On Friday, May 19, 2003, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released a Federal Register announcement on the “Town Hall Meeting on the Refinement of the Minimum Data Set (MDS), Version 3.0.

The Town Hall meeting will be held at CMS offices in Baltimore, MD on June 2, 2003 and ATRA staff and legislative counsel will be attending.

CMS has requested written comments regarding the draft MDS 3.0 and ATRA has prepared the following talking points, as well as a draft letter for ATRA members and supporters to send to CMS. While the deadline is May 23, 2003, we encourage recreational therapists to submit their comments regardless of the deadline. ATRA will send a specific letter on Friday, May 23, 2003 to encompass the scope of the Federal Register announcement to prepare for the June 2, 2003 Town Hall Meeting.

ATRA ACTION:

1. Visit the MDS 3.0 draft at http://www.cms.hhs.gov/providers/nursinghomes/nhi.

2. Prepare your own response using the draft prepared by ATRA. Please include specific information about your practice as a recreational therapist in the first paragraph.

3. You may email your comments to Rita Shapiro at mds30comments@cms.hhs.gov or mail a hard copy to Ms. Shapiro at the address provided on the draft letter. REGARDLESS HOW YOU SEND YOUR COMMENTS, PLEASE PROVIDE A CC: TO THE ATRA NATIONAL OFFICE, EMAIL: NATIONAL@ATRA-TR.ORG OR HARD COPY TO 1414 PRINCE STREET, SUITE 204, ALEXANDRIA, VA 22314. It is very important for us to track our responses to CMS!

4. Watch the ATRA website for future announcements and postings. We anticipate an ATRA response to the recently released Inpatient Rehabilitation Facility Prospective Payment System Final Rule within several weeks.

Email or call the ATRA National Office if you have any questions. THANKS!

Attachments:

ATRA Talking Points on CMS MDS 3.0 Draft
Draft Member Letter on MDS 3.0 (Word for Windows format)
ATRA’s Response to CMS MDS 3.0