[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 86 (Wednesday, May 3, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 25736-25737]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-11037]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Health Care Financing Administration

[Document Identifier: HCFA-R-313]


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: New Collection;
    Title of Information Collection: Medicare DMEPOS Competitive 
Bidding Demonstration: Follow-up to Original Survey;
    Form No.: HCFA-R-313;
    Use: This collection is the ``follow-up'' or ``second round'' to 
the original Competitive Bidding Demonstration collection to compare 
the results of the two surveys to make inferences about the impact of 
the competitive bidding demonstration on issues measured by the survey 
(i.e., access and quality, and goods and services).
    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). 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. HCFA intended to operate the demonstration in two 
rounds, the first of two years, and the second of one year. HCFA has 
operated its first demonstration in Polk County, Florida, which is the 
Lakeland-Winter Haven Metropolitan Area. This ``second round'' 
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 follow-up beneficiary surveys will take place July to September 
2000. We will sample beneficiaries from claimant lists 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. 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 used by HCFA and the Congress in 
formulating future Medicare policy on Part B competitive bidding.
    The research questions to be addressed by the surveys focus on 
access, quality, and product selection. Our collection process includes 
fielding a survey for oxygen users and a survey for non-oxygen users 
before the demonstration begins and again after the new demonstration 
prices were put into effect. The baseline beneficiary survey was 
conducted between March and May 1999. 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. In the survey, we will also ask 
beneficiaries about the types of equipment that they use. This will 
allow us to determine if certain users are affected while others are 
not. For example, we will be able to evaluate whether oxygen users 
experience a

[[Page 25737]]

greater increase or decrease in access and quality than beneficiaries 
who receive enteral nutrition.
    The information that this survey will provide about access, 
quality, and product selection will be very important to the future of 
competitive bidding within the Medicare program.
    Frequency: Other: One time.
    Affected Public: Individuals or households;
    Number of Respondents: 2,128;
    Total Annual Responses: 2,128;
    Total Annual Hours: 637.
    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 [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: April 24, 2000.
John P. Burke III,
HCFA Reports Clearance Officer, HCFA Office of Information Services, 
Security and Standards Group, Division of HCFA Enterprise Standards.
[FR Doc. 00-11037 Filed 5-2-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 41210-03-P