2024-05722. Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) Generic Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; Comment Request

AGENCY:

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Health and Human Services (HHS).

ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY:

On May 28, 2010, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) guidance related to the “generic” clearance process. Generally, this is an expedited process by which agencies may obtain OMB's approval of collection of information requests that are “usually voluntary, low-burden, and uncontroversial collections,” do not raise any substantive or policy issues, and do not require policy or methodological review. The process requires the submission of an overarching plan that defines the scope of the individual collections that would fall under its umbrella. On October 23, 2011, OMB approved our initial request to use the generic clearance process under control number 0938–1148 (CMS–10398). It was last approved on April 26, 2021, via the standard PRA process which included the publication of 60- and 30-day Federal Register notices. The scope of the April 2021 umbrella accounts for Medicaid and CHIP State plan amendments, waivers, demonstrations, and reporting. This Federal Register notice seeks public comment on one or more of our collection of information requests that we believe are generic and fall within the scope of the umbrella. Interested persons are invited to submit comments regarding our burden estimates or any other aspect of this collection of information, including: the necessity and utility of the proposed information collection for the proper performance of the agency's functions, the accuracy of the estimated burden, ways to enhance the quality, utility and clarity of the information to be collected, and the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology to minimize the information collection burden.

DATES:

Comments must be received by April 1, 2024.

ADDRESSES:

When commenting, please reference the applicable form number (CMS–10398 #81) and the OMB control number (0938–1148). To be assured consideration, comments and recommendations must be submitted in any one of the following ways:

1. Electronically. You may send your comments electronically to http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the instructions for “Comment or Submission” or “More Search Options” to find the information collection document(s) that are accepting comments.

2. By regular mail. You may mail written comments to the following address: CMS, Office of Strategic Operations and Regulatory Affairs, Division of Regulations Development, Attention: CMS–10398 #81/OMB control number: 0938–1148, Room C4–26–05, 7500 Security Boulevard, Baltimore, Maryland 21244–1850.

To obtain copies of a supporting statement and any related forms for the proposed collection(s) summarized in this notice, please access the CMS PRA website by copying and pasting the following web address into your web browser: https://www.cms.gov/​medicare/​regulations-guidance/​legislation/​paperwork-reduction-act-1995/​pra-listing.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

William N. Parham at (410) 786–4669.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Following is a summary of the use and burden associated with the subject information collection(s). More detailed information can be found in the collection's supporting statement and associated materials (see ADDRESSES ).

Generic Information Collection

1. Title of Information Collection: Improving Quality of Care and Outcomes Data for Pregnant Medicaid Beneficiaries and Newborn Infants through Linkage and Evaluation of Vital Records (VR) Birth Certificates (BC), Death Certificates (DC) and T–MSIS Analytic Files (TAF); Type of Information Collection Request: New collection of information request; Use: This project aims to expand and strengthen data capacity by linking VR birth certificate data with TAF data to provide state, federal, and academic researchers with accessible, linked, longitudinal data on pregnant people and their newborn infants. CMCS is requesting record-level VR birth certificate data with identifiers from state VR agencies to link those data to Medicaid claims. To accomplish these linkages, record-level VR birth certificate data with identifiers will be ingested and stored in a secure CMS data environment and used only for the purpose of linking VR data to Medicaid claims; VR identifiers will not be used for any other purpose. If VR birth certificate and TAF linkages are successful, CMCS will also request state VR mortality data from a selection of states to link maternal death records to TAF data. Using current state linkages of live births with death certificate data to identify maternal and infant deaths will support further research into better understanding and reducing maternal and infant morbidity and mortality. Form Number: CMS–10398 #81 (OMB control number: 0938–1148); Frequency: One time; Affected Public: State, Local, or Tribal Governments; Number of Respondents: 52; Total Annual Responses: 52; Total Annual Hours: 104. (For policy questions regarding this collection contact: Ali Fokar at (410) 786–0020.)

William N. Parham, III,

Director, Division of Information Collections and Regulatory Impacts, Office of Strategic Operations and Regulatory Affairs.