[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 22 (Friday, February 2, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 5055-5056]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-1686]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services

[Document Identifier: CMS-10079 and CMS-R-245]


Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; 
Comment Request

AGENCY: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, HHS.
    In compliance with the requirement of section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the 
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid 
Services (CMS) 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: Revision of a currently 
approved collection; Title of Information Collection: Hospital Wage 
Index Occupational Mix Survey and Supporting Regulations in 42 CFR 
412.64; Use: Section 304(c) of Public Law 106-554 mandates an 
occupational mix adjustment to the wage index, requiring the collection 
of data every 3 years on the occupational mix of employees for each 
short-term, acute care hospital participating in the Medicare program. 
The 2007/2008 revised survey will provide for the collection of 
hospital-specific wages and hours data for a 1-year prospective 
reporting period (July 1, 2007 through June 30, 2008), additional 
clarifications to the survey instructions, the elimination of the RN 
subcategories, some refinements to the definitions for the occupational 
categories, and the inclusion of additional cost centers that typically 
provide nursing services. The 2007/2008 Medicare occupational mix 
survey will be applied beginning with the FY 2010 wage index. Each of 
the approximately 3,600 inpatient prospective payment system providers 
participating in the Medicare program will be required to complete the 
revised Medicare Wage Index Occupational Mix Survey. The revised survey 
will be forwarded to hospitals through CMS's fiscal intermediaries and 
will be made available on CMS's Web site. Form Number: CMS-10079 
(OMB: 0938-0907); Frequency: Reporting: Yearly, Biennially and 
Occasionally; Affected Public: Business or other for-profit and Not-
for-profit institutions; Number of Respondents: 3,600; Total Annual 
Responses: 3,600; Total Annual Hours: 1,728,000.
    2. Type of Information Collection Request: Extension of a currently 
approved collection; Title of Information Collection: Medicare and 
Medicaid Programs OASIS Collection Requirements as Part of the 
Conditions of Participation for Home Health Agencies and Supporting 
Regulations in 42 CFR 484.55, 484.205, 484.245, 484.250; Use: The 
Outcome and Assessment Information Set (OASIS) is a requirement for one 
of the Conditions of Participation (CoPs) that Home Health Agencies 
(HHAs) must meet in order to participate in the Medicare program. 
Specifically, the CoP at Sec.  484.55 requires that each patient 
receive from an HHA a patient-specific, comprehensive assessment that 
identifies a patient's continuing need for home care and meets the 
patient's medical, nursing, rehabilitative, social and discharge 
planning needs. In addition, the regulation requires that as part of 
the comprehensive assessment, HHAs use a standard core assessment data 
set, the OASIS, to evaluate non-maternity patients. The data collected 
using OASIS is used for three main purposes: Assessing and improving 
the quality of care provided by an HHA, submitting and paying claims 
for Medicare home health services, and surveying the HHAs in accordance 
with Section 1891 of the Social Security Act (the Act). Frequency: 
Recordkeeping and Reporting--upon patient assessment; Affected Public: 
Business or other for-profit and Not-for-profit institutions; Number of 
Respondents: 8,277; Total Annual Responses: 10,105,827; Total Annual 
Hours: 11,977,601.
    To obtain copies of the supporting statement and any related forms 
for the proposed paperwork collections referenced above, access CMS' 
Web site address at http://www.cms.hhs.gov/PaperworkReductionActof1995, 
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.

[[Page 5056]]

    To be assured consideration, comments and recommendations for the 
proposed information collections must be received at the address below, 
no later than 5 p.m. on April 3, 2007.
    CMS, Office of Strategic Operations and Regulatory Affairs, 
Division of Regulations Development--C, Attention: Bonnie L Harkless, 
Room C4-26-05, 7500 Security Boulevard, Baltimore, Maryland 21244-1850.

    Dated: January 26, 2007.
Michelle Shortt,
Director, Regulations Development Group, Office of Strategic Operations 
and Regulatory Affairs.
 [FR Doc. E7-1686 Filed 2-1-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4120-01-P