06-3001. Privacy Act of 1974; System of Records

AGENCY:

Office of the Secretary, DoD.

ACTION:

Notice to amend systems of records.

SUMMARY:

The Office of the Secretary of Defense is amending a system of records notice in its existing inventory of record systems subject to the Privacy Act of 1974, (5 U.S.C. 552a), as amended.

DATES:

This proposed action will be effective without further notice on April 28, 2006 unless comments are received which result in a contrary determination.

ADDRESSES:

Send comments to the OSD Privacy Act Coordinator, Records Management Section, Washington Headquarters Services, 1155 Defense Pentagon, Washington, DC 20301-1155.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Ms. Juanita Irvin at [phone].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

The Office of the Secretary of Defense systems of records notices subject to the Privacy Act of 1974, (5 U.S.C. 552a), as amended, have been published in the Federal Register and are available from the address above.

The specific changes to the record system being amended are set forth below followed by the notice, as amended, published in its entirety. The proposed amendments are not within the purview of susection (r) of the Privacy Act of 1974, (5 U.S.C. 552a), as amended, which requires the submission of a new or altered system report.

Dated: March 23, 2006.

L.M. Bynum,

OSD Federal Register Liaison Officer, Department of Defense.

DTMA 04

System name:

Medical/Dental Claim History Files (May 9, 2003, 68 FR 24938).

Changes:

Notification procedure:

Add the following to the end of the entry: “or TRICARE Management Activity Privacy Office, Skyline 5, Suite 810, 5111 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 22041-3201.”

Record access procedures:

Add the following to the end of the entry: “or TRICARE Management Activity Privacy Office, Skyline 5, Suite 810, 5111 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 22041-3201.”

DTMA 04

System name:

Medical/Dental Claim History Files.

System location:

TRICARE Management Activity, Department of Defense, 16401 East Centretech Parkway, Aurora, CO 80011-9066, and contractors under contract to TRICARE. A listing of TRICARE contractors maintaining these records is available from the system manager.

Categories of individuals covered by the system:

Eligible beneficiaries and all individuals who seek health care (medical and dental) under TRICARE/CHAMPUS and CHAMPVA.

Categories of records in the system:

File contains claims, billings for services, applications or approval forms, enrollment files, recoupment files, third-party liability files, fraud and abuse files, case management files, resource sharing files, utilization management/quality assurance files, payment files, medical/dental records, family history files, records of grievances with a medical/dental provider, appeals, hearings, or any other correspondence, memoranda, or reports which are acquired or utilized in the development and processing of TRICARE/CHAMPUS or CHAMPVA claims. Records are also maintained on health care demonstration projects, including enrollment and authorization agreements, correspondence, memoranda, forms and reports, which are acquired or utilized during the projects.

Authority for maintenance of the system:

41 CFR 101-11.000; chapter 55, 10 U.S.C. 613, chapter 17, 38 U.S.C.; 32 CFR part 199; and E.O. 9397 (SSN).

Purpose(s):

TRICARE Management Activity and its contractors, DoD staff (including Military Treatment Facilities, clinics and Lead Agent Staff) use the information to control and process health care benefits available under TRICARE/CHAMPUS and CHAMPVA including the processing of medical/dental claims, the control and approval of medical/dental treatments, issuance of deductible certificates, and necessary interface with providers of health care. The system also supports audits of contractor-processed claims to determine payment and occurrence accuracy of the contractor's adjudication process.

Routine uses of records maintained in the system, including categories of users and purposes of such uses:

In addition to those disclosures generally permitted under 5 U.S.C. 552a(b) of the Privacy Act, these records or information contained therein may specifically be disclosed outside the DoD as a routine use pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552a(b)(3) as follows:

To the Department of Health and Human Services and/or the Department of Veterans Affairs consistent with their statutory administrative responsibilities under TRICARE/CHAMPUS and CHAMPVA pursuant to chapter 55, 10 U.S.C. and section 613, chapter 17, 38 U.S.C.

Referral to Federal, State, local, or foreign governmental agencies, and to private business entities, including individual providers of care (participating and non-participating), on matters relating to eligibility, claims pricing and payment, fraud, program abuse, utilization review, quality assurance, peer review, program integrity, third-party liability, coordination of benefits, and civil or criminal litigation related to the operation of TRICARE/CHAMPUS.

Disclosure to the Department of Justice and the United States Attorneys in situations where the United States is an interested party.

Disclosure to third-party contacts in situations where the party to be contacted has, or is expected to have, information necessary to establish the validity of evidence or to verify the accuracy of information presented by the individual concerning his or her entitlement, the amount of benefit payments, any review of suspected abuse or fraud, or any concern for program integrity or quality appraisal.

The DoD ‘Blanket Routine Uses’ set forth at the beginning of OSD's compilation of systems of records notices apply to this system.

Note:

This system of records contains individually identifiable health information. The DoD Health Information Privacy Regulation (DoD 6025.18-R) issued pursuant to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, applies to most such health information. DoD 6025.18-R may place additional procedural requirements on the uses and disclosures of such information beyond those found in the Privacy Act of 1974 or mentioned in this system of records notice.

Disclosure to consumer reporting agencies:

Disclosures pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552a(b)(12) may be made from this system to consumer reporting agencies as defined in the Fair Credit Reporting Act of 1966 (15 U.S.C. 1681a(f)) or the Federal Claims Collections Act of 1966 (31 U.S.C. 3701(a)(3)). The purpose of the disclosure is to aid in the collection of outstanding debts owed to the Federal Government; typically, to provide an incentive for debtors to repay delinquent Federal Government debts by making these debts part of their credit records.

The disclosure is limited to information necessary to establish the identity of the individual, including name, address, and taxpayer identification number (Social Security Number); the amount, status, and history of the claim; and the agency or program under which the claim arose for the sole purpose of allowing the consumer reporting agency to prepare a commercial credit report.

Policies and practices for storing, retrieving, accessing, retaining, and disposing of records in the system:

Storage:

Records are maintained on paper, electronic, microfilm, imaging, or optical formats.

Retrievability:

Information is retrieved by sponsor's name; sponsor's Social Security Number; beneficiary's name; beneficiary's Social Security Number; provider's name; provider's number (Tax Identification Number or Social Security Number); internal control number; classification of medical diagnosis; procedure code; geographical location of care provided; and selected utilization limits.

Safeguards:

Records are maintained in areas accessible only to authorized personnel who are properly screened, cleared and trained. Decentralized automated segments within contractor's operations are accessible on-line only to authorized persons possessing user identification codes. The automated portion of the Primary System is accessible only through TRICARE Management Activity on-line data systems. Security systems and/or security guards protect buildings where records are maintained.

Retention and disposal:

Paper records are closed out at the end of the calendar year in which finalized and held six additional years and then destroyed. Where hard copy records (except Claims History Files) have been converted to electronic, microfilm, imaging, or optical formats, the hard copy record is destroyed and the electronic, microfilm, imaging, or optical format is kept by the contractor for six years after claim is processed to completion and then destroyed. Claims History Files maintained in electronic format are kept for ten years and are then destroyed or deleted.

System manager(s) and address:

TRICARE Management Activity, Department of Defense, Administration and Evaluation Directorate, 16501 East Centretech Parkway, Aurora, CO 80011-9066.

Notification procedure:

Individuals seeking to determine whether information about themselves is contained in this system should address written inquiries to the TRICARE Management Activity, Department of Defense, ATTN: Privacy Act Officer, 16401 Centretech Parkway, Aurora, CO 80011-9066; or TRICARE Management Activity Privacy Office, Skyline 5, Suite 810, 5111 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 22041-3201.

Record access procedures:

Individuals seeking access to information about themselves contained in this system should address written inquiries to the TRICARE Management Activity, Department of Defense, ATTN; Privacy Act Officer, 16401 Centretech Parkway, Aurora, CO 80011-9066; or TRICARE Management Activity Privacy Office, Skyline 5, Suite 810, 5111 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 22041-3201.

Written request for information should include the full name of the beneficiary, the full name of the sponsor and sponsor's Social Security Number, current address and telephone number.

For personal visits to examine records, the individual should provide some acceptable identification such as a driver's license or other form of picture identification.

If it is determined that the release of medical information to the requester could have an adverse effect upon the individual's physical or mental health, the requester should be prepared to provide the name and address of a physician who would be willing to receive the medical record, and at the physician's discretion, inform the individual covered by the system of the contents of that record. In the event the physician does not agree to convey the information contained within the record to the individual, TRICARE Management Activity will take positive measures to ensure the individual is provided the requested information.

Contesting record procedures:

The OSD rules for accessing records, for contesting contents and appealing initial agency determinations are published in OSD Administrative Instruction 81; 32 CFR part 311; or may be obtained from the system manager.

Record source categories:

Contractors, Health Benefit Advisors; other Components of the Department of Defense; all branches of the uniformed Services; Congressional offices; providers of care; consultants; and individuals.

Exemptions claimed for the system:

None.