[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 5 (Friday, January 7, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 1161-1163]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-313]
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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Health Care Financing Administration
[Form #HCFA-R-0264 A-H / Supplement]
[Emergency Clearance: Public Information Collection Requirements
Submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB)]
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 (DHHS),
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.
We are, however, requesting an emergency review of the information
collections referenced below. In
[[Page 1162]]
compliance with the requirement of section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, we have submitted to the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) the following requirements for emergency
review. We are requesting an emergency review because the collection of
this information is needed prior to the expiration of the normal time
limits under OMB's regulations at 5 C.F.R. Part 1320. The Agency cannot
reasonably comply with the normal clearance procedures because of a
statutory deadline imposed by section 1853(a)(3) of the Balanced Budget
Act of 1997. Without this information, HCFA would not be able to
properly implement the requirements set forth in the statute. In order
to fully test the operations of competitive bidding at the second site,
and to thus test the President's plans for this part of value based
purchasing, it is necessary to operate the demonstration for at least
two years. The authorizing legislation for the demonstration, section
1847 of the Balanced Budget Act, states that ``all projects under this
section shall terminate not later than December 31, 2002.'' In order to
operate the demonstration for two years, we need to implement the
demonstration at the second site starting January 1, 2001. Because of
the need for nine months for processing and bidding operations, we must
have emergency approval of the forms in order to proceed with the
demonstration on time and as needed. Using the regular clearance
process would not allow the demonstration a full two year?s of
operation as needed for a full test of the bidding concept.
HCFA is requesting OMB review and approval of this collection by
February 15, 2000, with a 180-day approval period. Written comments and
recommendations will be accepted from the public if received by the
individual designated below by January 31,2000. During this 180-day
period, we will publish a separate Federal Register notice announcing
the initiation of an extensive 60-day agency review and public comment
period on these requirements. We will submit the requirements for OMB
review and an extension of this emergency approval.
Type of Information Collection Request: New collection;
Title of Information Collection: Medicare DMEPOS Competitive
Bidding Demonstration: Site 2;
Form No.: HCFA-R-0264 A-H /Supplement;
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
categories of durable medical equipment, prosthetics, orthotics, and
supplies (DMEPOS). The new set of products to be offered for
competitive bidding are: oxygen equipment and supplies, hospital beds,
standardized orthotic products, manual wheelchairs, and nebulizer
drugs. 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
required between mailing the bidding forms to potential bidders and the
start of payments for DMEPOS under the demonstration. There are eight
forms that are required for this demonstration. Form A will be used by
the bidding supplier to provide information about the characteristics
of the company. Form B will be used by the bidding supplier to provide
specific information about the prices it bids for specific product
categories, and to provide information about the attributes of the
supplier in relation to the specific product category. Form C will be
used by HCFA or its agents to obtain information on site regarding the
bidding supplier. Form D will be used by HCFA or its agents to obtain
financial references on the bidding supplier from banks and other
financial sources. Form E will be used by HCFA or its agents to obtain
information about the bidding suppliers from referral sources such as
home health agencies and hospital discharge planners. Form F will be
used to obtain information about the suppliers' financial status and to
assure that they have sufficient fiscal resources to operate in a
competitive environment where the prices being paid for some products
are less than what have been customarily paid. It is required only from
suppliers whose bids are in the competitive range. Form G will be used
for nursing facilities to identify their suppliers of products and
services who have not been awarded Demonstration Supplier status for
services to beneficiaries in their home. This is to permit payment to
those suppliers for products services furnished to nursing facilities.
Form H is a new form added since the demonstration of the first site.
It will be used to monitor the performance of Demonstration Suppliers
to assure their adherence to the quality standards established for the
project.
The competitive bidding demonstration for DMEPOS has the following
objectives:
Test the policies and implementation methods of
competitive bidding to determine whether or not is should be expanded
as a Medicare Program.
Reduce the price that Medicare pays for medical equipment
and supplies.
Limit beneficiary out-of-pocket expenditures for
copayments.
Improve beneficiary access to high quality medical
equipment and supplies.
Prevent business transactions with suppliers who engage in
fraudulent practices.
Frequency: On occasion;
Affected Public: Business or other for-profit, and not-for-profit
institutions;
Number of Respondents: 1,375;
Total Annual Responses: 1,375;
Total Annual Hours: 11,242.
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, and HCFA form
number(s) referenced above, to P[email protected], or call the Reports
Clearance Office on (410) 786-1326.
Interested persons are invited to send comments regarding the
burden or any other aspect of these collections of information
requirements. However, as noted above, comments on these information
collection and recordkeeping requirements must be mailed and/or faxed
to the designee referenced below, by January 31, 2000:
Health Care Financing Administration, Office of Information Services,
Security and Standards Group, Division of HCFA Enterprise Standards,
Attn: Dawn Willinghan, Room: N2-14-26, 7500 Security Boulevard,
Baltimore, Maryland 21244-1850
or
Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and
Budget, Room 10235, New Executive Office Building, Washington, DC
20503, Fax Number: (202) 395-6974 or (202) 395-5167, Attn: Allison
Herron Eydt, HCFA Desk Officer.
[[Page 1163]]
Dated: December 22, 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. 00-313 Filed 1-6-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4120-03-P