Medicare program: data, standards and methodology used to establish fiscal year 1993 budgets for fiscal intermediaries and carriers--HCFA. Final notice

This notice is published in accordance with sections 1816(c)(1) and 1842(c)(1) of the Social Security Act which requires us to publish the final data, standards and methodology used to establish budgets for Medicare intermediaries and carriers. It announces that we are adopting as final, and responds to comments about, the data, standards, and methodology we proposed to use to establish Medicare fiscal intermediary and carrier budgets for the fiscal year (FY) 1993, beginning October 1, 1992.     

Medicare program: data, standards, and methodology used to establish fiscal year 1994 budgets for fiscal intermediaries and carriers--HCFA. Final notice

This notice is published in accordance with sections 1816(c)(1) and 1842(c)(1) of the Social Security Act which require us to publish the final data, standards, and methodology used to establish budgets for Medicare intermediaries and carriers. In this notice, we respond to the comments received in response to our notice of October 5, 1993 and we announce the adoption of the proposed data, standards, and methodology that we used to establish the Medicare fiscal intermediary and carrier budgets for fiscal year (FY) 1994, beginning October 1, 1993, as final and without revision.     

Medicare program; data, standards and methodology used to establish budgets for fiscal intermediaries and carriers--HCFA. Final notice

This notice announces that we are adopting as final without revision previously published proposed data, standards and methodology to establish fiscal intermediary and carrier budgets for the fiscal year beginning October 1, 1990.     

Medicaid program; state allotments for payment of Medicare Part B premiums for qualifying individuals: federal fiscal year 2006 and fiscal year 2007. Final rule

This final rule sets forth the methodology and process used to compute and issue each State's allotments for fiscal years (FY) 2006 and FY 2007 that are available to pay Medicare Part B premiums for qualifying individuals. It also provides the final FY 2006 allotments and the preliminary FY 2007 allotments determined under this methodology. We are also confirming the April 28, 2006 interim final rule as final.     

Medicare program: revisions to criteria and standards for evaluating intermediaries and carriers--HCFA. Final rule

This rule issues technical amendments to Medicare regulations intended to simplify and improve our system for evaluating the performance of fiscal intermediaries and carriers in the administration of the Medicare program. Currently, we evaluate intermediaries using performance criteria and standards announced in an annual notice in the Federal Register. We are clarifying the methodology for establishing these criteria and standards. For consistency, we establish comparable regulation requirements for the evaluation of carrier performance. These revisions are published in accordance with sections 1816(f) and 1842(b)(2) of the Social Security Act which require us to develop standards, criteria, and procedures to evaluate an intermediary's or carrier's overall performance.     

Medicaid program; state allotments for payment of Medicare Part B premiums for qualifying individuals: federal fiscal year 2006. Interim final rule with comment period

This interim final rule with comment period sets forth the methodology and process used to compute and issue each State's allotment for fiscal year (FY) 2006 and FY 2007 that is available to pay Medicare Part B premiums for qualifying individuals. It also provides the preliminary FY 2006 allotments determined under this methodology.     

Medicare program; hospice wage index for fiscal year 2008. Final rule

This final rule sets forth the hospice wage index for fiscal year 2008. This final rule also revises the methodology for updating the wage index for rural areas without hospital wage data and provides clarification of selected existing Medicare hospice regulations and policies.     

Medicare program; physician fee schedule conversion factor for calendar year 1998 and sustainable growth rate for fiscal year 1998--HCFA. Final notice

This final notice announces the calendar year 1998 Medicare physician fee schedule conversion factor and the fiscal year 1998 sustainable growth rate for expenditures for physicians' services under the Medicare Supplementary Medical Insurance (Part B) program as required by sections 1846(d) and (f), respectively, of the Social Security Act. The 1998 Medicare physician fee schedule conversion factor is $36,6873. The sustainable growth rate for fiscal year 1998 is 1.5 percent.     

Medicare program; Medicare Integrity Program, fiscal intermediary and carrier functions, and conflict of interest requirements. Final rule

This final rule establishes the Medicare Integrity Program (MIP) and implements program integrity activities that are funded from the Federal Hospital Insurance Trust Fund. This final rule sets forth the definitions related to eligible entities; services to be procured; competitive requirements based on Federal acquisition regulations and exceptions (guidelines for automatic renewal); procedures for identification, evaluation, and resolution of conflicts of interest; and limitations on contractor liability. This final rule brings certain sections of the Medicare regulations concerning fiscal intermediaries (FIs) and carriers into conformity with the Social Security Act (the Act). The rule distinguishes between those functions that the statute requires to be included in agreements with FIs and those that may be included in the agreements. It also provides that some or all of the functions may be included in carrier contracts.     

Medicaid program; state allotments for payment of Medicare Part B premiums for qualifying individuals: federal fiscal year 1998--HCFA. Notice with comment period

Section 4732 of the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 (Public Law 105-33) amended the Social Security Act to provide for two additional eligibility groups of low-income Medicare beneficiaries for whom Medicaid payment can be made for Medicare Part B premiums during the period beginning January 1998 and ending December 2002. This notice announces the Federal fiscal year 1998 State allotments that are available to pay Medicare Part B premiums for these two new eligibility groups and describes the methodology used to determine each State's allotment.     

Medicare program; schedules of limits and prospectively determined payment rates for skilled nursing facility inpatient routine service costs--HCFA. Final notice with comment period

This final notice with comment period sets forth an updated schedule of limits on skilled nursing facility (SNF) routine service costs for which payment may be made under the Medicare program and sets forth an updated schedule of payment rates for low Medicare volume SNFs that elect to receive prospectively determined payment rates for routine service costs. Section 1888(a) of the Social Security Act (the Act) requires that the Secretary update the per diem cost limits for SNF routine service costs for cost reporting periods beginning on or after October 1, 1995, and every 2 years thereafter. In addition, section 1888(d)(4) of the Act requires the Secretary to establish and publish prospectively determined payment rates at least 90 days prior to the beginning of the Federal fiscal year (FY) to which such rates are to be applied.     

Medicare program; criteria and standards for evaluating intermediary and carrier performance during FY 1995--HCFA. General notice with comment period

This notice describes the criteria and standards to be used for evaluating the performance of fiscal intermediaries and carriers in the administration of the Medicare program beginning October 1, 1994. The results of these evaluations are considered whenever HCFA enters into, renews, or terminates an intermediary agreement or carrier contract or takes other contract actions (for example, assigning or reassigning providers of services to an intermediary or designating regional or national intermediaries). This notice is published in accordance with sections 1816(f) and 1842(b)(2) of the Social Security Act. We are publishing for public comment in the Federal Register those criteria and standards against which we evaluate intermediaries and carriers.     

Criteria and standards for evaluating intermediary and carrier performance--HCFA. General notice with comment period

This notice describes the criteria and standards to be used for evaluating the performance of fiscal intermediaries and carriers in the administration of the Medicare program beginning October 1, 1990. The results of these evaluations are considered whenever HCFA enters into, renews, or terminates an intermediary agreement or carrier contract or takes other contract actions; assigns or reassigns providers of services to an intermediary; or designates regional or national intermediaries. This notice is published in accordance with sections 1816(f) and 1842(b)(2) of the Social Security Act, which requires us to publish for public comment in the Federal Register those criteria and standards against which we evaluate intermediaries and carriers.     

Criteria and standards for evaluating intermediary and carrier performance--HCFA. General notice with comment period

This notice describes the criteria and standards to be used for evaluating the performance of fiscal intermediaries and carriers in the administration of the Medicare program beginning June 1, 1990. The results of these evaluations are considered whenever HCFA enters into, renews, or terminates an intermediary or carrier agreement or takes other contract actions; assigns or reassigns providers of services to an intermediary; or designates regional or national intermediaries. This notice is published in accordance with sections 1816(f) and 1842(b)(2) of the Social Security Act, which requires us to publish for public comment in the Federal Register those criteria and standards against which we evaluate intermediaries and carriers.