[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 47 (Friday, March 9, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Page 14156]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-5785]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Health Care Financing Administration

[Document Identifier: HCFA-10016]


Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; 
Comment Request

AGENCY: Health Care Financing Administration, HHS.
    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: Reinstatement, with change, 
of a previously approved collection for which approval has expired; 
Title of Information Collection: Oxygen Consumer Survey: Medical 
Equipment and Supplies Consumer Survey; Form No.: HCFA-10016 (OMB# 
0938-0807); Use: The Oxygen Consumer Survey and Medical Equipment and 
Supplies Consumer Survey will be used to collect information from 
Medicare beneficiaries who use oxygen equipment, hospital beds, 
wheelchairs, orthotics, and inhalation drugs used with a nebulizer. 
This information will be used to evaluate the Health Care Financing 
Administration's (HCFA's) Competitive Bidding Demonstration for Durable 
Medicare Equipment (DME) and Prosthetics, Orthotics, and Supplies 
(POS). In the demonstration, HCFA will use competitive bidding to set 
Medicare Part B fees for selected types of DME and POS.
    The purpose of the evaluation is to determine whether the 
demonstration affects Medicare expenditures, access to care, quality of 
care, diversity of product selection, and industry competitiveness. The 
evaluation will also examine any problems associated with implementing 
competitive bidding for Part B services. Results of the evaluation will 
be used by HCFA and Congress to determine whether it is feasible to 
expand competitive bidding.
    The research questions to be addressed by the surveys focus on 
access, quality, and product selection. Our information collection 
process will include fielding a survey for oxygen users and a survey 
for other medical equipment and supplies users before the demonstration 
begins and again after the new demonstration prices have been put into 
effect. Beneficiaries within the demonstration area will be surveyed; 
we will also survey beneficiaries within a control site that is similar 
to the demonstration site in terms of population, managed care 
penetration, volume of services, and number of beneficiaries. We will 
also control the socioeconomic factors when analyzing the date. This 
design will allow us to separate the effects of the demonstration from 
beneficiary-or site-specific effects.
    This evaluation was expanded to a second site, San Antonio, Texas 
as of March 2000. The Balanced Budget Act of 1997 allowed for the 
demonstration to be conducted in up to three different regions. The 
demonstration has been ongoing in the first site, Polk County, Florida, 
since 1999. The baseline Polk County beneficiary surveys were conducted 
between March and June of 1999. The follow-up Polk County beneficiary 
surveys were conducted during the fall of 2000.
    We are seeking approval for the new beneficiary surveys (Baseline 
and Follow-up) for the San Antonio demonstration and comparison site 
and any subsequent demonstration and comparison sites that include the 
same DME and POS products. The surveys for the second site, San 
Antonio, are almost identical to the surveys used in the first site, 
Polk County, Florida; Frequency: Annually; Affected Public: Individuals 
and Households; Number of Respondents: 2,500; Total Annual Responses: 
725; Total Annual Hours: 725.
    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: Melissa Musotto, Room N2-14-26, 7500 
Security Boulevard, Baltimore, Maryland 21244-1850.

    Dated: February 22, 2001.
John P. Burke III,
HCFA Reports Clearance Officer, HCFA Office of Information Services, 
Security and Standards Group, Division of HCFA Enterprise Standards.
[FR Doc. 01-5785 Filed 3-8-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4120-03-P