CMS has announced that the first 2012 semi-annual meeting of the Advisory Panel on Hospital Outpatient Payment (HOP), which formerly was known as the Advisory Panel on Ambulatory Payment Classification Groups, will be held on February 27-29, 2012.  Among other things, the panel will address: whether procedures within an APC group are similar both clinically and in terms of resource use; APC group weights; and packaging of OPPS services and costs. The deadline for submitting presentations and comments is December 30, 2011, and the meeting registration deadline is January 27, 2012.