[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 P[email protected], 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