CHARTER
Technical Review Panel on the Medicare Trustees Report
Authority
Authorized by 42 USC 217a; Section 222 of the Public Health Services Act, as amended. The Panel is governed by provisions of Public Law 92-463, as amended (5 USC Appendix 2), which sets forth standards for the formation and use of advisory panels.
Objective and Scope of Activities
It shall be the function of the Technical Review Panel on the Medicare Trustees Reports to advise the Secretary concerning the assumptions, methods and presentation underlying the Hospital Insurance and Supplementary Medical Insurance Trust Fund annual reports.
Description of Duties
The Panel's duties shall be to advise the Secretary in carrying out the role as a trustee of the Medicare Trust Funds. Specifically those duties shall include, but not be limited to, a review of the following six topics:
- appropriate bases for setting long-range Medicare per-beneficiary expenditure growth assumptions and associated issues such as the determination of sustainable shares of health spending
- the sustainability of key Medicare cost growth factors under current law
- current assumptions regarding the long-term rate of growth in medical expenditures and/or changes in utilization of care
- current and alternate projection methodologies including the high and low cost options
- long-range growth assumptions for HI and SMI and the transition from short-range to long-range forecasts
- recommendations for areas of future research to improve the long term projection methods, such as incorporating trends in health status.
The Panel may also examine other methodological issues identified by the Panel members. The Panel’s final report and its finding and recommendations to the Secretary shall only be advisory in nature.
In these matters, the Panel shall consult with all relevant components of the Department, other federal entities, and non-federal organizations and experts, as appropriate; and examine relevant data sources to assess the validity of the long range assumptions and related matters.
Agency or Official to Whom the Panel Reports
The Panel shall provide advice and recommendations regarding the assumptions, methods and presentation to the Secretary of Health and Human Services, through the designated Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation.
Support
The Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation shall provide management and support services to the Panel.
Estimated Annual Operating Costs and Staff Years
Estimated annual cost for operating the Panel, including compensation and travel expenses for members but excluding staff support, is $221,710. Annual person-years of staff support required is estimated to be 1.5 at an estimated annual cost of $226,475.
Designated Federal Officer
The Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation will select a full-time or permanent part-time Federal employee to serve as the Designated Federal Officer (DFO) to attend each Panel meeting and ensure that all procedures are within the applicable statutory, regulatory, and HHS General Administration Manual directives. The DFO will approve and prepare all meeting agenda, call the Panel and subcommittee meetings, adjourn any meeting when the DFO determines adjournment to be in the public interest, and chair meetings when directed to do so by the official to whom the Panel reports. The DFO or his or her designee shall be present at all Panel and subcommittee meetings.
Estimated Number and Frequency of Meetings
The Panel shall meet monthly over a 12 month period, at the call of the Designated Federal Officer in consultation with the Chair.
Meetings shall be open to the public except as determined otherwise by the Secretary, HHS or designee in accordance with the Government in the Sunshine Act (5 U.S.C. 552b(c)) and Section 10(d) of the Federal Advisory Committee Act. Notice of all meetings shall be given to the public. Meetings shall be conducted, and records of the proceedings kept, as required by the applicable laws and departmental regulations.
Duration
Continuing
Termination Date
Unless renewed by appropriate action, the Panel on the Medicare Trustees Reports will terminate two years from the date the charter is filed.
Membership and Designation
The Panel shall consist of up to nine members selected by the Secretary, or designee, who are experts in health economics, actuarial science, statistics, public policy, and other fields related to Medicare policy that could inform and substantively contribute to Panel deliberations. The Secretary, or her designee, shall appoint one of the members to serve as the Chair. Members will serve as Special Government Employees. Federal Officials may be appointed to the Panel as Ex Officio Members with full voting rights at the discretion of the Secretary, or designee.
Members are appointed for two years. Membership terms of more than two years are contingent upon the renewal of the Panel by appropriate action prior to its termination. Any member appointed to fill a vacancy occurring prior to the expiration of the term for which his or her predecessor was appointed shall be appointed only for the remainder of such term. A member may serve 180 days after the expiration of that member’s term if a successor has not taken office.
Subcommittees
Subcommittees and ad hoc subcommittees and working groups may be established with the approval of the Secretary or her designee to address specific issues and to provide the Panel with background study and proposals for consideration and action. The subcommittees shall make their recommendations to the parent Panel for deliberation. Timely notification of the subcommittees, including charges and membership, shall be made in writing to the Department Committee Management Officer.
Recordkeeping
Meetings of the Panel and its subcommittees will be conducted according to the Federal Advisory Committee Act, other applicable laws and Departmental policies. Panel and subcommittee records will be handled in accordance with General Records Schedule 6.2 Federal Advisory Records or other approved agency records disposition schedule. These records will be available for public inspection and copying, subject to the Freedom of Information Act, 5 U.S.C. 552.
Filing Date
APPROVED:
Sylvia M. Burwell