[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 158 (Wednesday, August 15, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 48986-48987]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-20050]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services

[Document Identifier: CMS-10320]


Agency Information Collection Activities: Submission for OMB 
Review; 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 function; (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: Health Care Reform Insurance Web Portal 
Requirements 45 CFR part 159; Use: This information collection is 
mandated by Sections 1103 and 10102 of The Patient Protection and 
Affordability Care Act, Public Law 111-148 (ACA). Once all of the 
information is collected from insurance issuers of major medical health 
insurance (hereon referred to as issuers) and other affected parties, 
it will be displayed at http://www.healthcare.gov. Issuers are required 
to provide information quarterly, and healthcare.gov will be updated on 
a periodic schedule during each quarter. The information provided will 
help the general public make educated decisions about organizations 
providing private health care insurance.
    In accordance with the provisions of the ACA referenced above, the 
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services created a Web site called 
healthcare.gov to meet these and other provisions of the law, and data 
collection was conducted for six months based upon an emergency 
information collection request. The interim final rule published on May 
5, 2010 served as the emergency Federal Register notice for the prior 
Information Collection Request (ICR). The Office of Management and 
Budget (OMB) reviewed this ICR under emergency processing and approved 
the ICR on April 30, 2010. The original 60-day comment period began on 
June 5, 2012 and pertained to the Health Care Reform Insurance Web 
Portal Requirements, and closed on August 6, 2012. We received a total 
of 9 public comments. The majority of the comments regarded Essential 
Health Benefits (EHB), with 1 public comment on Healthcare.gov. Most 
public comments addressed multiple issues. We have taken into 
consideration all the proposed suggestions and strive to minimize 
duplicate data entry and to maximize the flexibility of users. In 
addition, to help adjust to the new data system, weekly calls are held 
with issuers to address any other questions which may emerge. Detailed 
user guides have been prepared and only await finalization of 
collection authority before dissemination. Help desk service and email 
are also available for questions. Furthermore, CMS reviews and notifies 
issuers of any problematic links submitted. Additionally, we are 
seeking ways to reduce emails to data attesters while continuing to 
ensure these individuals, as well as the various submitters and data 
validators, are informed moving forward.
    We are currently updating a system (hereon referred to as web 
portal) where State Departments of Insurance and issuers may log in 
using a custom user ID and password validation. The states may be asked 
to provide information on issuers in their state and various web sites 
maintained for consumers. The issuers will be tasked with providing 
information on their major medical insurance products and plans. They 
will ultimately be given the choice to download a basic information 
template to enter data then upload into the web portal; to manually 
enter data within the web portal itself; or to submit .xml files 
containing their information. Once the states and issuers submit their 
data, they will receive an email notifying them of any errors, and that 
their submission was received. We are mandating the issuers verify and 
update their information on a quarterly basis, and are requesting that 
states verify state-submitted information on an annual basis. In the 
event that an issuer enhances its existing plans, proposes new plans, 
or deactivates plans, the organization would be required to update the 
information in the web portal. Changes occurring during the three month 
quarterly periods will be allowed utilizing effective dates for both

[[Page 48987]]

the plans and rates associated with the plans.
    Information that is to be collected from state high risk pools will 
be collected from The National Association of State Comprehensive 
Health Insurance Plans (NASCHIP) at this time. Updates to this 
information may be submitted voluntarily. The estimated hour burden on 
issuers for the Plan Finder data collection in the first year is 
estimated as 90,400 total burden hours, or 113 hours per organization. 
This estimate is based on an assumed average of 450 individual plan 
issuers and 700 small group plan issuers per each of the four quarterly 
collections. It includes 30 hours per organization for training and 
communication. Additionally, for each of the issuers it includes 11 
hours of preparation time, one hour of login and upload time, two hours 
of troubleshooting and data review, and one half hour for attestation 
per organization per quarterly refresh. The estimated hour burden on 
the states is informed by the fact that they have already submitted the 
data once and only need to update. The overall hours estimate is 575, 
or 11.5 per Department of Insurance. This is premised on 2 hours of 
training and communication, 8 hours for data collection, and one half 
hour of submission. Form Number: CMS-10320 (OCN: 0938-1086); Frequency: 
Annually, quarterly; Affected Public: Business or other for-profits and 
States; Number of Respondents: 850; Total Annual Responses: 3,051; 
Total Annual Hours: 91,225. (For policy questions regarding this 
collection, contact Joe Mercer at (301) 492-4265. 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 address at http://www.cms.hhs.gov/PaperworkReductionActof1995, 
or Email 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.
    Interested parties are invited to send comments regarding the 
burden or any other aspect of these collections of information 
requirements. To ensure consideration of your comments and 
recommendations, they must be submitted in one of the following ways by 
September 13, 2012:
    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: CMS-10320/OCN 0938-
1086), Room C4-26-05, 7500 Security Boulevard, Baltimore, Maryland 
21244-1850.

    Dated: August 10, 2012.
Martique Jones,
Director, Regulations Development Group, Division B, Office of 
Strategic Operations and Regulatory Affairs.
[FR Doc. 2012-20050 Filed 8-14-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4120-01-P