[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 141 (Friday, July 24, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 36717-36718]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-17604]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services

[Document Identifier: CMS-10178]


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

[[Page 36718]]

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: Medicaid and 
Children's Health Insurance (CHIP) Managed Care; Use: The Payment Error 
Rate Measurement (PERM) program measures improper payments for Medicaid 
and the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). The program 
was designed to comply with the Improper Payments Information Act 
(IPIA) of 2002 and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) guidance. 
Although OMB guidance requires error rate measurement for SCHIP, 2009 
SCHIP legislation temporarily suspended PERM measurement for this 
program and changed to Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) 
effective April 01, 2009. See Children's Health Insurance Program 
Reauthorization Act of 2009 (CHIPRA) Public Law 111-3 for more details.
    There are two phases of the PERM program, the measurement phase and 
the corrective action phase. PERM measures improper payments in 
Medicaid and CHIP and produces State and national-level error rates for 
each program. The error rates are based on reviews of Medicaid and CHIP 
fee-for-service (FFS) and managed care payments made in the Federal 
fiscal year under review. States conduct eligibility reviews and report 
eligibility related payment error rates also used in the national error 
rate calculation. CMS created a 17 State rotation cycle so that each 
State will participate in PERM once every three years.
    The information collected from the selected States will be used by 
Federal contractors to conduct Medicaid and CHIP managed care data 
processing reviews on which State-specific error rates will be 
calculated. The quarterly capitation payments will provide the 
contractor with the actual claims to be sampled. The managed care 
contracts, rate schedules, and updates to both, will be used by the 
Federal contractor when conducting the managed care claims reviews. 
Form Number: CMS-10178 (OMB: 0938-0994); Frequency: 
Reporting--Occasionally; Affected Public: State, Local, or Tribal 
governments; Number of Respondents: 34; Total Annual Responses: 2,040; 
Total Annual Hours: 28,050. (For policy questions regarding this 
collection contact Nicole Perry at 410-786-8786. For all other issues 
call 410-786-1326.)
    To obtain copies of the supporting statement and any related forms 
for the proposed paperwork collections referenced above, access CMS' 
Web Site 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.
    In commenting on the proposed information collections please 
reference the document identifier or OMB control number. To be assured 
consideration, comments and recommendations must be submitted in one of 
the following ways by September 22, 2009:
    1. Electronically. You may submit your comments electronically to 
http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the instructions for ``Comment or 
Submission'' or ``More Search Options'' to find the information 
collection document(s) accepting comments.
    2. By regular mail. You may mail written comments to the following 
address: CMS, Office of Strategic Operations and Regulatory Affairs, 
Division of Regulations Development, Attention: Document Identifier/OMB 
Control Number, Room C4-26-05, 7500 Security Boulevard, Baltimore, 
Maryland 21244-1850.

    Dated: July 16, 2009.
Michelle Shortt,
Director, Regulations Development Group, Office of Strategic Operations 
and Regulatory Affairs.
[FR Doc. E9-17604 Filed 7-23-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4120-01-P