2013-22807. Proposed Collection; Comment Request

AGENCY:

Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs, DoD.

ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY:

In compliance with Section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs announces a proposed public information collection and seeks public comment on the provisions thereof. Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, including whether the information shall have practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the proposed information collection; (c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (d) ways to minimize the burden of the information collection on respondents, including through the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology.

DATES:

Consideration will be given to all comments received by November 18, 2013.

ADDRESSES:

You may submit comments, identified by docket number and title, by any of the following methods:

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
• Mail: Federal Docket Management System Office, 4800 Mark Center Drive, East Tower, Suite 02G09, Alexandria, VA 22350-3100.

Instructions: All submissions received must include the agency name, docket number and title for this Federal Register document. The general policy for comments and other submissions from members of the public is to make these submissions available for public viewing on the Internet at http://www.regulations.gov as they are received without change, including any personal identifiers or contact information.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

To request more information on this proposed information collection or to obtain a copy of the proposal and associated collection instruments, please write to Lt. Col. Judith Schulik, TRICARE Policy and Operations, TRICARE Management Activity, 5111 Leesburg Pike, Suite 810, Falls Church, VA 22041, telephone [phone].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Title; Associated Form; and OMB Number: Certification of non-contributory TriCare supplemental insurance plan; OMB Control Number 0720-0044.

Needs and Uses: Section 707 of the John Warner National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2007 added section 1097c to Title 10. Section 1097c prohibits employers from offering financial or other incentives to certain TRICARE-eligible employees to not enroll in an employer-offered group health plan. In other words, employers may no longer offer TRICARE supplemental insurance plans as part of an employee benefit package. Employers may, however, offer TRICARE supplemental insurance plans as part of an employee benefit package provided the plan is not paid for in whole or in part by the employer and is not endorsed by the employer. When such TRICARE supplemental plans are offered, the employer must properly document that they did not provide any payment for the benefit nor receive any direct or indirect consideration or compensation for offering the benefit; the employer's only involvement is providing the administrative support. That certification will be provided upon request to the Department of Defense.

Affected Public: Business or other for profit; Not-for-profit institutions.

Annual Burden Hours: 250 hours.

Number of Respondents: 1,500.

Responses per Respondent: 1.

Average Burden per Response: 10 minutes.

Frequency: On Occasion.

Respondents are employers who make available non-contributory TRICARE supplemental insurance plan to their employees. This new paperwork requirement is consistent with section 707 of the John Warner National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2007 which added Section 1097c to Title 10. Per Section 1097c, employers may no longer offer TRICARE supplemental insurance plans as part of an employee benefit package. They may offer TRICARE supplemental insurance plans, however, provided the plan is not paid for in whole or in part by the employer and is not endorsed by the employer. When such TRICARE supplemental plans are offered, the employer must properly document that they did not provide any payment for the benefit nor receive any direct or indirect consideration or compensation for offering the benefit; the employer's only involvement is providing the administrative support. One certification must be completed per employer. It should be kept on file by the employer for as long as such plans are offered. The employer will provide the certification to the Department of Defense upon request.

Dated: September 16, 2013.

Aaron Siegel,

Alternate OSD Federal Register Liaison Officer, Department of Defense.