IMPROVEMENT IN OVERSIGHT OF TECHNOLOGY AND COVERAGE.

SEC. 942. IMPROVEMENT IN OVERSIGHT OF TECHNOLOGY AND COVERAGE.(a) Council for Technology and Innovation.—Section 1868 (42 U.S.C. 1395ee) is amended—(1) by adding at the end of the heading the following: “; council for technology and innovation”;(2) by inserting “Practicing Physicians Advisory Council.—(1)” after “(a)”;(3) in paragraph (1), as so redesignated under paragraph (2), by striking “in this section” and inserting “in this subsection”;(4) by redesignating subsections (b) and (c) as paragraphs (2) and (3), respectively; and(5) by adding at the end the following new subsection: “(b) Council for Technology and Innovation.—“(1) Establishment.—The Secretary shall establish a Council for Technology and Innovation within the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (in this section referred to as ‘CMS’).“(2) Composition.—The Council shall be composed of senior CMS staff and clinicians and shall be chaired by the Executive Coordinator for Technology and Innovation (appointed or designated under paragraph (4)).“(3) Duties.—The Council shall coordinate the activities of coverage, coding, and payment processes under this title with respect to new technologies and procedures, including new drug therapies, and shall coordinate the exchange of information on new technologies between CMS and other entities that make similar decisions.“(4) Executive coordinator for technology and innovation.—The Secretary shall appoint (or designate) a noncareer appointee (as defined in section 3132(a)(7) of title 5, 117 STAT. 2421 United States Code) who shall serve as the Executive Coordinator for Technology and Innovation. Such executive coordinator shall report to the Administrator of CMS, shall chair the Council, shall oversee the execution of its duties, and shall serve as a single point of contact for outside groups and entities regarding the coverage, coding, and payment processes under this title.”.(b) Methods for Determining Payment Basis for New Lab Tests.—Section 1833(h) (42 U.S.C. 1395l(h)) is amended by adding at the end the following:“(8)(A) The Secretary shall establish by regulation procedures for determining the basis for, and amount of, payment under this subsection for any clinical diagnostic laboratory test with respect to which a new or substantially revised HCPCS code is assigned on or after January 1, 2005 (in this paragraph referred to as ‘new tests’).“(B) Determinations under subparagraph (A) shall be made only after the Secretary—“(i) makes available to the public (through an Internet website and other appropriate mechanisms) a list that includes any such test for which establishment of a payment amount under this subsection is being considered for a year;“(ii) on the same day such list is made available, causes to have published in the Federal Register notice of a meeting to receive comments and recommendations (and data on which recommendations are based) from the public on the appropriate basis under this subsection for establishing payment amounts for the tests on such list;“(iii) not less than 30 days after publication of such notice convenes a meeting, that includes representatives of officials of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services involved in determining payment amounts, to receive such comments and recommendations (and data on which the recommendations are based); “(iv) taking into account the comments and recommendations (and accompanying data) received at such meeting, develops and makes available to the public (through an Internet website and other appropriate mechanisms) a list of proposed determinations with respect to the appropriate basis for establishing a payment amount under this subsection for each such code, together with an explanation of the reasons for each such determination, the data on which the determinations are based, and a request for public written comments on the proposed determination; and“(v) taking into account the comments received during the public comment period, develops and makes available to the public (through an Internet website and other appropriate mechanisms) a list of final determinations of the payment amounts for such tests under this subsection, together with the rationale for each such determination, the data on which the determinations are based, and responses to comments and suggestions received from the public. “(C) Under the procedures established pursuant to subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall—“(i) set forth the criteria for making determinations under subparagraph (A); and 117 STAT. 2422“(ii) make available to the public the data (other than proprietary data) considered in making such determinations.“(D) The Secretary may convene such further public meetings to receive public comments on payment amounts for new tests under this subsection as the Secretary deems appropriate.“(E) For purposes of this paragraph:“(i) The term ‘HCPCS’ refers to the Health Care Procedure Coding System.“(ii) A code shall be considered to be ‘substantially revised’ if there is a substantive change to the definition of the test or procedure to which the code applies (such as a new analyte or a new methodology for measuring an existing analyte-specific test).”. (c) GAO Study on Improvements in External Data Collection for Use in the Medicare Inpatient Payment System.—(1) Study.—The Comptroller General of the United States shall conduct a study that analyzes which external data can be collected in a shorter timeframe by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services for use in computing payments for inpatient hospital services. The study may include an evaluation of the feasibility and appropriateness of using quarterly samples or special surveys or any other methods. The study shall include an analysis of whether other executive agencies, such as the Bureau of Labor Statistics in the Department of Commerce, are best suited to collect this information.(2) Report.—By not later than October 1, 2004, the Comptroller General shall submit a report to Congress on the study under paragraph (1).