[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 241 (Monday, December 16, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 77069-77070]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-31546]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services

[Document Identifiers: CMS-R-205, CMS-R-206, CMS-10050, and CMS-R-228]


Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; 
Comment Request

AGENCY: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. In compliance with 
the requirement of section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the Paperwork Reduction Act 
of 1995, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) (formerly 
known as 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.
    (1) Type of Information Collection Request: Extension of a 
currently approved collection; Title of Information Collection: 
Information Collection Requirements Referenced in HIPAA for the 
Individual Market and Supporting Regulations at 45 CFR 148; Form No.: 
CMS--R-205 (OMB 0938-0703); Use: Information collection 
requirements (ICRs) will ensure that issuers in the individual market 
comply with Title 1 of the Health Insurance Portability and 
Accountability Act, provide individuals with certificates of coverage 
necessary to demonstrate prior creditable coverage and file 
documentation with CMS for review in a Federal direct enforcement 
state. ICRs will also ensure States' flexibility to implement state 
alternative mechanisms; Frequency: On occasion; Affected Public: 
Business or other for-profit, Individuals or households, Not-for-profit 
institutions, Federal government, and State, local, or tribal 
government; Number of Respondents: 1,041; Total Annual Responses: 
3,242,500; Total Annual Hours: 914,347.
    (2)Type of Information Collection Request: Extension of a currently 
approved collection; Title of Information Collection: Information 
Collection Requirements Referenced in HIPAA for the Group Market and 
Supporting Regulations at 45 CFR 146; Form No.: CMS--R-206 (OMB 
0938-0702); Use: Information collection requirements (ICRs) 
will ensure that issuers in the group market comply with Title 1 of the 
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, including 
providing individuals with certificates of creditable coverage, 
notifying individuals about their status with respect to pre-existing 
condition exclusions, and giving them special enrollment rights to 
which they are entitled and that states and the Federal government have 
the flexibility necessary to enforce HIPAA.; Frequency: On occasion; 
Affected Public: Business or other for-profit, Individuals or 
households, Not-for-profit institutions, Federal government, and State, 
local, or tribal government; Number of Respondents: 2,080; Total Annual 
Responses: 43,003,297; Total Annual Hours: 2,652,281.
    (3) Type of Information Collection Request: Extension of a 
currently approved collection; Title of Information Collection: Survey 
of Newly Eligible Medicare Beneficiaries; Form No.: CMS-10050 (OMB 
0938-0869); Use: It is not enough to merely mail information 
about the Medicare program to each beneficiary. We need to know not 
only that the beneficiaries got the information, but that they 
understood the information and are able to use it in making choices 
about their Medicare participation. To this end, CMS must

[[Page 77070]]

have measure(s) over time of what beneficiaries know and understand 
about the Medicare program now to be able to quantify and attribute any 
changes to their understanding or behavior to information/education 
initiatives. Measuring beneficiary information needs and knowledge over 
time will help us to evaluate the impact of information/education and 
other initiatives as well as to understand how the population is 
changing apart from such initiatives; Frequency: Monthly; Affected 
Public: Individuals or households; Number of Respondents: 3,600; Total 
Annual Responses: 3,600; Total Annual Hours: 1,080.
    (4) Type of Information Collection Request: Revision of currently 
approved collection; Title of Information Collection: Adjusted 
Community Rate (ACR) Proposal Medicare+Choice; Form No.: CMS-R-228 (OMB 
0938-0742); Use: Under Part C of the Social Security Act 
(ACT), a Medicare + Choice (M + C) organization is required to offer a 
benefit package that is approved and priced properly to all Medicare 
beneficiaries residing in the service area. This form is used by M + C 
organization to price its benefit packages; Frequency: Annually; 
Affected Public: Business or other-for-profit, Not-for-profit 
institutions and State, Local or Tribal Government; Number of 
Respondents: 700 ; Total Annual Responses: 700 ; Total Annual Hours: 
66,500.
    To obtain copies of the supporting statement and any related forms 
for the proposed paperwork collections referenced above, access CMS's 
Web Site address at http://cms.hhs.gov/regulations/pra/default.asp, or 
E-mail your request, including your address, phone number, OMB number, 
and CMS 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 CMS Paperwork Clearance 
Officer designated at the following address: CMS, Office of Strategic 
Operations and Regulatory Affairs, Division of Regulations Development 
and Issuances, Attention: Dawn Willinghan, Room N2-14-26, 7500 Security 
Boulevard, Baltimore, Maryland 21244-1850.

    Dated: December 6, 2002.
Julie Brown,
Acting, Paperwork Reduction Act Team Leader, CMS Reports Clearance 
Officer, Office of Strategic Operations and Strategic Affairs, Division 
of Regulations Development and Issuances.
[FR Doc. 02-31546 Filed 12-13-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4210-03-P