[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 37 (Thursday, February 25, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Page 9335]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-4704]
[[Page 9335]]
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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Health Care Financing Administration
[Document Identifier: HCFA-R-269]
Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection;
Comment Request
AGENCY: Health Care Financing Administration.
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, is
publishing the following summary of proposed collections for public
comment. Interested persons are invited to send comments regarding this
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: Evaluation of Competitive Bidding
Demonstration for Durable Medical Equipment (DME) and Prosthetics,
Orthotics, and Supplies (POS)--Data Collection Plan for Baseline
Beneficiary Surveys, Oxygen Consumer Survey, Medical Equipment and
Supplies Consumer Survey and Supporting Statute Section 4319 of the
Balanced Budget Act of 1997;
Form No.: HCFA-R-0269;
Use: Section 4319 of the Balanced Budget Act (BBA) mandates HCFA to
implement demonstration projects under which competitive acquisition
areas are established for contract award purposes for the furnishing of
Part B items and services, except for physician's services. The first
of these demonstration projects implements competitive bidding of
certain categories of durable medical equipment, prosthetics,
orthotics, and supplies (DMEPOS). Under the law, suppliers can receive
payments from Medicare for items and services covered by the
demonstration only if their bids are competitive in terms of quality
and price. Each demonstration project may be conducted in up to three
metropolitan areas for a three year period. Authority for the
demonstration expires on December 31, 2002. The schedule for the
demonstration anticipates about a six month period between mailing the
bidding forms to potential bidders and the start of payments for DMEPOS
under the demonstration. HCFA intends to operate the demonstration in
two rounds, the first of two years, and the second of one year. HCFA
has announced that it intends to operate its first demonstration in
Polk County, Florida, which is the Lakeland-Winter Haven Metropolitan
Area.
This evaluation is necessary to determine whether access to care,
quality of care, and diversity of product selection are affected by the
competitive bidding demonstration. Although secondary data will be used
wherever possible in the evaluation, primary data from beneficiaries
themselves is required in order to gain an understanding of changes in
their level of satisfaction and in the quality and selection of the
medical equipment.
The purpose of the data collection plan is to describe the baseline
data collection procedures and the plan for analyzing the data to be
collected.
The baseline beneficiary surveys will take place March 1999 to May
1999, prior to the competitive bidding demonstration. We will sample
beneficiaries from claims summaries provided by the durable medical
equipment regional carrier (DMERC). The sample will be stratified into
two groups: beneficiaries who use oxygen and beneficiaries who are non-
oxygen users, i.e., users of the other four product categories covered
by the demonstration (hospital beds, enteral nutrition, urological
supplies, and surgical dressings) but not oxygen. To draw a comparison,
we will sample in both the demonstration site (Polk County, Florida)
and a comparison site (Brevard County, Florida) that matches Polk
County on characteristics such as number of Medicare beneficiaries and
DME/POS utilization.
The research questions to be addressed by the surveys focus on
access, quality, product selection, and satisfaction with products and
services. Our collection process will include fielding the survey for
oxygen users and the survey for non-oxygen users before the
demonstration begins and again after the new demonstration prices have
been put into effect. The same data collection process will be followed
in the comparison site (Brevard County). In the analysis of the data,
we will also control for socioeconomic factors. This will allow us to
separate the effects of the demonstration from beneficiary-or site-
specific effects.
Information collected in the beneficiary survey will be used by the
University of Wisconsin-Madison (UW-M), Research Triangle Institute
(RTI), and Northwestern University (NU) to evaluate the Competitive
Bidding Demonstration for DME and POS. Results of the evaluation will
be presented to HCFA and to Congress, who will use the results to
determine whether the demonstration should be extended to other sites.
The information that these surveys will provide about access, quality,
and product selection will be very important to the future of
competitive bidding within the Medicare program. This is the first
Medicare demonstration that allows competitive bidding for services and
equipment provided to beneficiaries. A negative impact on access,
quality, or product selection would have significant implications for
the future of competitive bidding within the Medicare program.
Frequency: Annually.
Affected Public: Individuals or Households.
Number of Respondents: 2,560.
Total Annual Responses: 2,560.
Total Annual Hours: 724.
To obtain copies of the supporting statement and any related forms
for the proposed paperwork collections referenced above, access HCFA's
Web Site address at http://www.hcfa.gov/regs/prdact95.htm, or E-mail
your request, including your address, phone number, OMB number, and
HCFA document identifier, 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 60 days of this notice directly to the HCFA Paperwork Clearance
Officer designated at the following address: HCFA, Office of
Information Services, Security and Standards Group, Division of HCFA
Enterprise Standards, Attention: Dawn Willinghan, Room N2-14-26, 7500
Security Boulevard, Baltimore, Maryland 21244-1850.
Dated: February 17, 1999.
John P. Burke III,
HCFA Reports Clearance Officer, HCFA Office of Information Services,
Security and Standards Group, Division of HCFA Enterprise Standards.
[FR Doc. 99-4704 Filed 2-24-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4120-03-P
