120              3 1.20

                                               1 The update factor and the GAF/DRG budget neutrality adjustment factors are built permanently into the capital Federal rates. Thus, for exam-
                                             ple, the incremental change from FY 2018 to FY 2019 resulting from the application of the 0.9969 GAF/DRG budget neutrality adjustment factor
                                             for FY 2019 is a net change of 0.9969 (or ¥0.31percent).
                                               2 The outlier reduction factor is not built permanently into the capital Federal rate; that is, the factor is not applied cumulatively in determining
                                             the capital Federal rate. Thus, for example, the net change resulting from the application of the FY 2019 outlier adjustment factor is 0.9494/
                                             0.9483 or 1.0012 (or 0.12 percent).
                                               3 Percent change may not sum due to rounding.




                                               ii. The table titled ‘‘COMPARISON OF                                   PROPOSED FY 2019 CAPITAL                                                  CAPITAL FEDERAL RATE’’ is corrected
                                             FACTORS AND ADJUSTMENTS:                                                 FEDERAL RATE AND FINAL FY 2019                                            to read as follows:

                                                    COMPARISON OF FACTORS AND ADJUSTMENTS: PROPOSED FY 2019 CAPITAL FEDERAL RATE AND FINAL FY 2019
                                                                                        CAPITAL FEDERAL RATE
                                                                                                                                                                   Proposed FY                                                                  Percent
                                                                                                                                                                                            Final FY 2019                 Change
                                                                                                                                                                       2019                                                                     change *

                                             Update Factor ..................................................................................................                1.0120                    1.0140                    1.0020               0.20
                                             GAF/DRG Adjustment Factor ..........................................................................                            0.9997                    0.9969                    0.9972            ¥0.28
                                             Outlier Adjustment Factor ................................................................................                      0.9494                    0.9494                    0.0000               0.00
                                             Capital Federal Rate ........................................................................................                  $459.78                   $459.41                    0.9992           ¥0.0008
                                                * Percent change may not sum due to rounding.


                                                c. Bottom of page, second column,                                     $41,415.11 × 0.9935 × 0.999215 × 0.                                          b. Third column—
                                             first partial paragraph, last line, the                                  990878)’’.                                                                   i. First partial paragraph, last line, the
                                             figure, ‘‘$25,769’’ is corrected to read                                    11. On page 41733, second column,                                      figure, ‘‘$25,769’’ is corrected to read
                                             ‘‘$25,743’’.                                                             last paragraph,                                                           ‘‘$25,743’’.
                                                9. On page 41730, third column, last                                     a. Line 6, the figure ‘‘0.999713’’ is                                     ii. Third full paragraph, line 3, the
                                             paragraph, line 21, the figure                                           corrected to read ‘‘0.999215’’.                                           figure, ‘‘$25,769’’ is corrected to read
                                             ‘‘0.999713.’’ is corrected to read                                          b. Line 11, the figure ‘‘0.999713’’ is                                 ‘‘$25,743’’.
                                             ‘‘0.999215’’.                                                            corrected to read ‘‘0.999215‘‘.                                              14. On page 41738, third column, last
                                                10. On page 41731, first column, first                                   12. On page 41736, second column—                                      paragraph, line 26, the figure
                                                                                                                         a. Third full paragraph—
                                             partial paragraph—                                                                                                                                 ‘‘$41,579.65’’ is corrected to read
                                                                                                                         i. Line 26, the figure, ‘‘$27,124’’ is
                                                a. Line 3, the figure ‘‘0.990884’’ is                                                                                                           ‘‘$41,558.68’’.
                                                                                                                      corrected to read ‘‘$27,121’’.
                                             corrected to read ‘‘0.990878’’.                                             ii. Line 32, the figure, ‘‘$27,124’’ is                                   15. On page 41739, top of page—
                                                b. Lines 10 and 11, the mathematical                                  corrected to read ‘‘$27,121’’.                                               a. Second column, second partial
                                             phrase ‘‘$41,579.65 (calculated as                                          iii. Last line, the figure, ‘‘$27,124’’ is                             paragraph, last line, the figure
                                             $41,415.11 × 1.0135 × 0.999713×                                          corrected to read ‘‘$27,121’’.                                            ‘‘$41,579.65’’ is corrected to read
                                             0.990884)’’ is corrected to read                                            b. Last partial paragraph, last line, the                              ‘‘$41,558.68’’.
                                             ‘‘$41,558.68 (calculated as $41,415.11 ×                                 figure, ‘‘$27,124’’ is corrected to read                                     b. Third column, first partial
                                             1.0135 × 0.999215 × 0. 990878)’’.                                        ‘‘$27,121’’.                                                              paragraph, line 13, the parenthetical
                                                c. Lines 18 through 20, ‘‘$40,759.12                                     13. On page 41737—                                                     figure ‘‘($41,189.62)’’ is corrected to
                                             (calculated as $41,415.11 × 0.9935 ×                                        a. Second column, last paragraph, line                                 read ‘‘($41,190.33)’’.
                                             0.999713× 0.990884)’’ is corrected to                                    8, the figure, ‘‘$25,769’’ is corrected to                                   c. Untitled table, the table is corrected
                                             read ‘‘$40,738.57 (calculated as                                         read ‘‘$25,743’’.                                                         to read as follows:
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                                             Unadjusted LTCH PPS Standard Federal Prospective Payment Rate .............................................................................................                                         $41,558.68
                                             Labor-Related Share ...........................................................................................................................................................................        × 0.660
                                             Labor-Related Portion of the LTCH PPS Standard Federal Payment Rate .....................................................................................                                         = $27,428.73
                                             Wage Index (CBSA 16974) .................................................................................................................................................................               1.0511
                                             Wage-Adjusted Labor Share of LTCH PPS Standard Federal Payment Rate ..................................................................................                                            = $28,830.34
                                             Nonlabor-Related Portion of the LTCH PPS Standard Federal Payment Rate ($41,558.68 x 0.340) ............................................                                                          + $14,129.95



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                                             49846               Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 192 / Wednesday, October 3, 2018 / Rules and Regulations

                                             Adjusted LTCH PPS Standard Federal Payment Amount ...............................................................................................................                      = $42,960.29
                                             MS–LTC–DRG 189 Relative Weight ..................................................................................................................................................          × 0.9588
                                             Total Adjusted LTCH PPS Standard Federal Prospective Payment ................................................................................................                          = $41,190.33



                                               16. On page 41740, bottom of the                                  STANDARDIZED AMOUNTS, LABOR/                                        index is greater than 1)—FY 2019]’’ is
                                             page, the table titled ‘‘TABLE 1A—                                  NONLABOR [(68.3 percent labor share/                                corrected to read as follows:
                                             NATIONAL ADJUSTED OPERATING                                         31.7 percent nonlabor share if wage

                                                                       TABLE 1A—NATIONAL ADJUSTED OPERATING STANDARDIZED AMOUNTS, LABOR/NONLABOR
                                                                              [(68.3 percent labor share/31.7 percent nonlabor share if wage index is greater than 1)—FY 2019]

                                               Hospital submitted quality data                     Hospital submitted quality data                    Hospital did NOT submit quality                  Hospital did NOT submit quality
                                                    and is a meaningful                              and is NOT a meaningful                             data and is a meaningful                      data and is NOT a meaningful
                                                         EHR user                                            EHR user                                            EHR user                                         EHR user
                                                  (update = 1.35 percent)                           (update = ¥0.825 percent)                            (update = 0.625 percent)                        (update = ¥1.55 percent)

                                                    Labor                   Nonlabor                     Labor                Nonlabor                        Labor              Nonlabor                    Labor                  Nonlabor

                                                 $3,856.27                  $1,789.81                $3,773.51                $1,751.40                 $3,828.68               $1,777.01                 $3,745.93                 $1,738.60



                                              17. On page 41741—                                                 STANDARDIZED AMOUNTS, LABOR/                                        less than or equal to 1)—FY 2019]’’ is
                                              a. Top of the page—                                                NONLABOR [(62 percent labor share/38                                corrected to read as follows:
                                              i. The table titled ‘‘TABLE 1B—                                    percent nonlabor share if wage index is
                                             NATIONAL ADJUSTED OPERATING

                                                                       TABLE 1B—NATIONAL ADJUSTED OPERATING STANDARDIZED AMOUNTS, LABOR/NONLABOR
                                                                           [(62 percent labor share/38 percent nonlabor share if wage index is less than or equal to 1)—FY 2019]

                                               Hospital submitted quality data                     Hospital submitted quality data                    Hospital did NOT submit quality                  Hospital did NOT submit quality
                                                    and is a meaningful                              and is NOT a meaningful                             data and is a meaningful                      data and is NOT a meaningful
                                                         EHR user                                            EHR user                                            EHR user                                         EHR user
                                                  (update = 1.35 percent)                           (update = ¥0.825 percent)                            (update = 0.625 percent)                        (update = ¥1.55 percent)

                                                    Labor                   Nonlabor                     Labor                Nonlabor                        Labor              Nonlabor                    Labor                  Nonlabor

                                                 $3,500.57                  $2,145.51                $3,425.44                $2,099.47                 $3,475.53               $3,475.53                 $3,400.41                 $2,084.12



                                               ii. The table titled ‘‘Table 1C—                                  HOSPITALS IN PUERTO RICO,                                           share because wage index is less than or
                                             ADJUSTED OPERATING                                                  LABOR/NONLABOR [(National: 62                                       equal to 1)—FY 2019]’’ is corrected to
                                             STANDARDIZED AMOUNTS FOR                                            percent labor share/38 percent nonlabor                             read as follows:

                                                   TABLE 1C—ADJUSTED OPERATING STANDARDIZED AMOUNTS FOR HOSPITALS IN PUERTO RICO, LABOR/NONLABOR
                                                               [(National: 62 percent labor share/38 percent nonlabor share because wage index is less than or equal to 1)—FY 2019]

                                                                                                           Rates if wage index is greater than 1                                 Rates if wage index is less than or equal to 1
                                                     Standardized amount
                                                                                                            Labor                                  Nonlabor                                Labor                                 Nonlabor

                                             National 1 .....................................   Not Applicable ..................     Not Applicable ..................                           $3,500.57                            $2,145.51
                                                1 For   FY 2019, there are no CBSAs in Puerto Rico with a national wage index greater than 1.


                                               b. Middle of the page—                                                  TABLE 1D—CAPITAL STANDARD                                       ii. The table titled ‘‘Table 1E—LTCH
                                               i. The table titled ‘‘Table 1D—                                            FEDERAL PAYMENT RATE                                       PPS STANDARD FEDERAL PAYMENT
                                             CAPITAL STANDARD FEDERAL                                                                      [FY 2019]                                 RATE [FY 2019]’’ is corrected to read as
                                             PAYMENT RATE [FY 2019]’’ is                                                                                                             follows:
                                             corrected to read as follows:                                                                                            Rate

                                                                                                                 National .................................       $459.41
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                                                                    Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 192 / Wednesday, October 3, 2018 / Rules and Regulations                                                                                49847

                                                                                                  TABLE 1E—LTCH PPS STANDARD FEDERAL PAYMENT RATE
                                                                                                                                                 [FY 2019]

                                                                                                                                                                                                          Full update            Reduced update *
                                                                                                                                                                                                        (1.35 percent)           (¥0.65 Percent)

                                             Standard Federal Rate ................................................................................................................................       $41,558.68                   $40,738.57
                                               * For LTCHs that fail to submit quality reporting data for FY 2019 in accordance with the LTCH Quality Reporting Program (LTCH QRP), the
                                             annual update is reduced by 2.0 percentage points as required by section 1886(m)(5) of the Act.


                                             C. Corrections of Errors in the                                          i. Line 1, the figure ‘‘3,256’’ is                                    ‘‘TABLE I—IMPACT ANALYSIS OF
                                             Appendices                                                             corrected to read ‘‘3,255’’.                                            CHANGES TO THE IPPS FOR
                                                                                                                      ii. Line 7, the figure ‘‘1,398’’ is                                   OPERATING COSTS FOR FY 2019’’ are
                                               1. On page 41742—                                                    corrected to read ‘‘1,399’’.                                            corrected to read as follows:
                                               a. Second column, second full                                          2. On pages 41744 through 41746, the
                                             paragraph—                                                             table and table notes for the table titled
                                                                      TABLE I—IMPACT ANALYSIS OF CHANGES TO THE IPPS FOR OPERATING COSTS FOR FY 2019
                                                                                                                               FY 2019
                                                                                                                             weights and                                                            Rural floor      Application of
                                                                                                                                                  FY 2019 wage
                                                                                                      Hospital rate         DRG changes                                                                with           the frontier
                                                                                                                                                     data with              FY 2019
                                                                                   Number of          update and                 with                                                             application of      wage index         All FY 2019
                                                                                   hospitals 1                                                     application of           MGCRB
                                                                                                       adjustment           application of                                                        national rural          and             changes
                                                                                                                                                   wage budget          reclassifications
                                                                                                     under MACRA             recalibration                                                         floor budget      outmigration
                                                                                                                                                     neutrality
                                                                                                                                budget                                                               neutrality       adjustment
                                                                                                                               neutrality

                                                                                      (1) 2                 (2) 3                 (3) 4                 (4) 5                   (5) 6                 (6) 7              (7) 8

                                             All Hospitals ..................              3,255                    1.8                      0                     0                        0                    0               0.1                2.4
                                             By Geographic Location:
                                                   Urban hospitals ......                  2,483                    1.8                      0                     0                    ¥0.1                     0               0.1                2.5
                                                   Large urban areas                       1,302                    1.8                    0.1                     0                    ¥0.8                     0                 0                2.4
                                                   Other urban areas ..                    1,181                    1.8                      0                     0                     0.6                     0               0.2                2.5
                                                   Rural hospitals .......                   772                    1.5                   ¥0.3                  ¥0.1                     1.2                  ¥0.1               0.1                1.2
                                             Bed Size (Urban):
                                                   0–99 beds ..............                    644                  1.7                   ¥0.5                   0.1                    ¥0.8                   0.2               0.2                1.7
                                                   100–199 beds ........                       763                  1.8                      0                     0                    ¥0.1                   0.2               0.2                2.2
                                                   200–299 beds ........                       433                  1.8                      0                     0                     0.1                     0               0.1                2.3
                                                   300–499 beds ........                       424                  1.8                    0.1                     0                       0                  ¥0.1               0.1                2.5
                                                   500 or more beds ..                         219                  1.8                    0.1                     0                    ¥0.2                     0                 0                2.9
                                             Bed Size (Rural):
                                                   0–49 beds ..............                    305                  1.4                   ¥0.5                     0                      0.2                 ¥0.1               0.2                0.9
                                                   50–99 beds ............                     274                  1.3                   ¥0.4                     0                      0.7                 ¥0.1               0.2                1.1
                                                   100–149 beds ........                       108                  1.6                   ¥0.5                  ¥0.1                      0.9                 ¥0.1                 0                1.2
                                                   150–199 beds ........                        45                  1.7                   ¥0.1                  ¥0.2                        2                 ¥0.2               0.3                1.4
                                                   200 or more beds ..                          40                  1.7                    0.1                  ¥0.2                      2.3                 ¥0.2                 0                1.5
                                             Urban by Region:
                                                   New England ..........                      113                  1.8                    0.1                  ¥0.5                     2.7                   2.4               0.1                4.7
                                                   Middle Atlantic ........                    310                  1.8                    0.2                     0                     0.2                  ¥0.3               0.1                2.3
                                                   South Atlantic .........                    401                  1.8                      0                  ¥0.1                    ¥0.6                  ¥0.3                 0                  2
                                                   East North Central                          386                  1.8                    0.1                  ¥0.2                    ¥0.5                  ¥0.3               0.1                  2
                                                   East South Central                          147                  1.8                      0                     0                    ¥0.5                  ¥0.3                 0                2.1
                                                   West North Central                          158                  1.8                   ¥0.1                     0                    ¥0.9                  ¥0.3               0.6                2.1
                                                   West South Central                          379                  1.8                      0                   0.2                    ¥0.8                  ¥0.3                 0                2.3
                                                   Mountain ................                   164                  1.7                   ¥0.1                  ¥0.7                     0.4                   0.6               0.3                2.2
                                                   Pacific .....................               374                  1.8                   ¥0.1                   0.8                     0.1                   0.2               0.1                3.3
                                                   Puerto Rico ............                     51                  1.8                      0                  ¥1.2                    ¥1.3                   0.1               0.1                0.7
                                             Rural by Region:
                                                   New England ..........                       20                  1.5                    0.1                  ¥0.5                     1.5                  ¥0.2                 0                0.9
                                                   Middle Atlantic ........                     53                  1.5                   ¥0.2                  ¥0.1                     0.6                  ¥0.1               0.1                1.4
                                                   South Atlantic .........                    122                  1.6                   ¥0.2                  ¥0.2                     1.7                  ¥0.1               0.1                1.2
                                                   East North Central                          114                  1.5                   ¥0.3                   0.1                     0.9                  ¥0.1                 0                1.1
                                                   East South Central                          150                  1.7                   ¥0.1                  ¥0.2                     2.5                  ¥0.3               0.1                1.8
                                                   West North Central                           94                  1.3                   ¥0.5                     0                     0.1                     0               0.2                0.9
                                                   West South Central                          145                  1.5                   ¥0.3                   0.2                     1.3                  ¥0.3               0.2                1.5
                                                   Mountain ................                    51                  1.3                   ¥1.1                  ¥0.4                    ¥0.1                  ¥0.1               0.8                0.8
                                                   Pacific .....................                23                  1.4                   ¥0.4                  ¥0.2                     0.8                  ¥0.1                 0                  1
                                             By Payment Classifica-
                                                tion:
                                                   Urban hospitals ......                  2,264                    1.8                      0                     0                    ¥0.6                   0.1               0.1                2.3
                                                   Large urban areas                       1,317                    1.8                    0.1                     0                    ¥0.7                     0                 0                2.4
                                                   Other urban areas ..                      947                    1.8                      0                     0                    ¥0.4                   0.2               0.2                2.1
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                                                   Rural areas ............                  991                    1.7                   ¥0.1                     0                     2.1                  ¥0.2               0.1                2.7
                                             Teaching Status:
                                                   Nonteaching ...........                 2,156                    1.7                   ¥0.1                     0                      0.1                  0.1               0.1                2.1
                                                   Fewer than 100
                                                      residents .............                  849                  1.8                      0                     0                    ¥0.2                  ¥0.1               0.2                2.2
                                                   100 or more resi-
                                                      dents ...................                250                  1.8                    0.2                     0                      0.1                 ¥0.1                0                 3.1
                                             Urban DSH:



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                                             49848                 Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 192 / Wednesday, October 3, 2018 / Rules and Regulations

                                                         TABLE I—IMPACT ANALYSIS OF CHANGES TO THE IPPS FOR OPERATING COSTS FOR FY 2019—Continued
                                                                                                                           FY 2019
                                                                                                                         weights and                                                    Rural floor      Application of
                                                                                                                                            FY 2019 wage
                                                                                                     Hospital rate      DRG changes                                                        with           the frontier
                                                                                                                                               data with             FY 2019
                                                                                  Number of          update and              with                                                     application of      wage index       All FY 2019
                                                                                                                                             application of          MGCRB
                                                                                  hospitals 1         adjustment        application of                                                national rural          and           changes
                                                                                                                                             wage budget         reclassifications
                                                                                                    under MACRA          recalibration                                                 floor budget      outmigration
                                                                                                                                               neutrality
                                                                                                                            budget                                                       neutrality       adjustment
                                                                                                                           neutrality

                                                                                     (1) 2                (2) 3              (3) 4               (4) 5                 (5) 6              (6) 7              (7) 8

                                                  Non–DSH ...............                  520                    1.8                ¥0.3                ¥0.2                  ¥0.2               ¥0.1               0.2              2
                                                  100 or more beds ..                    1,462                    1.8                 0.1                   0                  ¥0.6                0.1               0.1            2.3
                                                  Less than 100 beds                       367                    1.7                ¥0.2                 0.3                  ¥0.6                0.2               0.1            1.9
                                             Rural DSH:
                                                  SCH ........................                255                 1.2                ¥0.6                ¥0.1                     0                  0                 0            0.7
                                                  RRC .......................                 382                 1.7                   0                 0.1                   2.4               ¥0.3               0.1            3.1
                                                  100 or more beds ..                          33                 1.8                   0                ¥0.6                   1.6               ¥0.4               0.1            2.9
                                                  Less than 100 beds                          236                 1.6                ¥0.3                   0                   0.7               ¥0.2               0.3            1.5
                                             Urban teaching and
                                               DSH:
                                                  Both teaching and
                                                     DSH ....................                 805                 1.8                 0.1                   0                  ¥0.7                  0               0.1            2.4
                                                  Teaching and no
                                                     DSH ....................                  89                 1.9                ¥0.1                ¥0.1                  ¥0.5               ¥0.1                0             2.3
                                                  No teaching and
                                                     DSH ....................            1,024                    1.8                   0                 0.1                  ¥0.4                0.3               0.1            2.2
                                                  No teaching and no
                                                     DSH ....................                 346                 1.8                ¥0.3                ¥0.2                  ¥0.6               ¥0.1               0.2            1.7
                                             Special Hospital Types:
                                                  RRC .......................                 327                 1.8                   0                 0.2                   2.7               ¥0.3               0.2            3.4
                                                  SCH ........................                311                 1.1                ¥0.5                 0.1                  ¥0.1                  0                 0            0.8
                                                  MDH .......................                 140                 1.5                ¥0.5                ¥0.1                   0.7                  0                 0            1.2
                                                  SCH and RRC .......                         134                 1.4                ¥0.2                ¥0.2                   0.3                  0               0.1            1.2
                                                  MDH and RRC .......                          16                 1.5                ¥0.4                   0                   0.8               ¥0.1                 0            1.1
                                             Type of Ownership:
                                                  Voluntary ................             1,898                    1.8                   0                   0                   0.1                  0               0.1            2.4
                                                  Proprietary ..............               856                    1.8                   0                ¥0.1                  ¥0.1                  0               0.1            2.1
                                                  Government ...........                   501                    1.7                   0                 0.2                  ¥0.2               ¥0.1                 0            2.5
                                             Medicare Utilization as a
                                               Percent of Inpatient
                                               Days:
                                                  0–25 .......................             602                    1.8                 0.1                ¥0.1                  ¥0.4               ¥0.1                 0            2.3
                                                  25–50 .....................            2,138                    1.8                   0                   0                     0                  0               0.1            2.5
                                                  50–65 .....................              421                    1.7                ¥0.2                ¥0.1                   0.5                0.3               0.1            1.7
                                                  Over 65 ..................                73                    1.1                 0.5                ¥0.1                  ¥0.4               ¥0.2               0.1            2.5
                                             FY 2019 Reclassifica-
                                               tions by the Medicare
                                               Geographic Classifica-
                                               tion Review Board:
                                                  All Reclassified
                                                     Hospitals .............                  859                 1.8                   0                 0.1                   2.4               ¥0.3                0             2.8
                                                  Non-Reclassified
                                                     Hospitals .............             2,396                    1.8                   0                   0                  ¥1.1                0.1               0.1            2.2
                                                  Urban Hospitals Re-
                                                     classified .............                 588                 1.8                   0                 0.1                   2.5               ¥0.3                0             3.1
                                                  Urban Non-reclassi-
                                                     fied Hospitals ......               1,835                    1.8                   0                   0                  ¥1.2                0.1               0.1            2.3
                                                  Rural Hospitals Re-
                                                     classified Full
                                                     Year ....................                271                 1.5                ¥0.2                ¥0.1                   2.1               ¥0.2               0.1            1.5
                                                  Rural Non-reclassi-
                                                     fied Hospitals Full
                                                     Year ....................                454                 1.4                ¥0.5                ¥0.1                  ¥0.4               ¥0.1               0.2            0.8
                                                  All Section 401 Re-
                                                     classified Hos-
                                                     pitals ...................               266                 1.7                   0                 0.1                   2.5               ¥0.3               0.1            3.4
                                                  Other Reclassified
                                                     Hospitals (Section
                                                     1886(d)(8)(B)) .....                      47                 1.7                ¥0.2                ¥0.1                   2.8               ¥0.3                0             1.5
                                               1 Because    data necessary to classify some hospitals by category were missing, the total number of hospitals in each category may not equal the national total. Dis-
                                             charge data are from FY 2017, and hospital cost report data are from reporting periods beginning in FY 2016 and FY 2015.
                                                2 This column displays the payment impact of the hospital rate update and other adjustments, including the 1.35 percent adjustment to the national standardized
                                             amount and the hospital-specific rate (the estimated 2.9 percent market basket update reduced by 0.8 percentage point for the multifactor productivity adjustment and
                                             the 0.75 percentage point reduction under the Affordable Care Act), and the 0.5 percent adjustment to the national standardized amount required under section 414
                                             of the MACRA.
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                                                3 This column displays the payment impact of the changes to the Version 36 GROUPER, the changes to the relative weights and the recalibration of the MS–DRG
                                             weights based on FY 2017 MedPAR data in accordance with section 1886(d)(4)(C)(iii) of the Act. This column displays the application of the recalibration budget neu-
                                             trality factor of 0.997190 in accordance with section 1886(d)(4)(C)(iii) of the Act.
                                                4 This column displays the payment impact of the update to wage index data using FY 2015 cost report data and the OMB labor market area delineations based on
                                             2010 Decennial Census data. This column displays the payment impact of the application of the wage budget neutrality factor, which is calculated separately from the
                                             recalibration budget neutrality factor, and is calculated in accordance with section 1886(d)(3)(E)(i) of the Act. The wage budget neutrality factor is 1.000746.
                                                5 Shown here are the effects of geographic reclassifications by the Medicare Geographic Classification Review Board (MGCRB). The effects demonstrate the FY
                                             2019 payment impact of going from no reclassifications to the reclassifications scheduled to be in effect for FY 2019. Reclassification for prior years has no bearing
                                             on the payment impacts shown here. This column reflects the geographic budget neutrality factor of 0.985335.



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                                                                   Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 192 / Wednesday, October 3, 2018 / Rules and Regulations                                                                           49849
                                               6 This column displays the effects of the rural floor and expiration of the imputed floor. The Affordable Care Act requires the rural floor budget neutrality adjustment
                                             to be 100 percent national level adjustment. The rural floor budget neutrality factor applied to the wage index is 0.993911.
                                               7 This column shows the combined impact of the policy required under section 10324 of the Affordable Care Act that hospitals located in frontier States have a
                                             wage index no less than 1.0 and of section 1886(d)(13) of the Act, as added by section 505 of Public Law 108–173, which provides for an increase in a hospital’s
                                             wage index if a threshold percentage of residents of the county where the hospital is located commute to work at hospitals in counties with higher wage indexes.
                                             These are not budget neutral policies.
                                               8 This column shows the estimated change in payments from FY 2018 to FY 2019.




                                                3. On page 41746, lower half of page,                                       ii. Line 11, ‘‘which will experience no                           ii. Line 5, the figure ‘‘0.993142’’ is
                                             second column, third paragraph, line 6,                                      change’’ is corrected to read, ‘‘which                           corrected to read ‘‘0.993911’’.
                                             the figure ‘‘0.997192’’ is corrected to                                      will experience a 0.1 percent decrease’’.                           iii. Line 7, the figure ‘‘0.2’’ is
                                             read ‘‘0.997190’’.                                                             5. On page 41748, top of page—                                 corrected to read ‘‘0.1’’.
                                                4. On page 41747—                                                           a. First column, second full                                      iv. Line 22, the figure ‘‘2.5’’ is
                                                                                                                          paragraph—                                                       corrected to read ‘‘2.4’’.
                                                a. Top half of page, second column,
                                                                                                                            i. Line 6, the figure ‘‘0.993142’’ is                             v. Line 30, the figure ‘‘$121 million’’
                                             first partial paragraph, line 19, the figure
                                                                                                                          corrected to read ‘‘0.993911’’.                                  is corrected to read ‘‘$123 million’’.
                                             ‘‘1.000748’’ is corrected to read
                                                                                                                            ii. Line 7, the figure ‘‘0.69 percent’’ is                        6. On pages 41748 and 41749, the
                                             ‘‘1.000746’’.
                                                                                                                          corrected to read ‘‘0.61 percent’’.                              table titled ‘‘FY 2019 IPPS ESTIMATED
                                                b. Lower half of page, third column,                                        b. Second column, first full                                   PAYMENTS DUE TO RURAL FLOOR
                                             first partial paragraph—                                                     paragraph—                                                       WITH NATIONAL BUDGET
                                                i. First line, the figure ‘‘0.985932’’ is                                   i. Line 1, the figure ‘‘263’’ is corrected                     NEUTRALITY’’ is corrected to read as
                                             corrected to read ‘‘0.985335’’.                                              to read ‘‘253’’.                                                 follows:

                                                                 FY 2019 IPPS ESTIMATED PAYMENTS DUE TO RURAL FLOOR WITH NATIONAL BUDGET NEUTRALITY
                                                                                                                                                                                                                 Percent
                                                                                                                                                                                                                 change
                                                                                                                                                                                           Number of          in payments
                                                                                                                                                                        Number of        hospitals that           due to          Difference
                                                                                                    State                                                                hospitals       would receive        application of    (in $ millions)
                                                                                                                                                                                         the rural floor        rural floor
                                                                                                                                                                                                               with budget
                                                                                                                                                                                                                neutrality

                                                                                                                                                                             (1)               (2)                 (3)               (4)

                                             Alabama ...........................................................................................................                    84                 2                 ¥0.3              $¥5
                                             Alaska ..............................................................................................................                   6                 3                  0.1                 0
                                             Arizona .............................................................................................................                  56                33                  1.3                26
                                             Arkansas ..........................................................................................................                    45                 0                 ¥0.3               ¥3
                                             California ..........................................................................................................                 297                59                  0.4                42
                                             Colorado ..........................................................................................................                    45                 9                  0.7                 9
                                             Connecticut ......................................................................................................                     30                 8                  1.3                21
                                             Delaware ..........................................................................................................                     6                 0                 ¥0.3               ¥2
                                             Washington, DC ...............................................................................................                          7                 0                 ¥0.3               ¥2
                                             Florida ..............................................................................................................                168                 7                 ¥0.3              ¥20
                                             Georgia ............................................................................................................                  101                 0                 ¥0.3               ¥8
                                             Hawaii ..............................................................................................................                  12                 6                 ¥0.1                 0
                                             Idaho ................................................................................................................                 14                 0                 ¥0.3               ¥1
                                             Illinois ...............................................................................................................              125                 2                 ¥0.3              ¥14
                                             Indiana .............................................................................................................                  85                 0                 ¥0.3               ¥7
                                             Iowa .................................................................................................................                 34                 0                 ¥0.3               ¥3
                                             Kansas .............................................................................................................                   51                 0                 ¥0.2               ¥2
                                             Kentucky ..........................................................................................................                    64                 0                 ¥0.3               ¥5
                                             Louisiana ..........................................................................................................                   90                 0                 ¥0.3               ¥5
                                             Maine ...............................................................................................................                  17                 0                 ¥0.3               ¥2
                                             Massachusetts .................................................................................................                        56                29                  3.3               123
                                             Michigan ...........................................................................................................                   94                 0                 ¥0.3              ¥14
                                             Minnesota ........................................................................................................                     49                 0                 ¥0.2               ¥6
                                             Mississippi ........................................................................................................                   59                 0                 ¥0.3               ¥3
                                             Missouri ............................................................................................................                  72                 0                 ¥0.2               ¥6
                                             Montana ...........................................................................................................                    13                 1                 ¥0.2               ¥1
                                             Nebraska ..........................................................................................................                    23                 0                 ¥0.3               ¥2
                                             Nevada .............................................................................................................                   22                 3                  0.4                 3
                                             New Hampshire ...............................................................................................                          13                 8                  2.4                14
                                             New Jersey ......................................................................................................                      64                 0                 ¥0.4              ¥16
                                             New Mexico .....................................................................................................                       24                 2                 ¥0.2               ¥1
                                             New York .........................................................................................................                    149                16                 ¥0.3              ¥21
                                             North Carolina ..................................................................................................                      84                 0                 ¥0.3               ¥9
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                                             North Dakota ....................................................................................................                       6                 3                  0.4                 1
                                             Ohio .................................................................................................................                130                 7                 ¥0.3              ¥11
                                             Oklahoma .........................................................................................................                     79                 2                 ¥0.3               ¥4
                                             Oregon .............................................................................................................                   34                 1                 ¥0.2               ¥2
                                             Pennsylvania ....................................................................................................                     150                 3                 ¥0.3              ¥17
                                             Puerto Rico ......................................................................................................                     51                11                  0.1                 0
                                             Rhode Island ....................................................................................................                      11                 0                 ¥0.4               ¥1



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                                             49850                 Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 192 / Wednesday, October 3, 2018 / Rules and Regulations

                                                     FY 2019 IPPS ESTIMATED PAYMENTS DUE TO RURAL FLOOR WITH NATIONAL BUDGET NEUTRALITY—Continued
                                                                                                                                                                                                                 Percent
                                                                                                                                                                                                                 change
                                                                                                                                                                                           Number of          in payments
                                                                                                                                                                      Number of          hospitals that           due to          Difference
                                                                                                   State                                                               hospitals         would receive        application of    (in $ millions)
                                                                                                                                                                                         the rural floor        rural floor
                                                                                                                                                                                                               with budget
                                                                                                                                                                                                                neutrality

                                                                                                                                                                           (1)                 (2)                 (3)               (4)

                                             South Carolina .................................................................................................                      54                  6                 ¥0.1               ¥1
                                             South Dakota ...................................................................................................                      17                  0                 ¥0.2               ¥1
                                             Tennessee .......................................................................................................                     90                  6                 ¥0.3               ¥7
                                             Texas ...............................................................................................................                310                 13                 ¥0.3              ¥18
                                             Utah .................................................................................................................                31                  0                 ¥0.3               ¥2
                                             Vermont ...........................................................................................................                    6                  0                 ¥0.2                0
                                             Virginia .............................................................................................................                74                  1                 ¥0.2               ¥6
                                             Washington ......................................................................................................                     48                  3                 ¥0.3               ¥7
                                             West Virginia ....................................................................................................                    29                  2                 ¥0.2               ¥1
                                             Wisconsin .........................................................................................................                   66                  5                 ¥0.3               ¥5
                                             Wyoming ..........................................................................................................                    10                  2                    0                0



                                               7. On pages 41750 and 41751, the                                          ACUTE CARE HOSPITAL OPERATING                                     [Payments per discharge]’’ is corrected
                                             table titled ‘‘TABLE II—IMPACT                                              PROSPECTIVE PAYMENT SYSTEM                                        to read as follows:
                                             ANALYSIS OF CHANGES FOR FY 2019

                                                 TABLE II—IMPACT ANALYSIS OF CHANGES FOR FY 2019 ACUTE CARE HOSPITAL OPERATING PROSPECTIVE PAYMENT
                                                                                               SYSTEM
                                                                                                                                         [Payments per discharge]

                                                                                                                                                                                          Estimated            Estimated
                                                                                                                                                                                           average              average
                                                                                                                                                                      Number of            FY 2018              FY 2019           FY 2019
                                                                                                                                                                       hospitals                                                  changes
                                                                                                                                                                                         payment per          payment per
                                                                                                                                                                                          discharge            discharge

                                                                                                                                                                           (1)                 (2)                 (3)               (4)

                                             All Hospitals .....................................................................................................                 3,255           12,172              12,463                 2.4
                                             By Geographic Location:
                                                  Urban hospitals .........................................................................................                      2,483           12,508              12,819                 2.5
                                                  Large urban areas ....................................................................................                         1,302           12,986              13,302                 2.4
                                                  Other urban areas ....................................................................................                         1,181           12,049              12,355                 2.5
                                                  Rural hospitals ..........................................................................................                       772            9,193               9,307                 1.2
                                             Bed Size (Urban):
                                                  0–99 beds .................................................................................................                     644             9,945              10,113                 1.7
                                                  100–199 beds ...........................................................................................                        763            10,399              10,623                 2.2
                                                  200–299 beds ...........................................................................................                        433            11,384              11,650                 2.3
                                                  300–499 beds ...........................................................................................                        424            12,606              12,917                 2.5
                                                  500 or more beds .....................................................................................                          219            15,449              15,893                 2.9
                                             Bed Size (Rural):
                                                  0–49 beds .................................................................................................                     305             7,826               7,897                 0.9
                                                  50–99 beds ...............................................................................................                      274             8,746               8,843                 1.1
                                                  100–149 beds ...........................................................................................                        108             9,150               9,256                 1.2
                                                  150–199 beds ...........................................................................................                         45             9,667               9,805                 1.4
                                                  200 or more beds .....................................................................................                           40            10,734              10,899                 1.5
                                             Urban by Region:
                                                  New England ............................................................................................                        113            13,491              14,131                 4.7
                                                  Middle Atlantic ..........................................................................................                      310            14,099              14,429                 2.3
                                                  South Atlantic ...........................................................................................                      401            11,145              11,372                   2
                                                  East North Central ....................................................................................                         386            11,830              12,072                   2
                                                  East South Central ...................................................................................                          147            10,517              10,742                 2.1
                                                  West North Central ...................................................................................                          158            12,266              12,524                 2.1
                                                  West South Central ..................................................................................                           379            11,310              11,574                 2.3
                                                  Mountain ...................................................................................................                    164            12,938              13,218                 2.2
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                                                  Pacific .......................................................................................................                 374            15,773              16,289                 3.3
                                                  Puerto Rico ...............................................................................................                      51             9,117               9,185                 0.7
                                             Rural by Region:
                                                  New England ............................................................................................                         20            12,613              12,728                 0.9
                                                  Middle Atlantic ..........................................................................................                       53             9,137               9,265                 1.4
                                                  South Atlantic ...........................................................................................                      122             8,497               8,598                 1.2
                                                  East North Central ....................................................................................                         114             9,444               9,551                 1.1



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                                                                   Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 192 / Wednesday, October 3, 2018 / Rules and Regulations                                                                49851

                                                 TABLE II—IMPACT ANALYSIS OF CHANGES FOR FY 2019 ACUTE CARE HOSPITAL OPERATING PROSPECTIVE PAYMENT
                                                                                          SYSTEM—Continued
                                                                                                                                        [Payments per discharge]

                                                                                                                                                                                        Estimated          Estimated
                                                                                                                                                                                         average            average
                                                                                                                                                                    Number of                                            FY 2019
                                                                                                                                                                                         FY 2018            FY 2019
                                                                                                                                                                     hospitals                                           changes
                                                                                                                                                                                       payment per        payment per
                                                                                                                                                                                        discharge          discharge

                                                                                                                                                                         (1)               (2)                (3)          (4)

                                                  East South Central ...................................................................................                        150           8,142              8,285             1.8
                                                  West North Central ...................................................................................                         94          10,019             10,112             0.9
                                                  West South Central ..................................................................................                         145           7,844              7,958             1.5
                                                  Mountain ...................................................................................................                   51          11,139             11,226             0.8
                                                  Pacific .......................................................................................................                23          12,734             12,858               1
                                             By Payment Classification:
                                                  Urban hospitals .........................................................................................                    2,264         12,276             12,557             2.3
                                                  Large urban areas ....................................................................................                       1,317         12,974             13,290             2.4
                                                  Other urban areas ....................................................................................                         947         11,325             11,559             2.1
                                                  Rural areas ...............................................................................................                    991         11,833             12,155             2.7
                                             Teaching Status:
                                                  Nonteaching ..............................................................................................                   2,156         10,059             10,267             2.1
                                                  Fewer than 100 residents .........................................................................                             849         11,616             11,866             2.2
                                                  100 or more residents ..............................................................................                           250         17,680             18,220             3.1
                                             Urban DSH:
                                                  Non-DSH ..................................................................................................                     520         10,533             10,748               2
                                                  100 or more beds .....................................................................................                       1,462         12,643             12,939             2.3
                                                  Less than 100 beds ..................................................................................                          367          9,220              9,397             1.9
                                             Rural DSH:
                                                  SCH ..........................................................................................................                255          10,239             10,313             0.7
                                                  RRC ..........................................................................................................                382          12,516             12,901             3.1
                                                  100 or more beds .....................................................................................                         33          13,322             13,711             2.9
                                                  Less than 100 beds ..................................................................................                         236           7,300              7,410             1.5
                                             Urban teaching and DSH:
                                                  Both teaching and DSH ............................................................................                             805         13,783             14,112             2.4
                                                  Teaching and no DSH ..............................................................................                              89         11,402             11,664             2.3
                                                  No teaching and DSH ..............................................................................                           1,024         10,322             10,549             2.2
                                                  No teaching and no DSH .........................................................................                               346          9,951             10,125             1.7
                                             Special Hospital Types:
                                                  RRC ..........................................................................................................                327          12,440             12,863             3.4
                                                  SCH ..........................................................................................................                311          11,126             11,219             0.8
                                                  MDH ..........................................................................................................                140           7,958              8,056             1.2
                                                  SCH and RRC ..........................................................................................                        134          11,502             11,640             1.2
                                                  MDH and RRC ..........................................................................................                         16          10,039             10,149             1.1
                                             Type of Ownership:
                                                  Voluntary ...................................................................................................                1,898         12,323             12,624             2.4
                                                  Proprietary ................................................................................................                   856         10,658             10,879             2.1
                                                  Government ..............................................................................................                      501         13,378             13,708             2.5
                                             Medicare Utilization as a Percent of Inpatient Days:
                                                  0–25 ..........................................................................................................                602         14,927             15,266             2.3
                                                  25–50 ........................................................................................................               2,138         11,996             12,294             2.5
                                                  50–65 ........................................................................................................                 421          9,817              9,985             1.7
                                                  Over 65 .....................................................................................................                   73          7,271              7,450             2.5
                                             FY 2019 Reclassifications by the Medicare Geographic Classification Re-
                                               view Board:
                                                  All Reclassified Hospitals .........................................................................                           859         12,226             12,572             2.8
                                                  Non-Reclassified Hospitals .......................................................................                           2,396         12,148             12,415             2.2
                                                  Urban Hospitals Reclassified ....................................................................                              588         12,821             13,212             3.1
                                                  Urban Nonreclassified Hospitals ..............................................................                               1,835         12,349             12,629             2.3
                                                  Rural Hospitals Reclassified Full Year .....................................................                                   271          9,566              9,710             1.5
                                                  Rural Nonreclassified Hospitals Full Year ................................................                                     454          8,750              8,821             0.8
                                                  All Section 401 Reclassified Hospitals .....................................................                                   266         13,625             14,091             3.4
                                                  Other Reclassified Hospitals (Section 1886(d)(8)(B)) ..............................                                             47          8,609              8,736             1.5



                                               8. On pages 41753 through 41754 the                                      FOR ESTIMATED FY 2019 DSHs BY                                   MILLIONS) * FROM FY 2018 to FY
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                                             table titled ‘‘MODELED                                                     HOSPITAL TYPE: MODEL UCP $ (IN                                  2019’’ is corrected to read as follows:
                                             UNCOMPENSATED CARE PAYMENTS




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                                             49852                 Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 192 / Wednesday, October 3, 2018 / Rules and Regulations

                                                MODELED UNCOMPENSATED CARE PAYMENTS FOR ESTIMATED FY 2019 DSHS BY HOSPITAL TYPE: MODEL UCP $ (IN
                                                                              MILLIONS) * FROM FY 2018 TO FY 2019
                                                                                                                                                               FY 2018             FY 2019              Dollar
                                                                                                                                           Number of           final rule          final rule        difference:       Percent
                                                                                                                                           estimated        CN estimated          estimated          FY 2019–         change **
                                                                                                                                             DSHs                UCP $               UCP $            FY 2018
                                                                                                                                                             (in millions)       (in millions)      (in millions)

                                                                                                                                              (1)                  (2)               (3)                (4)               (5)

                                             Total .....................................................................................            2,447            $6,767             $8,273             $1,506               22.26
                                             By Geographic Location:
                                                 Urban Hospitals ............................................................                       1,953                6,422             7,802              1,380             21.49
                                                 Large Urban Areas .......................................................                          1,046                3,847             4,706                859             22.33
                                                 Other Urban Areas .......................................................                            907                2,575             3,096                521             20.22
                                                 Rural Hospitals .............................................................                        494                  345               471                126             36.64
                                             Bed Size (Urban):
                                                 0 to 99 Beds .................................................................                       342                  177               257                79              44.80
                                                 100 to 249 Beds ...........................................................                          860                1,519             1,903               384              25.28
                                                 250+ Beds ....................................................................                       751                4,726             5,642               916              19.39
                                                 Bed Size (Rural):.
                                                 0 to 99 Beds .................................................................                       365                 164               229                 64              39.19
                                                 100 to 249 Beds ...........................................................                          116                 146               200                 54              36.66
                                                 250+ Beds ....................................................................                        13                  34                43                  8              24.33
                                             Urban by Region:
                                                 New England ................................................................                          91                  259               279                20               7.76
                                                 Middle Atlantic ..............................................................                       244                1,004             1,058                55               5.45
                                                 South Atlantic ................................................................                      320                1,343             1,769               426              31.69
                                                 East North Central ........................................................                          323                  864             1,010               146              16.92
                                                 East South Central .......................................................                           133                  389               477                88              22.71
                                                 West North Central .......................................................                           104                  312               386                74              23.68
                                                 West South Central ......................................................                            254                  981             1,423               442              45.03
                                                 Mountain .......................................................................                     125                  313               397                84              26.78
                                                 Pacific ...........................................................................                  318                  874               899                25               2.88
                                                 Puerto Rico ...................................................................                       41                   82               102                20              24.47
                                             Rural by Region:
                                                 New England ................................................................                           9                  14                17                  3              19.24
                                                 Middle Atlantic ..............................................................                        26                  19                22                  2              12.43
                                                 South Atlantic ................................................................                       88                  79               116                 37              47.54
                                                 East North Central ........................................................                           69                  40                56                 16              41.12
                                                 East South Central .......................................................                           135                  93               106                 13              13.78
                                                 West North Central .......................................................                            29                  16                22                  6              40.28
                                                 West South Central ......................................................                            106                  66               102                 36              53.62
                                                 Mountain .......................................................................                      27                  14                26                 12              84.16
                                                 Pacific ...........................................................................                    5                   4                 5                  1              24.85
                                             By Payment Classification:
                                                 Urban Hospitals ............................................................                       1,866                5,917             7,257              1,340             22.65
                                                 Large Urban Areas .......................................................                          1,058                3,855             4,717                862             22.37
                                                 Other Urban Areas .......................................................                            808                2,062             2,540                478             23.16
                                                 Rural Hospitals .............................................................                        581                  850             1,016                166             19.54
                                             Teaching Status:
                                                 Nonteaching ..................................................................                     1,509                2,020             2,597               578              28.62
                                                 Fewer than 100 residents .............................................                               694                2,246             2,744               498              22.17
                                                 100 or more residents ..................................................                             244                2,501             2,931               430              17.20
                                             Type of Ownership:
                                                 Voluntary .......................................................................                  1,447                4,137             4,895               758              18.32
                                                 Proprietary ....................................................................                     561                1,015             1,259               244              24.05
                                                 Government ..................................................................                        439                1,615             2,119               504              31.24
                                             Medicare Utilization Percent: ***
                                                 0 to 25 ...........................................................................                  472                2,255             2,720               464              20.60
                                                 25 to 50 .........................................................................                 1,674                4,290             5,266               977              22.77
                                                 50 to 65 .........................................................................                   262                  215               276                61              28.34
                                                 Greater than 65 ............................................................                          36                    7                11                 4              56.55
                                               Source: Dobson | DaVanzo analysis of 2013–2015 Hospital Cost Reports.
                                               * Dollar UCP calculated by [0.75 * estimated section 1886(d)(5)(F) payments * Factor 2 * Factor 3]. When summed across all hospitals pro-
                                             jected to receive DSH payments, uncompensated care payments are estimated to be $6,767 million in FY 2018 and $8,273 million in FY 2019.
                                               ** Percentage change is determined as the difference between Medicare UCP payments modeled for the FY 2019 IPPS/LTCH PPS proposed
                                             rule (column 3) and Medicare UCP payments modeled for the FY 2018 IPPS/LTCH PPS final rule correction notice (column 2) divided by Medi-
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                                             care UCP payments modeled for the FY 2018 final rule correction notice (column 2) times 100 percent.
                                                *** Hospitals with Missing or Unknown Medicare Utilization are not shown in table.


                                                9. On page 41754,                                                          i. Line 5, the figure ‘‘36.66’’ is                       ii. Line 8, the figure ‘‘21.48’’ is
                                                a. Second column, first full paragraph,                                  corrected to read ‘‘36.64’’.                             corrected to read ‘‘21.49’’.



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                                                                   Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 192 / Wednesday, October 3, 2018 / Rules and Regulations                                                                            49853

                                               b. Third column, first partial                                               a. Line 5, the figure ‘‘22.14’’ is                                     2019’’ is corrected to read ‘‘a. Effects of
                                             paragraph,                                                                   corrected to read ‘‘22.17’’.                                             Changes for FY 2019’’.
                                               i. Line 2, the figure ‘‘39.52’’ is                                           b. Line 9, the figure ‘‘17.23’’ is                                        b. Second column, last paragraph, line
                                             corrected to read ‘‘39.19’’.                                                 corrected to read ‘‘17.20’’.
                                               ii. Line 5, the figure ‘‘36.35’’ is                                                                                                                 1, the phrase ‘‘The proposed estimated
                                                                                                                            c. Line 12, the figure ‘‘31.26’’ is                                    impacts’’ is corrected to read ‘‘The
                                             corrected to read ‘‘36.66’’                                                  corrected to read ‘‘31.24’’.
                                               iii. Line 7, the figure ‘‘24.35’’ is                                                                                                                estimated impacts’’.
                                                                                                                            d. Line 12, the figure ‘‘24.06’’ is
                                             corrected to read ‘‘24.33’’.                                                                                                                             12. On pages 41758 through 41759,
                                                                                                                          corrected to read ‘‘24.05’’.
                                               iv. Line 13, the figure ‘‘44.83’’ is                                                                                                                the table titled ‘‘ESTIMATED
                                             corrected to read ‘‘44.80’’.                                                   e. Line 15, the figure ‘‘18.30’’ is
                                                                                                                          corrected to read ‘‘18.32’’.                                             PROPORTION OF HOSPITALS IN THE
                                               v. Line 16, the figure ‘‘25.23’’ is                                                                                                                 WORST-PERFORMING QUARTILE
                                             corrected to read ‘‘25.28’’.                                                   11. On page 41756, bottom of the
                                                                                                                          page—                                                                    (>75th PERCENTILE) OF THE TOTAL
                                               vi. Line 19, the figure ‘‘19.40’’ is
                                             corrected to read ‘‘19.39’’.                                                   a. First column, before the first                                      HAC SCORES FOR THE FY 2019 HAC
                                               10. On page 41755, first column,                                           paragraph, the section heading ‘‘a.                                      REDUCTION PROGRAM’’ is corrected
                                             second paragraph—                                                            Effects of Proposed Changes for FY                                       to read as follows:

                                             ESTIMATED PROPORTION OF HOSPITALS IN THE WORST-PERFORMING QUARTILE (>75TH PERCENTILE) OF THE TOTAL HAC
                                                                        SCORES FOR THE FY 2019 HAC REDUCTION PROGRAM
                                                                                                                                          [By hospital characteristic]

                                                                                                                                                                                                                   Number of       Percent of
                                                                                                                                                                                                   Number of       hospitals in    hospitals in
                                                                                                     Hospital characteristic                                                                                        the worst-      the worst-
                                                                                                                                                                                                    hospitals      performing      performing
                                                                                                                                                                                                                     quartile a      quartile b

                                             Total c ...........................................................................................................................................         3,219               804            25.0
                                             By Geographic Location (n = 3,201): d
                                                 Urban hospitals .....................................................................................................................                   2,416               628            26.0
                                                        1–99 beds ......................................................................................................................                   622               133            21.4
                                                        100–199 beds ................................................................................................................                      728               182            25.0
                                                        200–299 beds ................................................................................................................                      430               119            27.7
                                                        300–399 beds ................................................................................................................                      278                80            28.8
                                                        400–499 beds ................................................................................................................                      145                39            26.9
                                                        500 or more beds ..........................................................................................................                        213                75            35.2
                                                 Rural hospitals ......................................................................................................................                    785               165            21.0
                                                        1–49 beds ......................................................................................................................                   304                68            22.4
                                                        50–99 beds ....................................................................................................................                    282                56            19.9
                                                        100–149 beds ................................................................................................................                      116                22            19.0
                                                        150–199 beds ................................................................................................................                       44                10            22.7
                                                        200 or more beds ..........................................................................................................                         39                 9            23.1
                                             By Safety-Net Status (n = 3,201): e
                                                 Non-safety net ......................................................................................................................                   2,555               576            22.5
                                                 Safety-net .............................................................................................................................                  646               217            33.6
                                             By DSH Percent (n = 3,201): f
                                                 0–24 ......................................................................................................................................             1,313               292            22.2
                                                 25–49 ....................................................................................................................................              1,507               366            24.3
                                                 50–64 ....................................................................................................................................                198                75            37.9
                                                 65 and over ..........................................................................................................................                    183                60            32.8
                                             By Teaching Status (n = 3,201): g
                                                 Non-teaching ........................................................................................................................                   2,121               484            22.8
                                                 Fewer than 100 residents .....................................................................................................                            832               196            23.6
                                                 100 or more residents ..........................................................................................................                          248               113            45.6
                                             By Ownership (n = 3,173):
                                                 Voluntary ...............................................................................................................................               1,868               466            24.9
                                                 Proprietary ............................................................................................................................                  813               175            21.5
                                                 Government ..........................................................................................................................                     492               145            29.5
                                             By MCR Percent (n = 3,175): h
                                                 0–24 ......................................................................................................................................               511               144            28.2
                                                 25–49 ....................................................................................................................................              2,118               505            23.8
                                                 50–64 ....................................................................................................................................                473               117            24.7
                                                 65 and over ..........................................................................................................................                     73                15            20.5
                                             By Region (n = 3,217): i
                                                 New England ........................................................................................................................                      133                43            32.3
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                                                 Mid-Atlantic ...........................................................................................................................                  364               101            27.7
                                                 South Atlantic .......................................................................................................................                    522               133            25.5
                                                 East North Central ................................................................................................................                       498               108            21.7
                                                 East South Central ...............................................................................................................                        299                68            22.7
                                                 West North Central ...............................................................................................................                        256                57            22.3
                                                 West South Central ..............................................................................................................                         519               114            22.0
                                                 Mountain ...............................................................................................................................                  229                60            26.2



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                                             49854                Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 192 / Wednesday, October 3, 2018 / Rules and Regulations

                                             ESTIMATED PROPORTION OF HOSPITALS IN THE WORST-PERFORMING QUARTILE (>75TH PERCENTILE) OF THE TOTAL HAC
                                                                   SCORES FOR THE FY 2019 HAC REDUCTION PROGRAM—Continued
                                                                                                                                         [By hospital characteristic]

                                                                                                                                                                                                                   Number of       Percent of
                                                                                                                                                                                                                   hospitals in    hospitals in
                                                                                                                                                                                                  Number of
                                                                                                   Hospital characteristic                                                                                          the worst-      the worst-
                                                                                                                                                                                                   hospitals       performing      performing
                                                                                                                                                                                                                     quartile a      quartile b

                                                   Pacific ...................................................................................................................................            397                118            29.7
                                                Source: FY 2019 HAC Reduction Program Final Rule Results are based on CMS PSI 90 Composite data from October 2015 through June
                                             2017 and CDC CLABSI, CAUTI, SSI, CDI, and MRSA results from January 2016 through December 2017. Hospital Characteristics are based on
                                             the FY 2019 Hospital Inpatient Prospective Payment System (IPPS) Proposed Rule Impact File.
                                                a This column is the number of non-Maryland hospitals with a Total HAC Score within the corresponding characteristic that are estimated to be
                                             in the worst-performing quartile.
                                                b This column is the percent of non-Maryland hospitals within each characteristic that are estimated to be in the worst-performing quartile. The
                                             percentages are calculated by dividing the number of non-Maryland hospitals with a Total HAC Score in the worst-performing quartile by the total
                                             number of non-Maryland hospitals with a Total HAC Score within that characteristic.
                                                c The number of non-Maryland hospitals with a FY 2019 Total HAC Score (N=3,219). Note that not all hospitals have data for all hospital char-
                                             acteristics.
                                                d The number of hospitals that had information for geographic location with bed size, Safety-net status, Disproportionate Share Hospital (DSH)
                                             percent, teaching status, and ownership status (n=3,201).
                                                e A hospital is considered a Safety-net hospital if it is in the top quintile for DSH percent.
                                                f The DSH patient percentage is equal to the sum of (1) the percentage of Medicare inpatient days attributable to patients eligible for both
                                             Medicare Part A and Supplemental Security Income and (2) the percentage of total inpatient days attributable to patients eligible for Medicaid but
                                             not Medicare Part A.
                                                g A hospital is considered a teaching hospital if it has an Indirect Medical Education adjustment factor for Operation PPS (TCHOP) greater
                                             than zero.
                                                h Not all hospitals had data for MCR percent (n=3,175).
                                                i Not all hospitals had data for Region (n=3,217).




                                                13. On page 41763—                                                        14. On page 41764, third column—                                         COMPARISON OF TOTAL PAYMENTS
                                                a. Second column, fourth bullet, the                                      a. Line 12, the figure ‘‘1.0’’ is                                        PER CASE [FY 2018 payments
                                             figure ‘‘0.9975’’ is corrected to read                                     corrected to read ‘‘1.1’’.                                                 compared to FY 2019 payments]’’ is
                                             ‘‘0.9969’’.                                                                  b. Line 14, the figure ‘‘3.0’’ is                                        corrected to read as follows:
                                                b. Third column, first full paragraph,                                  corrected to read ‘‘2.9’’.
                                             line 5, the figure ‘‘3,256’’ is corrected to                                 15. On pages 41764 through 41765,
                                             read ‘‘3,255’’.                                                            the table titled ‘‘TABLE III—

                                                                                                        TABLE III—COMPARISON OF TOTAL PAYMENTS PER CASE
                                                                                                                    [FY 2018 payments compared to FY 2019 payments]

                                                                                                                                                                                                    Average          Average
                                                                                                                                                                          Number of                                                 Percent
                                                                                                                                                                                                    FY 2018          FY 2019
                                                                                                                                                                           hospitals                                                change
                                                                                                                                                                                                 payments/case    payments/case

                                             By Geographic Location:
                                                 All hospitals ..............................................................................................                        3,255                $943              $963            2.1
                                                 Large urban areas (populations over 1 million) .......................................                                              2,483                 974               997            2.3
                                                 Other urban areas (populations of 1 million of fewer) .............................                                                 1,302               1,011             1,042            3.2
                                                 Urban hospitals .........................................................................................                           1,181                 939               952            1.4
                                                      0–99 beds ..........................................................................................                             644                 789               812            3.0
                                                      100–199 beds ....................................................................................                                763                 835               854            2.4
                                                      200–299 beds ....................................................................................                                433                 902               922            2.2
                                                      300–499 beds ....................................................................................                                424                 981             1,003            2.2
                                                      500 or more beds ..............................................................................                                  219               1,170             1,197            2.3
                                                 Rural hospitals ..........................................................................................                            772                 666               659           ¥0.9
                                                      0–49 beds ..........................................................................................                             305                 541               556            2.6
                                                      50–99 beds ........................................................................................                              274                 606               621            2.3
                                                      100–149 beds ....................................................................................                                108                 677               654           ¥3.3
                                                      150–199 beds ....................................................................................                                 45                 729               706           ¥3.2
                                                      200 or more beds ..............................................................................                                   40                 808               781           ¥3.3
                                             By Region:
                                                 Urban by Region ......................................................................................                              2,483                 974               997              2.3
                                                      New England .....................................................................................                                113               1,068             1,108              3.8
                                                      Middle Atlantic ...................................................................................                              310               1,069             1,090              2.0
                                                      South Atlantic ....................................................................................                              401                 866               883              2.0
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                                                      East North Central .............................................................................                                 386                 938               951              1.4
                                                      East South Central ............................................................................                                  147                 821               838              2.1
                                                      West North Central ............................................................................                                  158                 959               977              1.9
                                                      West South Central ...........................................................................                                   379                 881               908              3.1
                                                      Mountain ............................................................................................                            164               1,011             1,028              1.5
                                                      Pacific ................................................................................................                         374               1,238             1,281              3.4
                                                      Puerto Rico ........................................................................................                              51                 447               455              1.7



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                                                                  Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 192 / Wednesday, October 3, 2018 / Rules and Regulations                                                             49855

                                                                                          TABLE III—COMPARISON OF TOTAL PAYMENTS PER CASE—Continued
                                                                                                                 [FY 2018 payments compared to FY 2019 payments]

                                                                                                                                                                                    Average             Average
                                                                                                                                                                 Number of                                           Percent
                                                                                                                                                                                    FY 2018             FY 2019
                                                                                                                                                                  hospitals                                          change
                                                                                                                                                                                 payments/case       payments/case

                                                 Rural by Region ........................................................................................                  772               666              660         ¥0.9
                                                      New England .....................................................................................                     20               922              918         ¥0.5
                                                      Middle Atlantic ...................................................................................                   53               639              638         ¥0.3
                                                      South Atlantic ....................................................................................                  122               619              610         ¥1.4
                                                      East North Central .............................................................................                     114               675              671         ¥0.6
                                                      East South Central ............................................................................                      150               623              606         ¥2.6
                                                      West North Central ............................................................................                       94               706              704         ¥0.2
                                                      West South Central ...........................................................................                       145               590              588         ¥0.3
                                                      Mountain ............................................................................................                 51               742              752          1.2
                                                      Pacific ................................................................................................              23               865              864         ¥0.5
                                             By Payment Classification:
                                                 All hospitals ..............................................................................................            3,255                943              963         2.1
                                                 Large urban areas (populations over 1 million) .......................................                                  1,317              1,010            1,042         3.2
                                                 Other urban areas (populations of 1 million of fewer) .............................                                       947                895              919         2.6
                                                 Rural areas ...............................................................................................               991                884              875        ¥1.1
                                             Teaching Status:
                                                 Non-teaching ............................................................................................               2,156                800              816              1.9
                                                 Fewer than 100 Residents .......................................................................                          849                909              925              1.8
                                                 100 or more Residents .............................................................................                       250              1,308            1,342              2.7
                                                 Urban DSH:
                                                      Non-DSH ...........................................................................................                  520               867               890              2.6
                                                      100 or more beds ..............................................................................                    1,462               984             1,013              3.0
                                                      Less than 100 beds ...........................................................................                       367               720               743              3.1
                                                 Rural DSH:
                                                      Sole Community (SCH/EACH) ..........................................................                                 255               680              681          0.1
                                                      Referral Center (RRC/EACH) ............................................................                              382               947              931         ¥1.6
                                                      Other Rural:
                                                           100 or more beds .......................................................................                         33              1,068            1,053        ¥1.4
                                                           Less than 100 beds ...................................................................                          236                530              543         2.4
                                                 Urban teaching and DSH:
                                                      Both teaching and DSH ....................................................................                           805              1,055            1,087              3.1
                                                      Teaching and no DSH .......................................................................                           89                912              934              2.4
                                                      No teaching and DSH .......................................................................                        1,024                833              856              2.8
                                                      No teaching and no DSH ..................................................................                            346                847              871              2.8
                                             Rural Hospital Types:
                                                 Plain Rural ................................................................................................              178               831              831          0.0
                                                 RRC/EACH ...............................................................................................                  327               968              960         ¥0.7
                                                 SCH/EACH ...............................................................................................                  312               749              752          0.5
                                                 SCH, RRC and EACH ..............................................................................                          134               807              797         ¥1.3
                                             Hospitals Reclassified by the Medicare Geographic Classification Review
                                               Board:
                                                 FY2018 Reclassifications:
                                                      All Urban Reclassified .......................................................................                       588                995            1,006         1.1
                                                      All Urban Non-Reclassified ...............................................................                         1,835                966              996         2.9
                                                      All Rural Reclassified ........................................................................                      271                704              690        ¥1.8
                                                      All Rural Non-Reclassified .................................................................                         454                613              615         0.2
                                                      All Section 401 Reclassified Hospitals ..............................................                                266              1,033            1,022        ¥1.1
                                                      Other Reclassified Hospitals (Section 1886(d)(8)(B)) .......................                                          47                651              661         1.6
                                                 Type of Ownership:
                                                      Voluntary ...........................................................................................              1,898               959               976              1.8
                                                      Proprietary .........................................................................................                856               851               871              2.3
                                                      Government .......................................................................................                   501               981             1,011              3.1
                                                 Medicare Utilization as a Percent of Inpatient Days:
                                                      0–25 ...................................................................................................             601              1,076            1,104              2.6
                                                      25–50 .................................................................................................            2,139                942              961              2.1
                                                      50–65 .................................................................................................              421                774              784              1.3
                                                      Over 65 ..............................................................................................                73                567              582              2.7



                                               16. On page 41766,                                                        A. Line 4, the figure ‘‘0.990884’’ is                        iii. Last paragraph, line 7, the figure
                                               a. First column, last paragraph,                                                                                                    ‘‘0.990884’’ is corrected to read
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                                                                                                                      corrected to read ‘‘0.990878’’.
                                               i. Line 4, the figure ‘‘41,579.65’’ is                                    B. Line 12, the figure ‘‘$40,759.12’’ is                  ‘‘0.990878’’.
                                             corrected to read ‘‘$41,558.68’’.                                        corrected to read ‘‘$40,738.57’’.                               17. On page 41768, first column,
                                               ii. Line 8, the figure ‘‘0.999713’’ is                                                                                                 a. Line 8, the figure ‘‘41,579.65’’ is
                                             corrected to read ‘‘0.999215’’.                                             ii. Second full paragraph, line 14, the                   corrected to read ‘‘$41,558.68’’.
                                               b. Second column,                                                      figure ‘‘0.999713’’ is corrected to read                        b. Line 9, the figure ‘‘40,759.12’’ is
                                               i. First partial paragraph,                                            ‘‘0.999215’’.                                                corrected to read ‘‘$40,738.57’’.


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                                             49856                   Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 192 / Wednesday, October 3, 2018 / Rules and Regulations

                                               18. On pages 41768 and 41769, the                                           CHANGES TO LTCH PPS PAYMENTS                              PAYMENT RATE CASES FOR FY
                                             table entitled ‘‘TABLE IV—IMPACT OF                                           FOR LTCH PPS STANDARD FEDERAL                             2019’’, is corrected to read as follows:
                                             PAYMENT RATE AND POLICY
                                                  TABLE IV—IMPACT OF PAYMENT RATE AND POLICY CHANGES TO LTCH PPS PAYMENTS FOR LTCH PPS STANDARD
                                                                              FEDERAL PAYMENT RATE CASES FOR FY 2019
                                                                                                         [Estimated FY 2018 payments compared to estimated FY 2019 payments]

                                                                                                                                                                                                               Percent
                                                                                                                                                                                              Percent       change due to
                                                                                                                                   Number of             Average FY       Average FY      change due to                           Percent
                                                                                                                                                                                                             changes to
                                                                                                                                   LTCH PPS              2018 LTCH        2019 LTCH       change to the                       change due to
                                                                                                                  Number of                                                                                   area wage
                                                               LTCH classification                                                  standard            PPS payment      PPS payment      annual update                         all standard
                                                                                                                   LTCHS                                                                                     adjustment
                                                                                                                                  payment rate          per standard      per standard         to the                          payment rate
                                                                                                                                                                                                              with wage
                                                                                                                                      cases             payment rate     payment rate 1      standard                            changes 4
                                                                                                                                                                                                                budget
                                                                                                                                                                                           federal rate 2     neutrality 3

                                                                           (1)                                       (2)               (3)                  (4)               (5)               (6)              (7)               (8)

                                             All Providers ..................................................               409            75,416            $46,852           $47,334                1.3                 0              1.0
                                             By Location:
                                                  Rural .......................................................              21             2,457             39,339            39,714                1.3              ¥0.1              1.0
                                                  Urban .....................................................               388            72,959             47,105            47,591                1.3                 0              1.0
                                                       Large ...............................................                195            40,491             50,164            50,740                1.3                 0              1.1
                                                       Other ...............................................                193            32,468             43,291            43,664                1.3                 0              0.9
                                             By Participation Date:
                                                  Before Oct. 1983 ....................................                      11             1,923             43,083            43,225                1.3              ¥0.5              0.3
                                                  Oct. 1983–Sept. 1993 ............................                          42             9,632             51,709            52,481                1.3               0.2              1.5
                                                  Oct. 1993–Sept. 2002 ............................                         169            31,338             45,565            45,991                1.3                 0              0.9
                                                  After October 2002 ................................                       187            32,523             46,877            47,347                1.3                 0              1.0
                                             By Ownership Type:
                                                  Voluntary ................................................                 77            10,614             48,824            49,614                1.3               0.3              1.6
                                                  Proprietary ..............................................                319            63,040             46,378            46,799                1.3              ¥0.1              0.9
                                                  Government ...........................................                     13             1,762             51,945            52,739                1.3               0.0              1.5
                                             By Region:
                                                  New England ..........................................                     12             2,707             43,164            43,275                1.3              ¥0.4              0.3
                                                  Middle Atlantic ........................................                   24             5,959             50,920            51,553                1.3              ¥0.1              1.2
                                                  South Atlantic .........................................                   66            13,792             47,641            48,127                1.3              ¥0.1              1.0
                                                  East North Central .................................                       68            11,843             46,386            46,711                1.3              ¥0.3              0.7
                                                  East South Central .................................                       36             6,385             45,490            45,978                1.3                 0              1.1
                                                  West North Central ................................                        28             4,412             45,951            46,428                1.3              ¥0.3              1.0
                                                  West South Central ................................                       120            18,361             41,402            41,785                1.3               0.2              0.9
                                                  Mountain ................................................                  29             4,070             47,897            48,125                1.4              ¥0.5              0.5
                                                  Pacific .....................................................              26             7,887             58,121            59,205                1.3               0.7              1.9
                                             By Bed Size:
                                                  Beds: 0–24 .............................................                   43             4,206             44,740            45,008                1.3              ¥0.4              0.6
                                                  Beds: 25–49 ...........................................                   185            26,270             44,623            45,044                1.3                 0              0.9
                                                  Beds: 50–74 ...........................................                   107            20,178             47,733            48,246                1.3                 0              1.1
                                                  Beds: 75–124 .........................................                     43            12,086             50,145            50,770                1.3               0.1              1.2
                                                  Beds: 125–199 .......................................                      22             7,709             47,404            47,768                1.3              ¥0.3              0.8
                                                  Beds: 200+ .............................................                    9             4,967             47,988            48,682                1.3               0.5              1.4
                                                1 Estimated FY 2019 LTCH PPS payments for LTCH PPS standard Federal payment rate criteria based on the payment rate and factor changes applicable to such
                                             cases presented in the preamble of and the Addendum to this final rule.
                                                2 Percent change in estimated payments per discharge for LTCH PPS standard Federal payment rate cases from FY 2018 to FY 2019 for the annual update to the
                                             LTCH PPS standard Federal payment rate.
                                                3 Percent change in estimated payments per discharge for LTCH PPS standard Federal payment rate cases from FY 2018 to FY 2019 for changes to the area
                                             wage level adjustment under § 412.525(c) (as discussed in section V.B. of the Addendum to this final rule).
                                                4 Percent change in estimated payments per discharge for LTCH PPS standard Federal payment rate cases from FY 2018 (shown in Column 4) to FY 2019 (shown
                                             in Column 5), including all of the changes to the rates and factors applicable to such cases presented in the preamble and the Addendum to this final rule. We note
                                             that this column, which shows the percent change in estimated payments per discharge for all changes, does not equal the sum of the percent changes in estimated
                                             payments per discharge for the annual update to the LTCH PPS standard Federal payment rate (Column 6) and the changes to the area wage level adjustment with
                                             budget neutrality (Column 7) due to the effect of estimated changes in estimated payments to aggregate HCO payments for LTCH PPS standard Federal payment
                                             rate cases (as discussed in this impact analysis), as well as other interactive effects that cannot be isolated.


                                                19. On page 41769, lower two-thirds                                           c. Third column, second full                              d. Second full paragraph, line 9, the
                                             of the page—                                                                  paragraph, line 5, the figure ‘‘0.4’’ is                  figure ‘‘1.5’’ is corrected to read ‘‘1.4’’.
                                                a. First column, last paragraph, line                                      corrected to read ‘‘0.3’’.                                  Dated: September 27, 2018.
                                             13, the figure ‘‘0.999713’’ is corrected to                                      20. On page 41770, first column,
                                                                                                                              a. First full paragraph, line 5, the                   Wilma M. Robinson,
                                             read ‘‘0.999215’’.
                                                b. Second column,                                                          word ‘‘Pacific’’ is corrected to read                     Deputy Executive Secretary to the
                                                i. First partial paragraph, line 1, the                                    ‘‘Mountain’’,                                             Department, Department of Health and
                                             figure ‘‘0.999713’’ is corrected to read                                         b. First full paragraph, line 7, the                   Human Services.
                                             ‘‘0.999215’’.                                                                 word ‘‘Mountain’’ is corrected to read                    [FR Doc. 2018–21500 Filed 9–28–18; 4:15 pm]
                                                ii. Last paragraph, line 16, the figure                                    ‘‘Pacific’’,                                              BILLING CODE 4120–01–P
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                                             ‘‘0.9’’ is corrected to read ‘‘1.0’’.                                            c. First full paragraph, line 9, the
                                                                                                                           figure ‘‘0.4’’ is corrected to read ‘‘0.5’’,




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Document Created: 2018-10-03 02:30:23
Document Modified: 2018-10-03 02:30:23
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
ActionFinal rule; correction.
DatesThe corrections in this document are effective October 1, 2018.
ContactDonald Thompson and Michele Hudson, (410) 786-4487.
FR Citation83 FR 49836 
RIN Number0938-AT27
CFR Citation42 CFR 412
42 CFR 413
42 CFR 424
42 CFR 495

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