[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 36 (Wednesday, February 24, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 9201-9202]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-03908]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services

[Document Identifier: CMS-P-0015A]


Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; 
Comment Request

AGENCY: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

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 require; 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 April 25, 2016.

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: 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-P-0015A Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey

    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. 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

[[Page 9202]]

requirement, CMS is publishing this notice.
    1. Type of Information Collection Request: Revision of a currently 
approved collection; Title of Information Collection: Medicare Current 
Beneficiary Survey; Use: CMS is the largest single payer of health care 
in the United States. With full implementation of the Affordable Care 
Act of 2010 (ACA), the agency will play a direct or indirect role in 
administering health insurance coverage for more than 120 million 
people across the Medicare, Medicaid, CHIP, and Exchange populations. 
One of our critical aims is to be an effective steward, major force, 
and trustworthy partner in leading the transformation of the health 
care system. We also aim to provide Americans with high quality care 
and better health at lower costs through improvement. At the forefront 
of these initiatives is the newly formed Center for Medicare and 
Medicaid Innovation (CMMI).
    CMMI is authorized by Section 1115A of the Social Security Act, as 
established by section 3021 of the ACA and was established to ``test 
innovative payment and service delivery models to reduce program 
expenditures while preserving or enhancing the quality of care 
furnished'' to Medicare, Medicaid and CHIP beneficiaries. Implicit 
across all of CMMI activities is an emphasis on diffusion--finding and 
validating innovative models that have the potential to scale, 
facilitating rapid adoption, and letting them take root in 
organizations, health systems, and communities across America.
    The Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey (MCBS) is the most 
comprehensive and complete survey available on the Medicare population 
and is essential in capturing data not otherwise collected through our 
operations. The MCBS is an in-person, nationally-representative, 
longitudinal survey of Medicare beneficiaries that we sponsor and is 
directed by the Office of Enterprise Data and Analytics (OEDA) in 
partnership with the CMMI. The survey captures beneficiary information 
whether aged or disabled, living in the community or facility, or 
serviced by managed care or fee-for-service. Data produced as part of 
the MCBS are enhanced with our administrative data (e.g. fee-for-
service claims, prescription drug event data, enrollment, etc.) to 
provide users with more accurate and complete estimates of total health 
care costs and utilization. The MCBS has been continuously fielded for 
more than 20 years (encompassing over 1 million interviews), and 
consists of three annual interviews per survey participant.
    The MCBS continues to provide unique insight into the Medicare 
program and helps CMS and our external stakeholders better understand 
and evaluate the impact of existing programs and significant new policy 
initiatives. In the past, MCBS data have been used to assess potential 
changes to the Medicare program. For example, the MCBS was instrumental 
in supporting the development and implementation of the Medicare 
prescription drug benefit by providing a means to evaluate prescription 
drug costs and out-of-pocket burden for these drugs to Medicare 
beneficiaries. The revision will streamline some questionnaire 
sections, add a few new measures, and update the wording of questions 
and response categories. Most of the revised questions reflect an 
effort to bring the MCBS questionnaire in line with other national 
surveys that have more current wording of questions and response 
categories with well-established measures. As a whole, these revisions 
do not change the respondent burden; there is a small increase in 
overall burden reflecting a program change to oversample small 
population groups. Form Number: CMS-P-0015A (OMB control number: 0938-
0568); Frequency: Occasionally; Affected Public: Business or other for-
profits and Not-for-profit institutions; Number of Respondents: 16,071; 
Total Annual Responses: 43,199; Total Annual Hours: 60,103. (For policy 
questions regarding this collection contact William Long at 410-786-
7927.)

    Dated: February 19, 2016.
William N. Parham, III,
Director, Paperwork Reduction Staff, Office of Strategic Operations and 
Regulatory Affairs.
[FR Doc. 2016-03908 Filed 2-23-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4120-01-P