[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 110 (Friday, June 9, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 26804-26806]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-12005]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services

[Document Identifier CMS-10346, CMS-10036 and CMS-10437]


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 the necessity and utility of the 
proposed information collection for the proper performance of the 
agency's functions, the accuracy of the estimated burden, ways to 
enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be 
collected, and the use of automated collection techniques or other 
forms of information technology to minimize the information collection 
burden.

DATES: Comments must be received by August 8, 2017.

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 https://www.cms.gov/Regulations-and-Guidance/Legislation/PaperworkReductionActof1995/PRA-Listing.html.
    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: William Parham at (410) 786-4669.

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-10346 Appeals of Quality Bonus Payment Determinations
CMS-10036 IRF-PAI for the Collection of Data Pertaining to the 
Inpatient Rehabilitation Facility Prospective Payment System and 
Quality Reporting Program
CMS-10437 Generic Social Marketing & Consumer Testing Research

    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 
requirement, CMS is publishing this notice.

Information Collection

    1. Type of Information Collection Request: Revision of a currently 
approved collection; Title of Information Collection: Appeals of 
Quality Bonus Payment Determinations; Use: Section 1853(o) of the 
Social Security Act requires us to make Quality Bonus Payments (QBPs) 
to Medicare Advantage (MA) organizations that achieve performance 
rating scores of at least 4 stars under a five star rating system. MA 
organizations have 10 calendar days from the date of CMS' release of 
its QBP determinations to request a technical report from CMS 
explaining the development of their QBP status. The technical report is 
provided in writing by electronic mail to the MA organization. If, 
after reviewing the technical report, the MA organization believes that 
CMS was incorrect in its QBP determination, within 10 calendar days the 
MA

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organization may request an appeal to be conducted by a hearing officer 
designated by CMS. The hearing officer's decision is final and binding 
on both the MA organization and CMS. The hearing officer is required to 
issue his/her decision on or before May 15 of the year preceding the 
year in which the contract for which the QBP to be applied will be 
offered. Form Number: CMS-10346 (OMB control number: 0938-1129); 
Frequency: Yearly; Affected Public: Private sector (Business or other 
for-profits and Not-for-profit institutions); Number of Respondents: 
500; Total Annual Responses: 20; Total Annual Hours: 160. (For policy 
questions regarding this collection contact Sarah Gaillot at 410-786-
4637).
    2. Type of Information Collection Request: Revision of a previously 
approved collection; Title of Information Collection: IRF-PAI for the 
Collection of Data Pertaining to the Inpatient Rehabilitation Facility 
Prospective Payment System and Quality Reporting Program Use: This 
instrument with its supporting manual is needed to permit the Secretary 
of Health and Human Services, and CMS, to implement Section 1886(j) of 
the Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C. 1395ww(j), as enacted by Sec.  4421 
of the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 (BBA), Pub. L. 105-33. The statute 
requires the Secretary to develop a prospective payment system for 
inpatient rehabilitation facility services for the Medicare program. 
This payment system is to cover both operating and capital costs for 
inpatient rehabilitation facility services. It applies to inpatient 
rehabilitation hospitals as well as rehabilitation units of acute care 
hospitals, both of which are exempt from the current PPS for inpatient 
hospital services. CMS implemented the inpatient rehabilitation 
facility prospective payment system for cost reporting periods 
beginning on or after January 1, 2002.
    Since October 1, 2012, the IRF-PAI has also been used to collect 
quality measure data, using data items in the Quality Indicator 
section, as required by Section 1886(j)(7) of the Social Security Act 
added by section 3004 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care 
Act. The statute requires the Secretary to establish a quality 
reporting program for inpatient rehabilitation facilities (IRFs), which 
was established in the FY 2012 IRF PPS final rule (76 FR 47873 through 
47883. Further, section 1886(j)(7)(A)(i) of the Act requires the 
Secretary to reduce the increase factor with respect to a fiscal year 
by 2 percentage points for any IRFs that do not submit data to the 
Secretary in accordance with requirements established by the Secretary 
for that fiscal year, beginning in fiscal year 2014.
    Section 2(a) of the Improving Medicare Post-Acute Care 
Transformation Act of 2014 (IMPACT Act) (Pub. L. 113-185, enacted on 
Oct. 6, 2014), requires that the Secretary specify not later than the 
applicable specified application date, as defined in section 
1899B(a)(2)(E), quality measures on which IRF providers are required to 
submit standardized patient assessment data described in section 
1899B(b)(1) and other necessary data specified by the Secretary. 
Section 1899B(c)(2)(A) requires, to the extent possible, the submission 
of the such quality measure data through the use of a PAC assessment 
instrument and the modification of such instrument as necessary to 
enable such use; for IRFs, this requirement refers to the Inpatient 
Rehabilitation Facility--Patient Assessment Instrument (IRF-PAI).
    Since October 1, 2015, there have been numerous updates to the IRF-
PAI. Some of the changes were subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act 
and some are exempt under the IMPACT Act. This information collection 
includes a summary of those revisions. Form Number: CMS-10036 (OMB 
control number: 0938-0842); Frequency: Annually; Affected Public: 
Private Sector: Business or other for-profits and Not-for-profit 
institutions, State, Local or Tribal Governments and Federal 
Government; Number of Respondents: 1,137; Total Annual Responses: 
402,311; Total Annual Hours: 227,151. (For policy questions regarding 
this collection contact Charles Padgett at 410-786-2811.)
    3. Type of Information Collection Request: Extension of a currently 
approved collection; Title of Information Collection: Generic Social 
Marketing & Consumer Testing Research; Use: The purpose of this 
submission is to extend the approval of the generic clearance for a 
program of consumer research aimed at a broad audience of those 
affected by CMS programs including Medicare, Medicaid, Children's 
Health Insurance Program (CHIP), and health insurance exchanges. This 
program extends strategic efforts to reach and tailor communications to 
beneficiaries, caregivers, providers, stakeholders, and any other 
audiences that would support the Agency in improving the functioning of 
the health care system, improve patient care and outcomes, and reduce 
costs without sacrificing quality of care. The information collected 
will be used to create a streamlined and proactive process for 
collection of data and utilizing the feedback on service delivery for 
continuous improvement of communication activities aimed at diverse CMS 
audiences.
    The generic clearance will allow rapid response to inform CMS 
initiatives using a mixture of qualitative and quantitative consumer 
research strategies (including formative research studies and 
methodological tests) to improve communication with key CMS audiences. 
As new information resources and persuasive technologies are developed, 
they can be tested and evaluated for beneficiary response to the 
materials and delivery channels. Results will inform communication 
development and information architecture as well as allow for 
continuous quality improvement. The overall goal is to maximize the 
extent to which consumers have access to useful sources of CMS program 
information in a form that can help them make the most of their 
benefits and options
    The activities under this clearance involve social marketing and 
consumer research using samples of self-selected customers, as well as 
convenience samples, and quota samples, with respondents selected 
either to cover a broad range of customers or to include specific 
characteristics related to certain products or services. All collection 
of information under this clearance will utilize a subset of items 
drawn from a core collection of customizable items referred to as the 
Social Marketing and Consumer Testing Item Bank. This item bank is 
designed to establish a set of pre-approved generic question that can 
be drawn upon to allow for the rapid turn-around consumer testing 
required for us to communicate more effectively with our audiences. The 
questions in the item bank are divided into two major categories. One 
set focuses on characteristics of individuals and is intended primarily 
for participant screening and for use in structured quantitative on-
line or telephone surveys. The other set is less structured and is 
designed for use in qualitative one-on-one and small group discussions 
or collecting information related to subjective impressions of test 
materials. Results will be compiled and disseminated so that future 
communication can be informed by the testing results. We will use the 
findings to create the greatest possible public benefit. Form Number: 
CMS-10437 (OMB control number: 0938-1247); Frequency: Yearly; Affected 
Public: Individuals; Number of Respondents: 41,592; Number of 
Responses: 28,800; Total Annual Hours: 21,488. (For policy questions 
regarding this collection

[[Page 26806]]

contact Allyssa Allen at 410-786-8436126.)

    Dated: June 6, 2017.
William N. Parham, III,
Director, Paperwork Reduction Staff, Office of Strategic Operations and 
Regulatory Affairs.
[FR Doc. 2017-12005 Filed 6-8-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4120-01-P