[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 148 (Friday, August 1, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 45301-45302]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-19474]


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SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION


Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Request and 
Notice of Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Approvals

    The Social Security Administration (SSA) publishes a list of 
information collection packages that will require clearance by the OMB 
in compliance with Pub. L. 104-13 effective October 1, 1995, The 
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. The information collection packages 
that may be included in this notice are for new information 
collections, approval of existing information collections, revisions to 
OMB-approved information collections and extensions (no change) of OMB-
approved information collections.
    SSA is soliciting comments on the accuracy of the agency's burden 
estimate; the need for the information; its practical utility; ways to 
enhance its quality, utility and clarity; and on ways to minimize 
burden on respondents, including the use of automated collection 
techniques or other forms of information technology. Written comments 
and recommendations regarding the information collection(s) should be 
submitted to the SSA Reports Clearance Officer listed below:

(SSA), Social Security Administration, DCFAM, Attn: Reports Clearance 
Officer, 1338 Annex Bldg., 6401 Security Blvd., Baltimore, MD 21235, 
Fax: 410-965-6400.

    I. The information collections listed below are pending at SSA and 
will be submitted to OMB within 60 days from the date of this notice. 
Therefore, your comments should be submitted to SSA within 60 days from 
the date of this publication. You can obtain copies of the collection 
instruments by calling the SSA Reports Clearance Officer at 410-965-
0454 or by writing to the address listed above.
    1. Statement for Determining Continuing Eligibility, Supplemental 
Security Income Payment--20 CFR, subpart B, 416.204--0960-0145. SSA 
uses from SSA-8202-BK to conduct low- and middle-error-profile (LEP-
MEP) telephone or face-to-face redetermination (RZ) interviews with 
Supplemental Security Income (SSI) recipients and representative 
payees. The information collected during the interview is used to 
determine whether SSI recipients have met and continue to meet all 
statutory and regulatory requirements for SSI eligibility and whether 
they have been, and are still receiving, the correct payment amount. 
Form SSA-8202-OCR-SM (Optical Character recognition-Self Mailer) 
collects information similar to that collected on Form SSA-8202-BK. 
However it is used exclusively in LEP RZ cases on a 6-year cycle. The 
respondents are recipients of SSI benefits or their representative 
payees.
    Type of Request: Extension of an OMB-approved information 
collection.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                  Average burden     Estimated
                                                    Respondents    Frequency of    per response    annual burden
                                                                     response         (min.)          (hours)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SSA-8202-F6.....................................         920,000               1              19         291,333
SSA-8202-OCR-SM.................................         800,000               1               9         120,000
                                                 -----------------
      Total Burden..............................  ..............  ..............  ..............         411,333
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    2. Statement for Determining Continuing Eligibility; Supplemental 
Security Income Payment(s)--20 CFR, subpart B, 416.204-0960-0416. SSA 
uses the information collected on form SSA-8203-BK for high-error-
profile (HEP) redeterminations of disability to determine whether SSI 
recipients have met and continue to meet all statutory and regulatory 
requirements for SSI eligibility and whether they have been, and are 
still receiving, the correct payment amount. The information is 
normally completed in field offices by personal contact (face-to-face 
or telephone interview) using the automated Modernized SSI CLaim System 
(MSSICS). The respondents are recipients of title XVI SSI benefits.
    Type of Request: Extension of an OMB-approved information 
collection.
    Number of Respondents: 920,000.
    Frequency of Response: 1.
    Average Burden Per Response: 19 minutes.
    Estimated Annual Burden: 291,333 hours.
    3. Vocational Rehabilitation Provider Claim--20 CFR, subpart V, 
404.2104, 404.2108, 404.2113, 404.2117, 404.2121, 416.2204, 416.2208, 
416.2213 and 416.2217-0960-0310. The information collected on Form SSA-
199-U2 and through these current rules is used by SSA to determine if 
State vocational rehabilitation agencies are providing appropriate 
services, including referrals when necessary and whether those claims 
for services should be paid. The respondents are the 80-100 State 
vocational rehabilitation agencies and alternate participants who offer 
vocational and employment services for SSA beneficiaries.
    Type of Request: Extension of an OMB-approved information 
collection.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                  Average burden     Estimated
           CFR sections             Number of respondents  Frequency of response   per response    annual burden
                                                                                      (min.)          (hours)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
404.2108 & 416.2208 SSA-199.......  90...................  145 (on average).....              23           5,003
404.2117 & 416.2217...............  80...................  1....................             160              80
404.2121 & 416.2221...............  90 (500 total          1....................             100             833
                                     responses for all
                                     participants)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


[[Page 45302]]

    Total burden hours for this request--5,916.
    4. Information Collections conducted by State Disability 
Determination Services (DDS) on Behalf of SSA--20 CFR, subpart P, 
404.1503a, 404.1512, 404.1513, 404.1514 404.1517, 404.1519; 20 CFR 
subpart Q, 404.1613, 404.1614, 404.1624; 20 CFR subpart I, 416.903a, 
416.912, 416.913, 416.914, 416.917, 416.919 and 20 CFR subpart J, 
416.1013, 416.1024, 416.1014-0960-0555. The State DDS's collect certain 
information to administer SSA's disability program. The information 
collected is as follows: (1) Medial evidence of record (MER)--DDS's use 
MER information to determine a person's physical and/or mental status 
prior to making a disability determination; (2) consultative exam (CE) 
medical evidence--DDS's use CE medical evidence to make disability 
determinations when the claimant's own medical sources cannot or will 
not provide the information; (3) CE claimant forms--The DDS's request 
that claimants complete and authorization form for the release of 
consultative exam information to a personal physician and to complete 
and appointment form to confirm scheduled CE appointments; (4) CE 
provider information--DDS's use the CE provider information to verify 
medical providers' credentials and licenses before hiring them to 
conduct CEs; (5) activities of daily living (ADL)--this information and 
other medical evidence are part of the evidentiary documentation used 
by the DDS's in evaluating a person's disability; and (6) pain 
information--this information is used by the DDS's to assess the 
effects of symptoms on functioning for determining disability. The 
respondents are medical providers, other sources of MER and disability 
claimants.
    Type of Request: Extension of an OMB-approved information 
collection.
(1) MER (Respondents-Medical Providers and Other Sources)
    Number of Responses: 6,052,494.
    Frequency of Response: Unknown.
    Average Burden Per Response: 15 minutes.
    Estimate Annual Burden: 1,513,124.
(2) CE Medical Evidence (Respondents-Medical Providers)
    Number of Responses: 1,640,269.
    Frequency of Response: Unknown.
    Average Burden Per Response: 30 minutes.
    Estimated Annual Burden: 820,135 hours.
(3) CE Forms (Respondents--Claimants)

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                Appointment    Medical
                                                    form       release
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Number of Respondents.........................      820,134    1,640,269
Frequency of Response.........................            1            1
Average Burden Per Response...................            5            5
Estimated Annual Burden (in hours)............       68,345      136,689
------------------------------------------------------------------------

(4) CE Providers (Respondents--Medical Providers)
    Number of Responses: 3,000.
    Frequency of Response: 1.
    Average Burden: 20 minutes.
    Estimated Annual Burden: 1,000 hours.
(5) ADL Forms (Respondents--Claimants)
    Number of Responses: 2,000,000.
    Frequency of Response: 1.
    Average Burden Per Response: 15 minutes.
    Estimated Annual Burden: 500,000 hours.
(6) Pain Forms (Respondents--Claimants)
    Number of Responses: 1,000,000.
    Frequency of Response: 1.
    Average Burden Per Response: 15 minutes.
    Estimated Annual Burden: 250,000 hours.

II. Notice of OMB Approval

    As required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 
3507), the Social Security Administration (SSA) is providing notice of 
OMB's approval of the following information collections:
    1. 20 CFR 404 subpart J & 416 subpart N--Video Teleconferencing 
Appearances before Administrative Law Judges, associated form SSA--504. 
The OMB Number is 0960-0671, which expires November 30, 2004.
    2. 20 CFR parts 404.617 and 416.327--Claimant Identification Pilot 
Project. The OMB Number is 0960-0664, which expires May 31, 2006.
    In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act, persons are not 
required to respond to an information collection unless it displays a 
valid Office of Management and Budget control number.

    Dated: July 25, 2003.
Elizabeth A. Davidson,
Reports Clearance Officer, Social Security Administration.
[FR Doc. 03-19474 Filed 7-31-03; 8:45 am]
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