[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 216 (Friday, November 7, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 66383-66384]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-26584]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services

[Document Identifiers: CMS-10371]


Emergency Clearance: Public Information Collection Requirements 
Submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB)

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. 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.
    We are, however, requesting an emergency review of the information 
collection referenced below. In compliance with the requirement of 
section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, we have 
submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) the following 
requirements for emergency review. This is necessary to ensure 
compliance with an initiative of the Administration. We are requesting 
an emergency review under 5 CFR Part 1320(a)(2)(i) because public harm 
is reasonably likely to result if the normal clearance procedures are 
followed. We are seeking emergency approval for modifications to the 
information collection request (ICR) currently approved under Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) control number 0938-1119 in order to 
collection additional information during the 2015 open enrollment 
periods from the 14 operational SBMs (including Washington, DC) to 
enhance the agency's understanding of the demographic makeup of the 
citizens enrolling in the various health plans as well as the 
affordability of those plans. Existing collections gather information 
from the grant awardee to ensure the CMS is able to conduct their 
statutory oversight responsibilities. The revision to the weekly 
reporting requirement is necessary to obtain more accurate and 
consistent enrollment data during the upcoming Open Enrollment Period 
which begins November 15, 2014. The immediate need for this revision is 
due to the State-Based Marketplaces (SBM) maturing business processes 
and the requirement for more precise reporting of comparison data 
between the first and second years of ACA implementation. The changes 
to the revised format of the Weekly Report have been presented to all 
participating states. CMS is requesting an emergency modification to 
the weekly reporting template in order to capture certain demographic 
data and information on new versus re-enrolled individuals in 
accordance with uniform definitions so as not to produce misleading 
results.

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

ADDRESSES: When commenting, please reference the document identifier or 
OMB control number. 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: CMS-10371/OMB Control 
Number 0938-1119, 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

[[Page 66384]]

    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-10371 Cooperative Agreement To Support Establishment of State-
Operated Health Insurance Exchanges

    Under 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. In compliance with the requirement of section 
3506(c)(2)(A) of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, we have submitted 
to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) the following requirements 
for emergency review. This is necessary to ensure compliance with an 
initiative of the Administration. We are requesting an emergency review 
under 5 CFR Part 1320(a)(2)(i) because public harm is reasonably likely 
to result if the normal clearance procedures are followed.

Information Collection

    1. Type of Information Collection Request: Revision of a currently 
approved information collection; Title of Information Collection: 
Cooperative Agreement to Support Establishment of State-Operated Health 
Insurance Exchanges; Use: Section 1311 of the Affordable Care Act 
provides for grants to States for the planning and establishment of 
Marketplaces. Given the innovative nature of Marketplaces and the 
statutorily-prescribed relationship between the Secretary and States in 
their development and operation, it has been critical that the 
Secretary work closely with States to provide necessary guidance and 
technical assistance to ensure that States can meet the prescribed 
timelines, federal requirements, and goals of the statute. These grants 
are funded through the Health Insurance Marketplaces Cooperative 
Agreement to Support Establishment of the Affordable Care Act's Health 
Insurance Exchanges (Funding Opportunity Number: IE-HBE-12-001). A 
critical part of this guidance and assistance is the collection of 
precise information to measure the performance of the individual 
exchanges.
    The revised data collection instrument has been developed in 
coordination with the states, based on an understanding of their 
current data collection efforts and capabilities. The tool will enable 
us to: (1) Distinguish new enrollees from renewals; (2) capture 
language preference (Spanish, other language, or no preference) to 
assist in targeting potentially underserved individuals; (3) obtain a 
better understanding of enrollment activity by certain demographic 
breakdowns to better target our activities through more refined cross-
tabulations of data by age and gender, by age and Metal Level, and by 
financial assistance status (with/without) and Metal Level; (4) 
distinguish Special Enrollment Period activity for the 2014 coverage 
year during the period that overlaps with the first 2.5 months of Open 
Enrollment [November 15-December 31] in order to avoid contamination of 
2015 data, to assess the extent of Special Enrollment activity during 
the last phase of 2014 activity; (5) identify stand-alone dental plans 
to better measure the extent to which individuals are enrolling in 
these products in order to provide input into ASPE's monthly report to 
the public; (6) codify providing enrollment data for all issuers in the 
individual marketplaces, if available, compared to the template that 
asks only for the top three in the individual marketplaces [These data, 
if available, have been provided to us as a write-in to the previous 
template on a voluntary basis.]. Form Number: CMS-10371 (OMB control 
number: 0938-1119); Frequency: Weekly; Affected Public: State, Local or 
Tribal Governments; Number of Respondents: 16; Total Annual Responses: 
208; Total Annual Hours: 6,240. (For policy questions regarding this 
collection contact Dena Puskin 301-492-4342.)
    We are requesting OMB review and approval of this collection by 
November 15, 2014, with a 180-day approval period. Written comments and 
recommendations will be considered from the public if received by the 
date and address noted above.

    Dated: November 4, 2014.
Martique Jones,
Deputy Director, Regulations Development Group, Office of Strategic 
Operations and Regulatory Affairs.
[FR Doc. 2014-26584 Filed 11-5-14; 4:15 pm]
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