[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 221 (Friday, November 15, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 68851-68852]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-27305]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services

[Document Identifier CMS-10508, CMS-10507 and CMS-855A]


Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; 
Comment Request

AGENCY: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, HHS.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is 
announcing an opportunity for the public to comment on CMS' intention 
to collect information from the public. Under the Paperwork Reduction 
Act of 1995 (the PRA), federal agencies are required to publish notice 
in the Federal Register concerning each proposed collection of 
information (including each proposed extension or reinstatement of an 
existing collection of information) and to allow 60 days for public 
comment on the proposed action. Interested persons are invited to send 
comments regarding our burden estimates 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.

DATES: Comments must be received by January 14, 2014.

ADDRESSES: When commenting, please reference the document identifier or 
OMB control number (OCN). To be assured consideration, comments and 
recommendations must be submitted in any one of the following ways:
    1. Electronically. You may send 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) that are 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.
    To obtain copies of a supporting statement and any related forms 
for the proposed collection(s) summarized in this notice, you may make 
your request using one of following:
    1. Access CMS' Web site address at http://www.cms.hhs.gov/PaperworkReductionActof1995.
    2. Email your request, including your address, phone number, OMB 
number, and CMS document identifier, to [email protected].
    3. Call the Reports Clearance Office at (410) 786-1326.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Reports Clearance Office at (410) 786-
1326

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Contents

    This notice sets out a summary of the use and burden associated 
with the following information collections. More detailed information 
can be found in each collection's supporting statement and associated 
materials (see ADDRESSES).
    CMS-10508 Evaluation of the Rural Community Hospital Demonstration 
(RCHD)
    CMS-10507 State-based Marketplace Annual Report (SMAR)
    CMS-855A Medicare Enrollment Application: Medicare Part A 
Institutional Providers
    Under the Paperwork Reduction Act (the PRA) (44 U.S.C. 3501-3520), 
federal agencies must obtain approval from the Office of Management and 
Budget (OMB) for each collection of information they conduct or 
sponsor. The term ``collection of information'' is defined in 44 U.S.C. 
3502(3) and 5 CFR 1320.3(c) and includes agency requests or 
requirements that members of the public submit reports, keep records, 
or provide information to a third party. Section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the 
PRA requires federal agencies to publish a 60-day notice in the Federal 
Register concerning each proposed collection of information, including 
each proposed extension or reinstatement of an existing collection of 
information, before submitting the collection to OMB for approval. To 
comply with this requirement, CMS is publishing this notice.

Information Collections

    1. Type of Information Collection Request: New collection (Request 
for a new OMB control number); Title of Information Collection: 
Evaluation of the Rural Community Hospital Demonstration (RCHD); Use: 
Section 10313 of the Affordable Care Act of 2010 (ACA) extended and 
expanded the Rural Community Hospital Demonstration (RCHD). Originally 
authorized under the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and 
Modernization Act of 2003 (MMA), the RCHD provides enhanced 
reimbursement for inpatient services to small rural hospitals that do 
not qualify as critical access hospitals (CAHs). The RCHD is intended 
to increase the capability of these hospitals to meet the health care 
needs of rural beneficiaries in their service areas. As a 
demonstration, the RCHD aims to provide information that can be used to 
assess the feasibility and advisability of establishing a new category 
of rural community hospitals for reimbursement policy. As of January 
2013, 23 hospitals from 11 states are participating in the RCHD. This 
number includes seven hospitals continuing from the original 
demonstration as authorized under the MMA and 15 new hospitals that 
joined under the expansion authorized under the ACA.
    For the original demonstration, the MMA required a Report to 
Congress six months after the end of the demonstration, a requirement 
unchanged by the ACA. An initial evaluation was conducted between 2007 
and 2011 toward preparing for a Report to Congress and focused on the 
17 hospitals that had participated at some point between October 2004 
and March 2011. Findings from this evaluation were reported to the 
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) in the Interim 
Evaluation Report of the Rural Community Hospital Demonstration (an 
unpublished report).
    The current five-year evaluation of the RCHD will extend and build 
on the prior evaluation and produce the Report to Congress required by 
the MMA. It will assess the impact of the RCHD in meeting its goals: To 
enable hospitals to

[[Page 68852]]

achieve community benefits such as improved services for their 
communities (especially Medicare beneficiaries), meet their individual 
strategic goals, and improve the financial solvency and viability of 
the participating hospitals. In addition, the evaluation will determine 
if it is feasible and advisable to create a new payment category of 
rural hospitals. To achieve this objective, the evaluation will examine 
how RCHD hospitals responded to payment options and assess how the 
costs to Medicare under RCHD compare to existing alternative payment 
options.
    The evaluation will also summarize the characteristics of the 
markets served by RCHD hospitals, including beneficiaries' proximity to 
inpatient providers and competition among providers in the area. The 
information will be used to assess the implications of expanding the 
RCHD payment system to hospitals in various market environments. In 
addition, the evaluation will examine the potential costs of expanding 
the RCHD payment methodology, accounting for alternative approaches to 
targeting rural hospitals. Form Number: CMS-10508 (OCN: 0938-NEW); 
Frequency: Annually; Affected Public: State, Local or Tribal 
Governments, Private sector--Business or other for-profit and Not-for-
profit organizations; Number of Respondents: 57; Total Annual 
Responses: 101; Total Annual Hours: 245. (For policy questions 
regarding this collection contact Woolton Lee at 410-786-4942.)
    2. Title of Information Collection: State-based Marketplace Annual 
Report (SMAR); Type of Information Collection Request: New collection 
(Request for a new OMB control number); Use: The annual report is the 
primary vehicle to insure comprehensive compliance with all reporting 
requirements contained in the Affordable Care Act. It is specifically 
called for in section 1313(a)(1) of the Act which requires an State-
based Marketplace (SBM) to keep an accurate accounting of all 
activities, receipts, and expenditures, and to submit a report annually 
to the Secretary concerning such accounting. We will use the 
information collected from states to assist in determining if a state 
is maintaining a compliant operational Exchange. It will also provide a 
mechanism to collect innovative approaches to meeting challenges 
encountered by the SBMs during the preceding year. Additionally, it 
will provide information to us regarding potential changes in 
priorities and approaches for the upcoming year. Form Number: CMS-10507 
(OCN: 0938-NEW); Frequency: Annually; Affected Public: State, Local, or 
Tribal governments; Number of Respondents: 19; Number of Responses: 19; 
Total Annual Hours: 1,482. (For policy questions regarding this 
collection, contact Shelley Bain at 301-492-4453.)
    3. Title of Information Collection: Medicare Enrollment 
Application: Medicare Part A Institutional Providers; Type of 
Information Collection Request: Revision of a currently approved 
collection ; Use: We are revising the CMS-855 Medicare Enrollment 
Applications information collection request to remove the CMS-855I, 
CMS-855B and CMS-855R applications from its collection. We have found 
that the regulations governing the enrollment requirements for health 
care facilities occur at intervals separate from the other provider and 
supplier types reimbursed by Medicare. Consequently, we may need to 
revise and submit the CMS-855A enrollment application for OMB approval 
at intervals separate from the other enrollment applications which 
include the CMS-855B, CMS-855I and CMS-855R enrollment applications. 
The ability to revise the CMS-855A separately from the other CMS-855 
enrollment applications will lessen the burden on us and OMB as well as 
the public during the Federal Register notice period, as only one 
subset of provider or suppliers will be effected by CMS-855A revisions. 
We intend to maintain the continuity of the CMS-855 enrollment 
applications by using the same formats and lay-out of the current CMS-
855 enrollment applications, regardless of the separation of the CMS 
855A from the collective enrollment application package.
    At this time we are also using this opportunity to make editorial 
and clerical corrections to the CMS-855A to simplify and clarify the 
current data collection and to remove obsolete requirements and data 
collection. The sections and sub-sections within the form are also 
being re-numbered and re-sequenced to create a more logical flow of the 
data collection. In addition, we are adding a data collection for an 
address to mail the periodic request for the revalidation of enrollment 
information (only if it differs from other addresses currently 
collected). More specific information regarding types of Home Health 
Agency sub-units will also be collected. Other than the information 
above, new data being collected in this revision package is information 
on, if applicable, where the supplier stores its patient records 
electronically.
    Form Number: CMS-855A (OCN: 0938-0685); Frequency: Annually; 
Affected Public: State, Local, or Tribal governments; Number of 
Respondents: 18,000; Number of Responses: 18,000; Total Annual Hours: 
78,000. (For policy questions regarding this collection, contact Kim 
McPhillips at 410-786-5374.)

    Dated: November 8, 2013.
Martique Jones,
Deputy Director, Regulations Development Group, Office of Strategic 
Operations and Regulatory Affairs.
[FR Doc. 2013-27305 Filed 11-14-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4120-01-P