Medicare Payment Advisory Commission 2005 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Commission will hold its next public meeting on Thursday, September 8, 2005, and Friday, September 9, 2005, at the Ronald Reagan Building, International Trade Center, 1300 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC. The meeting is tentatively scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. on September 8, and at 9:15 a.m. on September 9. Topics for discussion include findings on two congressionally mandated studies: home health margins, and payments for oncology drugs and administration services in the Medicare system. The Commission will also discuss issues related to the Medicare wage index, outpatient therapy, valuing services in the physician fee schedule, and physician resource use. The Commission will also host a panel on quality measures in managed care organizations. Agendas will be e-mailed approximately one week prior to the meeting. The final agenda will be available on the Commission's Web site (https://www.medpac.gov). This will be the last notice placed in the Federal Register by the Commission. We will continue to e-mail meeting agendas, which you can sign up to receive at https://www.medpac.gov. They will also be posted on our Web site. In addition, we will now e-mail a meeting notice two weeks prior to the meeting date. If you have any comments on this action, please contact Annissa McDonald at amcdonald@medpac.gov or (202) 220-3700.

The Commission will hold its next public meeting on Thursday, March 10, 2005, and Friday, March 11, 2005, at the Ronald Reagan Building, International Trade Center, 1300 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC. The meeting is tentatively scheduled to begin at 9:30 a.m. on March 10, and at 9 a.m. on March 11. Topics for discussion include findings on congressionally mandated studies on critical access hospitals and risk adjustment and other issues related to the adjusted average per capita cost (AAPCC). The Commission will also discuss Medicare Advantage plans, implementation issues with the new Medicare Part D benefit, outpatient pharmacy services in hospitals, and reform issues for various post-acute care settings. The Commission will also host a panel on the use of clinical- and cost-effectiveness information by Medicare. Agendas will be e-mailed approximately one week prior to the meeting. The final agenda will be available on the Commission's Web site (https://www.MedPAC.gov).