[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 112 (Monday, June 11, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 31245-31246]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-14599]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Office of Inspector General


Healthcare Integrity and Protection Data Bank: Change in User 
Fees

AGENCY: Office of Inspector General (OIG), HHS.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with final regulations implementing the 
Healthcare Integrity and Protection Data Bank (HIPDB) published in the 
Federal Register on October 26, 1999 (64 FR 57740), the Department is 
authorized to assess a fee on all requests for information, except 
requests from Federal agencies. In accordance with Sec. 61.13 of the 
HIPDB regulations, the Department is announcing a one dollar increase--
from $4 to $5--in the fee charged for queries submitted by authorized 
entities to query the data bank.

[[Page 31246]]


EFFECTIVE DATE: This increase will be effective on October 1, 2001.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

User Fee Amount

    Section 1128E(d)(2) of the Social Security Act (the Act), as added 
by section 221(a) of the Health Insurance Portability and 
Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996, specifically authorizes the 
establishment of fees for the costs of processing requests for 
disclosure and for providing such information, and the final 
regulations at 45 CFR part 61 set forth the criteria and procedures for 
information to be reported to and disclosed by the HIPDB. The Act 
requires that the Department recover the full costs of operating the 
HIPDB through user fees. In determining any changes in the amount of 
the user fee, the Department is employing the criteria set forth in 
Sec. 61.13(b) of the HIPDB regulations.
    Specifically, Sec. 61.13(b) states that the amount of each fee will 
be determined based on the following criteria:
     Direct and indirect personnel costs;
     Physical overhead, consulting, and other indirect costs 
including rent and depreciation on land, buildings and equipment;
     Agency management and supervisory costs;
     Costs of enforcement, research and establishment of 
regulations and guidance;
     Use of electronic data processing equipment to collect and 
maintain information, i.e., the actual cost of the service, including 
computer search time, runs and printouts; and
     Any other direct or indirect costs related to the 
provision of services.
    The current fee structure of $4 for each separate query submitted 
by authorized entities was announced in a Federal Register notice on 
March 3, 2000 (65 FR 11589). Based on the above criteria and our 
analysis of the comparative costs of the various methods for filing and 
paying for queries, the Department is now increasing the fee for each 
query submitted by authorized entities by one dollar--from $4 to $5.\1\
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    \1\ As part of its obligations under the Privacy Act, the 
Department previously announced a $10 fee for health care 
practitioners, providers or suppliers to self-query (64 FR 58851; 
November 1, 1999).
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    When an authorized entity query is submitted for information on one 
or more health care practitioners, providers or suppliers, the 
appropriate total fee will be $5 multiplied by the number of 
individuals or organizations about whom information is being requested.
    In order to minimize administrative costs, the Department will 
accept queries submitted by authorized entities by credit card or 
electronic funds transfer. The Department will continue to accept 
payment for self-queries only by credit card. The HIPDB accepts Visa, 
MasterCard, and Discover. To submit queries, registered entities 
(including law enforcement agencies) must use the HIPDB web site at 
www.npdb-hipdb.com.
    The Department will continue to review the user fee periodically, 
and will revise it as necessary. Any future changes in the fee and its 
effective date will be announced through notice in the Federal 
Register.

Examples

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                                      Fee per
                                      name in
           Query method              query, by                               Examples
                                     method of
                                      payment
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Authorized Entity query...........        $5.00  10 names in query: 10  x  $5 = $50.00.
Self-query........................       $10.00  10 self-queries 10  x  10 = $100.
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    Dated: May 31, 2001.
Michael F. Mangano,
Acting Inspector General.
[FR Doc. 01-14599 Filed 6-8-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4152-01-U