[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 47 (Friday, March 10, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 12368-12369]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-3378]


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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 at 45 CFR part 61, 
implementing the Healthcare Integrity and Protection Data Bank (HIPDB), 
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 an 
adjustment from $4.25 to $4.75 in the fee charged for each query 
submitted by authorized entities. There will be no change to the 
current $8 self-query fee.

EFFECTIVE DATE: This change will be effective May 9, 2006.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Joel Schaer, Office of External 
Affairs, (202) 619-0089.

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 of 1996, specifically authorizes the establishment 
of fees for the costs of processing requests for disclosure and for 
providing information from the Healthcare Integrity and Protection Data 
Bank (HIPDB). 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 also requires that the Department recover the 
full costs of operating the HIPDB through such user fees. In 
determining any changes in the amount of the user fee, the Department 
employs the criteria set forth in Sec.  61.13(b) of the HIPDB 
regulations.

[[Page 12369]]

    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 $4.25 for each separate query 
submitted by authorized entities was announced in a Federal Register 
notice on April 22, 2003, (68 FR 19838) and became effective on July 1, 
2003. Based on the above criteria and our analysis of operational costs 
and the comparative costs of the various methods for filing and paying 
for queries, the Department is now raising the fee by $.50 cents, from 
$4.25 to $4.75, for each query submitted by authorized entities. The 
practitioner self-query fee will remain at $8 and the investigative 
research fee will remain at $10.
    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 $4.75 multiplied by the number of 
individuals or organizations about which information is being 
requested.
    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 http://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 a notice in the Federal 
Register.

                                Examples
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                                     Fee per name
                                     in query, by
           Query method                method of          Examples
                                        payment
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Authorized entity query...........           $4.75  10 names in query:
                                                     10 x $4.75 =
                                                     $47.50.
Self-query........................            8.00  10 self-queries: 10
                                                     x $8 = $80.
Investigative research query......           10.00  10 investigative
                                                     research queries:
                                                     10 x $10 = $100.
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    Dated: March 3, 2006.
Daniel R. Levinson,
Inspector General.
[FR Doc. E6-3378 Filed 3-9-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4152-01-P