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PUBLIC LAW 98-21—APR. 20, 1983 97 STAT. 161 "(D) While serving on the business of the Commission (including traveltime), a member of the Commission shall be entitled to com- pensation at the per diem equivalent of the rate provided for level IV of the Executive Schedule under section 5315 of title 5, United States Code; and while so serving away from home and his regular place of business, a member may be allowed travel expenses, as authorized by the Chairman of the Commission. "(E) In order to identify medically appropriate patterns of health resources use in accordance with paragraph (2), the Commission shall collect and assess information on medical and surgical proce- dures and services, including information on regional variations of medical practice and lengths of hospitalization and on other patient- care data, giving special attention to treatment patterns for condi- tions which appear to involve excessively costly or inappropriate services not adding to the quality of care provided. In order to assess the safety, efficacy, and cost-effectiveness of new and existing medi- cal and surgical procedures, the Commission shall, in coordination to the extent possible with the Secretary, collect and assess factual information, giving special attention to the needs of updating exist- ing diagnosis-related groups, establishing new diagnosis-related groups, and making recommendations on relative weighting factors for such groups to reflect appropriate differences in resource con- sumption in delivering safe, efficacious, and cost-effective care. In collecting and assessing information, the Commission shall— "(i) utilize existing information, both published and unpub- lished, where possible, collected and assessed either by its own staff or under other arrangements made in accordance with this paragraph; "(ii) carry out, or award grants or contracts for, original research and experimentation, including clinical research, where existing information is inadequate for the development of useful and valid guidelines by the Commission; and "(iii) adopt procedures allowing any interested party to submit information with respect to medical and surgical proce- dures and services (including new practices, such as the use of new technologies and treatment modalities), which information the Commission shall consider in making reports and recom- mendations to the Secretary and Congress. "(F) The Commission shall have access to such relevant informa- tion and data as may be available from appropriate Federal agencies and shall assure that its activities, especially the conduct of original research and medical studies, are coordinated with the activities of Federal agencies. "(G)(i) The Office shall report annually to the Congress on the functioning and progress of the Commission and on the status of the assessment of medical procedures and services by the Commission, "(ii) The Office shall nave unrestricted access to all deliberations, records, and data of the Commission, immediately upon its request, "(iii) In order to carry out its duties under this paragraph, the Office is authorized to expend reasonable and neccessary funds as mutually agreed upon by the Office and the Commission. The Office shall be reimbursed for such funds by the Commission from the appropriations made with respect to the Commission. (H) The Commission shall be subject to periodic audit by the Audit General Accounting Office. "(IXi) There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of this paragraph. Report to Congress. Appropriation authorization. 1 1 - 1 9 4 O 85 — 7 QL 3