98-29961. Agency Information Collection Activities: Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request  

  • [Federal Register Volume 63, Number 216 (Monday, November 9, 1998)]
    [Notices]
    [Page 60357]
    From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
    [FR Doc No: 98-29961]
    
    
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    DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
    
    Health Care Financing Administration
    [Document Identifier: HCFA-250,254]
    
    
    Agency Information Collection Activities: Submission for OMB 
    Review; Comment Request
    
        In compliance with the requirement of section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the 
    Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Health Care Financing 
    Administration (HCFA), Department of Health and Human Services, has 
    submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) the following 
    proposal for the collection of information. Interested persons are 
    invited to send comments regarding the burden estimate or any other 
    aspect of this collection of information, including any of the 
    following subjects: (1) The necessity and utility of the proposed 
    information collection for the proper performance of the agency's 
    functions; (2) the accuracy of the estimated burden; (3) ways to 
    enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be 
    collected; and (4) the use of automated collection techniques or other 
    forms of information technology to minimize the information collection 
    burden.
        Type of Information Collection Request: Extension of a currently 
    approved collection; Title of Information Collection: Medicare 
    Secondary Payer Information Collection and Supporting Regulations 42 
    CFR 489.20; Form No.: HCFA-250,254 OMB # 0938-0214; Use: This 
    questionnaire will collect information from beneficiaries on health 
    insurance coverage that is primary to Medicare. This information is 
    necessary in order for HCFA to identify those Medicare beneficiaries 
    who have group health insurance that would pay before Medicare, 
    resulting in savings to the Medicare Trust Fund. Medicare Secondary 
    Payer (MSP) is essentially the same concept known in the private 
    insurance industry as coordination of benefits, and refers to those 
    situations where Medicare does not have primary responsibility for 
    paying the medical expenses of a Medicare beneficiary. HCFA contracts 
    with health insuring organizations, herein referred to as 
    intermediaries and carriers, to process Medicare claims. HCFA charges 
    its Medicare intermediaries and carriers with various tasks to detect 
    MSP cases; develops and disseminates tools to enable them to better 
    perform their tasks; and monitors their performance in achievement of 
    their assigned MSP functions. Because intermediaries and carriers are 
    also marketing health insurance products that may have liability when 
    Medicare is secondary, the MSP provisions create the potential for 
    conflict of interest. Recognizing this inherent conflict, HCFA has 
    taken steps to ensure that its intermediaries and carriers process 
    claims in accordance with the MSP provisions, regardless of what other 
    insurer is primary. Frequency: One time only; Affected Public: 
    Individuals or Households; Number of Respondents: 14,204,000; Total 
    Annual Responses: 14,204,000; Total Annual Hours: 773,240.
        To obtain copies of the supporting statement for the proposed 
    paperwork collections referenced above, E-mail your request, including 
    your address and phone number, to Paperwork@hcfa.gov, or call the 
    Reports Clearance Office on (410) 786-1326. Written comments and 
    recommendations for the proposed information collections must be mailed 
    within 30 days of this notice directly to the OMB Desk Officer 
    designated at the following address: OMB Human Resources and Housing 
    Branch, Attention: Allison Eydt, New Executive Office Building, Room 
    10235, Washington, D.C. 20503.
    
        Dated: October 28, 1998.
    John P. Burke III,
    HCFA Reports Clearance Officer, HCFA, Office of Information Services, 
    Security and Standards Group, Division of HCFA Enterprise Standards.
    [FR Doc. 98-29961 Filed 11-6-98; 8:45 am]
    BILLING CODE 4120-03-P
    
    
    

Document Information

Published:
11/09/1998
Department:
Health Care Finance Administration
Entry Type:
Notice
Document Number:
98-29961
Pages:
60357-60357 (1 pages)
Docket Numbers:
Document Identifier: HCFA-250,254
PDF File:
98-29961.pdf