[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 30 (Monday, February 14, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8394-8395]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-3171]



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SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION


Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Request and 
Comment Request

    The Social Security Administration (SSA) publishes a list of 
information collection packages requiring clearance by the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) in compliance with Public Law 104-13, the 
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, effective October 1, 1995. This notice 
includes revisions to and an extension 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 ways to minimize burden 
on respondents, including the use of automated collection techniques or 
other forms of information technology. Mail, e-mail, or fax your 
comments and recommendations on the information collection(s) to the 
OMB Desk Officer and SSA Reports Clearance Officer at the following 
addresses or fax numbers.

(OMB), Office of Management and Budget, Attn: Desk Officer for SSA, 
Fax: 202-395-6974, E-mail address: [email protected];
(SSA), Social Security Administration, DCBFM, Attn: Reports Clearance 
Officer, 1333 Annex Building, 6401 Security Blvd., Baltimore, MD 21235, 
Fax: 410-965-6400, E-mail address: [email protected].

    I. The information collections below are pending at SSA. SSA will 
submit them to OMB within 60 days from the date of this notice. To be 
sure we consider your comments, we must receive them no later than 
April 15, 2011. Individuals can obtain copies of the collection 
instruments by calling the SSA Reports Clearance Officer at 410-965-
8783 or by writing to the above e-mail address.
    1. Medicare Modernization Act Outreach Mailer--20 CFR 418--0960-
0773. To promote awareness of the Medicare Part D subsidy program and 
encourage potentially eligible Medicare beneficiaries to complete Form 
SSA-1020 (OMB No. 0960-0696, the Application for Extra Help with 
Medicare Prescription Drug Plan Costs), SSA uses an outreach brochure 
that includes a mailer. Pharmacies, doctors' offices, and medical 
clinics display and distribute copies of the brochure/mailer to 
encourage eligible Medicare beneficiaries to request and complete Form 
SSA-1020. Using a recorded, automated message telephone call that will 
not require any conversation with respondents, SSA follows up with 
beneficiaries who use the mailer to request an SSA-1020 but do not 
submit it to the agency. The respondents are Medicare beneficiaries who 
are potentially eligible for Part D subsidy benefits and who request a 
copy of Form SSA-1020, using the SSA-1023 mailer.
    Type of Request: Revision of an OMB-approved information 
collection.
    Number of Respondents: 75,000.
    Frequency of Response: 1.
    Average Burden Per Response: 1 minute.
    Estimated Annual Burden: 1,250.
    2. Medicare Income-Related Monthly Adjustment Amount--Life-Changing 
Event Form--0960-0784. Per the Medicare Modernization Act of 2003, 
reductions in the Federal subsidy for Medicare medical coverage 
(Medicare Part B) result in selected Medicare Part B recipients paying 
an income-related monthly adjustment amount (IRMAA). The Internal 
Revenue Service transmits income tax return data to SSA for SSA to 
determine the IRMAA. SSA uses Form SSA-44 to determine if a recipient 
qualifies for a reduction in the IRMAA. If affected Medicare recipients 
believe SSA should use more recent tax data because of a life-changing 
event that significantly reduces their income, they can report these 
changes to SSA and ask for a new initial determination of their IRMAA.
    In November 2010, we requested emergency OMB clearance for a new 
SSA-44 to fulfill the provisions of the Affordable Care Act (Pub. L. 
111-148), which mandates reductions in the Federal Medicare Part D 
prescription drug coverage subsidies, resulting in higher premiums for 
those who have this coverage and who have income above a specific 
threshold. The provisions of the law became effective January 1, 2011, 
and we obtained emergency clearance for this form on November 23, 2010. 
We are now seeking full OMB clearance for this form. The respondents 
are Medicare Part B and prescription drug coverage recipients and 
enrollees with modified adjusted gross income over a high-income 
threshold who experience one of the eight significant life-changing 
events.
    Type of Request: Extension of an OMB-approved information 
collection.

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                                                                                  Average burden     Estimated
              Method of collection                   Number of     Frequency of    per response    annual burden
                                                    respondents      response        (minutes)        (hours)
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Personal Interview (SSA field office)...........         147,000               1              30          73,500
Paper Form (mailed).............................          39,000               1              45          29,250
                                                 ---------------------------------------------------------------
    Totals......................................         186,000  ..............  ..............         102,750
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    II. SSA has submitted the information collection listed below to 
OMB for clearance. Your comments on the information collection would be 
most useful if OMB and SSA receive them within 30 days from the date of 
this publication. To be sure we consider your comments, we must receive 
them no later than March 16, 2011. You can obtain a copy of the OMB 
clearance package by calling the SSA Reports Clearance Officer at 410-
965-8783 or by writing to the above e-mail address.
    State Death Match Collections--20 CFR 404.301, 404.310-404.311, 
404.316, 404.330-404-341, 404.350-404.352, 404.371; 416.912--0960-0700. 
SSA uses the State Death Match Collections to ensure the accuracy of 
payment files by detecting unreported or inaccurate deaths of 
beneficiaries. Under the Social Security Act, entitlement to 
retirement, disability, wife's, husband's, or parent's benefits 
terminate when the beneficiary dies. The States furnish death 
certificate information to SSA via the manual registration process or 
the Electronic Death Registration (EDR) process. Both death match 
processes are automated electronic transfers between the States and 
SSA. The respondents are the States' bureaus of vital statistics.

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                                                                   Frequency of    Average cost      Estimated
              Method of collection                   Number of    responses (per    per record      annual cost
                                                    respondents       state)          request         burden
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State Death Match--Manual Process...............              23          50,000             .80        $920,000
State Death Match--EDR..........................              30          50,000            2.86       4,290,000
                                                 ---------------------------------------------------------------
    Totals......................................  ..............  ..............  ..............      *5,210,000
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* Please note that both data matching processes are fully electronic and there is no hourly burden for the
  respondent to provide this information.


    Dated: February 8, 2011.
Faye Lipsky,
Reports Clearance Officer, Center for Reports Clearance, Social 
Security Administration.
[FR Doc. 2011-3171 Filed 2-11-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4191-02-P