2013-14878. Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; Comment Request

AGENCY:

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, HHS.

ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY:

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is announcing an opportunity for the public to comment on CMS' intention to collect information from the public. Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), federal agencies are required to publish notice in the Federal Register concerning each proposed collection of information (including each proposed extension or reinstatement of an existing collection of information) and to allow 60 days for public comment on the proposed action. Interested persons are invited to send comments regarding our burden estimates 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.

DATES:

Comments must be received by August 20, 2013.

ADDRESSES:

When commenting, please reference the document identifier or OMB control number (OCN). 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: Document Identifier/OMB Control Number ___, 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, you may make your request using one of following:

1. Access CMS' Web site address at http://www.cms.hhs.gov/​PaperworkReductionActof1995.

2. Email your request, including your address, phone number, OMB number, and CMS document identifier, to [e-mail].

3. Call the Reports Clearance Office at [phone].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Reports Clearance Office at [phone].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

This notice sets out a summary of the use and burden associated with the following information collections. More detailed information can be found in each collection's supporting statement and associated materials (see ADDRESSES).

CMS-10116 Conditions for Payment of Power Mobility Devices, including Power Wheelchairs and Power-Operated Vehicles.

CMS-R-245 Medicare and Medicaid Programs OASIS Collection Requirements as Part of the CoPs for HHAs and Supp. Regs. in 42 CFR 48.55, 484.205, 484.245, 484.250.

CMS-1572 Home Health Agency Survey and Deficiencies Report.

CMS-250-254 Medicare Secondary Payer Information Collection and Supporting Regulations.

CMS-379 Financial Statement of Debtor and Supporting Regulations.

CMS-4040 Request for Enrollment in Supplementary Medical Insurance.

CMS-10174 Collection of Prescription Drug Event Data from Contracted Part D Providers for Payment.

CMS-10261 Part C Medicare Advantage Reporting Requirements and Supporting Regulations.

CMS-R-285 Request for Retirement Benefit Information.

Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA) (44 U.S.C. 3501-3520), federal agencies must obtain approval from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for each collection of information they conduct or sponsor. The term “collection of information” is defined in 44 U.S.C. 3502(3) and 5 CFR 1320.3(c) and includes agency requests or requirements that members of the public submit reports, keep records, or provide information to a third party. Section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the PRA requires federal agencies to publish a 60-day notice in the Federal Register concerning each proposed collection of information, including each proposed extension or reinstatement of an existing collection of information, before submitting the collection to OMB for approval. To comply with this requirement, CMS is publishing this notice.

Information Collections

1. Type of Information Collection Request: Reinstatement without change of a previously approved collection; Title of Information Collection: Conditions for Payment of Power Mobility Devices, including Power Wheelchairs and Power-Operated Vehicles; Use: We are renewing our request for approval for the collection requirements associated with the final rule, CMS-3017-F (71 FR 17021), which published on April 5, 2006, and required a face-to-face examination of the beneficiary by the physician or treating practitioner, a written prescription, and receipt of pertinent parts of the medical record by the supplier within 45 days after the face-to-face examination that the durable medical equipment (DME) suppliers maintain in their records and make available to CMS and its agents upon request. Form Number: CMS-10116 (OCN: 0938-0971); Frequency: Yearly; Affected Public: Private Sector—Business or other for-profits; Number of Respondents: 90,521; Number of Responses: 173,810; Total Annual Hours: 34,762. (For policy questions regarding this collection contact Susan Miller at 410-786-2118.)

2. Type of Information Collection Request: Revision of a currently approved collection; Title of Information Collection: OASIS Collection Requirements as Part of the CoPs for HHAs and Supporting Regulations; Use: The OASIS data set is currently mandated for use by Home Health Agencies (HHAs) as a condition of participation (CoP) in the Medicare program. Since 1999, the Medicare CoPs have mandated that HHAs use the OASIS data set when evaluating adult non-maternity patients receiving skilled services. The OASIS is a core standard assessment data set that agencies integrate into their own patient-specific, comprehensive assessment to identify each patient's need for home care that meets the patient's medical, nursing, rehabilitative, social, and discharge planning needs. Form Number: CMS-R-245 (OCN: 0938-0760); Frequency: Occasionally; Affected Public: Private Sector (Business or other for-profit and Not-for-profit institutions); Number of Respondents: 12,014; Total Annual Responses: 17,268,890; Total Annual Hours: 15,305,484. (For policy questions regarding this collection contact Robin Dowell at 410-786-0060.)

3. Type of Information Collection Request: Reinstatement with change of a previously approved collection; Title of Information Collection: Home Health Agency Survey and Deficiencies Report; Use: In order to participate in the Medicare Program as a Home Health Agency (HHA) provider, the HHA must meet federal standards. This form is used to record information and patients' health and provider compliance with requirements and to report the information to the federal government. Form Number: CMS-1572 (OCN: 0938-0355); Frequency: Yearly; Affected Public: State, Local or Tribal Government; Number of Respondents: 3,830; Total Annual Responses: 3,830; Total Annual Hours: 958. (For policy questions regarding this collection contact Patricia Sevast at 410-786-8135.)

4. Type of Information Collection Request: Reinstatement without change of a previously approved collection; Title of Information Collection: Medicare Secondary Payer Information Collection and Supporting Regulations; Use: We are seeking to renew approval to collect information from beneficiaries, providers, physicians, insurers, and suppliers on health insurance coverage that is primary to Medicare. Collecting this information allows us to identify those Medicare beneficiaries who are in situations where Medicare is statutorily required to be a secondary payer (MSP), thereby safeguarding the Medicare Trust Fund. Specifically, we use the information to accurately process and pay Medicare claims and to make necessary recoveries in accordance with § 1862(b) of the Act (42 U.S.C. 1395y(b)). If an active MSP situation is identified and Medicare is inappropriately billed as primary, the claim will be rejected. The hospitals, other providers, physicians, pharmacies, and suppliers use the information collected (and furnished to them on the denial) to properly bill the appropriate primary payer. Completing an MSP questionnaire and making an accurate MSP determination helps hospitals, other providers, physicians, pharmacies, and suppliers to bill correctly the first time, saving the Medicare Program money and affording Medicare beneficiaries an enhanced level of customer service (which, again, is particularly important in Part D due to the real-time adjudication of claims and the complicated nature of its benefit administration). Insurers, underwriters, third party administrators, and self-insured/self-administered employers use the information to ensure compliance with the law by refunding any identified mistaken payments to Medicare. Form Number: CMS-250-254 (OCN: 0938-0214); Frequency: Occasionally; Affected Public: Individuals and Households, Private Sector, State, Local or Tribal Governments; Number of Respondents: 143,070,217; Total Annual Responses: 143,070,217; Total Annual Hours: 1,788,057. (For policy questions regarding this collection contact Ward Marsh at 410-786-6473.)

5. Type of Information Collection Request: Reinstatement without change of a previously approved collection; Title of Information Collection: Financial Statement of Debtor and Supporting Regulations; Use: The form CMS-379 is used to collect financial information which is needed to evaluate requests from physicians and suppliers to pay indebtedness under an extended repayment schedule, or to compromise a debt less than the full amount. Normally, when a Medicare Administrative Contractor (MAC) overpays a physician or supplier, the overpayment is associated with a single claim, and the amount of the overpayment is moderate. In these cases, the physician/supplier usually refunds the overpaid amount in a lump sum. Alternatively, the MAC may recoup the overpaid amount against future payments. A recoupment is the recovery by Medicare of any outstanding Medicare debt by reducing present or future Medicare payments and applying the amount withheld to the indebtedness. The recoupment can be made only if the physician or supplier accepts assignment since the MAC makes payment to the physician or supplier only on assigned claims.

Sometimes, however, an overpayment to a physician or supplier is exceptionally large, and it cannot be recovered in the normal fashion. The large overpayment usually results from aberrant billing practices, such as billing for more expensive services than were rendered. This could be discovered during routine review of a statistically valid sample of claims. The physician or supplier may be unable to refund a large overpaid amount in a single payment. The MAC cannot recover the overpayment by recoupment if the physician/supplier does not accept assignment of future claims, or is not expected to file future claims because of going out of business, illness or death. In these unusual circumstances, the MAC has authority to approve or deny extended repayment schedules up to 12 months, or may recommend to that we approve up to 60 months. Before the MAC takes these actions, the MAC will require full documentation of the physician's or supplier's financial situation. Thus, the physician or supplier must complete form CMS-379. Form Number: CMS-379 (OCN: 0938-0270); Frequency: Occasionally; Affected Public: Private Sector—Business or other for-profits; Number of Respondents: 500; Total Annual Responses: 500; Total Annual Hours: 1,000. (For policy questions regarding this collection contact Ronke Fabayo at 410-786-4460.)

6. Type of Information Collection Request: Reinstatement without change of a previously approved collection; Title of Information Collection: Request for Enrollment in Supplementary Medical Insurance; Use: Form CMS-4040 (and CMS-4040SP) is used to establish entitlement to and enrollment in Medicare Part B for beneficiaries who file for Part B only. The collected information is used to determine entitlement for individuals who meet the requirements in section 1836(2) of the Social Security Act as well as the entitlement of the applicant or their spouses to an annuity paid by OPM for premium deduction purposes. Form Number: CMS-4040 (OCN: 0938-0245); Frequency: Once; Affected Public: Individuals or households; Number of Respondents: 10,000; Total Annual Responses: 10,000; Total Annual Hours: 2,500. (For policy questions regarding this collection contact Lindsay Smith at 410-786-6843.)

7. Type of Information Collection Request: Reinstatement without change of a previously approved collection; Title of Information Collection: Collection of Prescription Drug Event Data from Contracted Part D Providers for Payment; Use: The information users would include Pharmacy Benefit Managers, third party administrators and pharmacies and prescription drug plans, Medicare Advantage plans that offer integrated prescription drug and health care coverage, Fallbacks and other plans that offer coverage of outpatient prescription drugs under the Medicare Part D benefit to Medicare beneficiaries. The data is used primarily for payment, but is also used for claim validation as well as for other legislated functions such as quality monitoring, program integrity, and oversight. Form Number: CMS-10174 (OCN: 0938-0982); Frequency: Monthly; Affected Public: Private sector (business or other for-profits and not-for-profit institutions); Number of Respondents: 747; Total Annual Responses: 947,881,770; Total Annual Hours: 1,896. (For policy questions regarding this collection contact Ivan Iveljic at 410-786-3312.)

8. Type of Information Collection Request: Revision of a currently approved collection; Title of Information Collection: Part C Medicare Advantage Reporting Requirements and Supporting Regulations; Use: There are a number of information users of Part C reporting, including CMS central and regional office staff that use this information to monitor health plans and to hold them accountable for their performance, researchers, and other government agencies such as GAO. Health plans can use this information to measure and benchmark their performance. We intend to make some of these data available for public reporting as “display measures” in 2013. Form Number: CMS-10261 (OCN: 0938-1054); Frequency: Yearly and semi-annually; Affected Public: Private sector (business or other for-profits); Number of Respondents: 588; Total Annual Responses: 6,715; Total Annual Hours: 200,918. (For policy questions regarding this collection contact Terry Lied at 410-786-8973.)

9. Type of Information Collection Request: Reinstatement without change of a previously approved collection; Title of Information Collection: Request for Retirement Benefit Information; Use: Section 1818(d)(5) of the Social Security Act provides that former state and local government employees (who are age 65 or older, have been entitled to Premium Part A for at least 7 years, and did not have the premium paid for by a state, a political subdivision of a state, or an agency or instrumentality of one or more states or political subdivisions) may have the Part A premium reduced to zero. These individuals must also have 10 years of employment with the state or local government employer or a combination of 10 years of employment with a state or local government employer and a non-government employer. Form CMS-R-285 is an essential part of the process of determining whether an individual qualifies for the premium reduction. The Social Security Administration will use this information to help determine whether a beneficiary meets the requirements for reduction of the Part A premium. Form Number: CMS-R-285 (OCN: 0938-0769). Frequency: Once. Affected Public: State, Local, or Tribal Governments; Number of Respondents: 500; Total Annual Responses: 500; Total Annual Hours: 125. (For policy questions regarding this collection contact Lindsay Smith at 410-786-6843.)

Dated: June 18, 2013.

Martique Jones,

Deputy Director, Regulations Development Group, Office of Strategic Operations and Regulatory Affairs.