[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 230 (Thursday, November 29, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 71172-71173]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-28861]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Office of the Secretary

[Docket ID DoD-2012-HA-0144]


Proposed Collection; Comment Request

AGENCY: TRICARE Management Activity, DoD.

ACTION: Notice.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

    In compliance with Section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the Paperwork Reduction 
Act of 1995, the TRICARE Management Activity announces a proposed 
public information collection and seeks public comment on the 
provisions thereof. Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the proposed 
collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of 
the functions of the agency, including whether the information shall 
have practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of 
the burden of the proposed information collection; (c) ways to enhance 
the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; 
and (d) ways to minimize the burden of the information collection on 
respondents, including through the use of automated collection 
techniques or other forms of information technology.

DATES: Consideration will be given to all comments received by January 
28, 2013.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by docket number and 
title, by any of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
     Mail: Federal Docket Management System Office, 4800 Mark 
Center Drive, East Tower, Suite 02G09, Alexandria, VA 22350-3100.
    Instructions: All submissions received must include the agency 
name, docket number and title for this Federal Register document. The 
general policy for comments and other submissions from members of the 
public is to make these submissions available for public viewing on the 
Internet at http://www.regulations.gov as they are received without 
change, including any personal identifiers or contact information.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To request more information on this 
proposed information collection or to obtain a copy of the proposal and 
associated collection instruments, please write to the TRICARE 
Management Activity (TMA), Beneficiary Education & Support, ATTN: 
Lennya Bonivento, 7700 Arlington Boulevard, Suite 5101, Falls Church, 
VA 22042-5101, or call TMA Beneficiary Education & Support, at 703-681-
1770.
    Title; Associated Form; and OMB Number: Assistance Reporting Tool 
(ART), OMB Control Number: 0720-TBD.
    Needs and Uses: The ART is a secure web-based system that captures 
feedback on and authorization related to TRICARE benefits. Users are 
comprised of Military Health System (MHS) customer service personnel, 
to include Beneficiary Counseling and Assistance Coordinators, Debt 
Collection Assistance Officers, personnel, family support, recruiting 
command, case managers, and others who serve in a customer service 
support role. The ART is also the primary means by which Military 
Medical Support Office (MMSO) staff capture medical authorization 
determinations and claims assistance information for remotely located 
service members, line of duty care, and for care under the Transitional 
Care for Service-related Conditions benefit. ART data reflects the 
customer service mission within the MHS: it helps customer service 
staff users prioritize and manage their case workload; it allows users 
to track beneficiary inquiry workload and resolution, of which a major 
component is educating beneficiaries on their TRICARE benefits. 
Personal health information (PHI) and personally identifiable 
information (PII) entered into the system is received from

[[Page 71173]]

individuals via a verbal or written exchange and is only collected to 
facilitate beneficiary case resolution. Authorized users may use the 
PII/PHI to obtain and verify TRICARE eligibility, treatment, payment, 
and other healthcare operations information for a specific individual. 
All data collected is voluntarily given by the individual. At any time 
during the case resolution process, individuals may object to the 
collection of PHI and PII via verbal or written notice. Individuals are 
informed that without PII/PHI the authorized user of the system may not 
be able to assist in case resolution, and that answers to questions/
concerns would be generalities regarding the topic at hand.
    Affected Public: Individuals or households.
    Annual Burden Hours: 63,500.
    Number of Respondents: 254,000.
    Responses per Respondent: 1.
    Average Burden per Response: 15 minutes.
    Frequency: Daily.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Summary of Information Collection

    The TRICARE Management Activity Beneficiary Education and Support 
Division designed the ART as a secure, (Department of Defense 
Information Assurance Certification and Accreditation Process-certified 
with a Privacy Impact Assessment on file with the TMA Privacy and Civil 
Liberties office) web-based system to track, refer, reflect, and report 
workload associated with resolution of beneficiary and/or provider 
inquiries. The ART is also the primary means by which MMSO staff 
capture medical authorization determinations and claims assistance 
information for remotely located service members, line of duty care, 
and for care under the Transitional Care for Service-related Conditions 
benefit.
    Users are comprised of MHS customer service personnel, to include 
Beneficiary Counseling and Assistance Coordinators, Debt Collection 
Assistance Officers, MMSO staff, personnel, family support, recruiting 
command, case managers, and others who serve in a customer service 
support role. Only individuals with a valid need-to-know demonstrated 
by assigned official Government duties are granted access to the ART. 
These individuals must satisfy all personnel security criteria with 
special protection measures or restricted distribution as established 
by the data owner.
    ART data reflects the customer service mission within the MHS: it 
helps customer service staff users prioritize and manage their case 
workload; it allows users to track beneficiary inquiry workload and 
resolution, of which a major component is educating beneficiaries on 
their TRICARE benefits.
    PHI and PII entered into the system is received from individuals 
via a verbal or written exchange and is only collected to facilitate 
beneficiary case resolution. Authorized users may use the PII/PHI to 
obtain and verify TRICARE eligibility, treatment, payment, and other 
healthcare operations information for a specific individual. All data 
collected is voluntarily given by the individual. At any time during 
the case resolution process, individuals may object to the collection 
of PHI and PII via verbal or written notice. Individuals are informed 
that without PII/PHI the authorized user of the system may not be able 
to assist in case resolution, and that answers to questions/concerns 
would be generalities regarding the topic at hand.

    Dated: November 26, 2012.
Aaron Siegel,
Alternate OSD Federal Register Liaison Officer, Department of Defense.
[FR Doc. 2012-28861 Filed 11-28-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 5001-06-P