[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 127 (Tuesday, July 2, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 31596-31597]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-14086]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Administration for Community Living


Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection; 
Public Comment Request; Performance Data for the Senior Medicare Patrol 
(SMP) Program; OMB# 0985-0024

AGENCY: Administration for Community Living, HHS.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Administration for Community Living (ACL) is announcing an 
opportunity for the public to comment on the proposed collection of 
information listed above. Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 
(the PRA), Federal agencies are required to publish a notice in the 
Federal Register concerning each proposed collection of information, 
including each proposed extension of an existing collection of 
information, and to allow 60 days for public comment in response to the 
notice. This Extension without Change (ICR Ext) solicits comments on 
the information collection requirements related to the Performance Data 
for the Senior Medicare Patrol (SMP) Program.

DATES: Comments on the collection of information must be submitted 
electronically by 11:59 p.m. (EST) or postmarked by September 3, 2019.

ADDRESSES: Submit electronic comments on the collection of information 
to: Phillip McKoy, [email protected]. Submit written comments 
on the collection of information to Administration for Community 
Living, Washington, D.C. 20201, Attention: Phillip McKoy

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Phillip McKoy, Office of Healthcare 
Information and Counseling (OHIC), Administration for Community Living, 
Washington, DC 20201, Phone: 202-795-7397, Email: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the PRA, Federal agencies must obtain 
approval from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for each 
collection of information they conduct or sponsor. ``Collection of 
information'' is defined as and includes agency requests or 
requirements that members of the public submit reports, keep records, 
or provide information to a third party.
    The PRA requires Federal agencies to provide a 60-day notice in the 
Federal Register concerning each proposed collection of information, 
including each proposed extension of an existing collection of 
information, before submitting the collection to OMB for approval. To 
comply with this requirement, ACL is publishing a notice of the 
proposed collection of information set forth in this document.
    With respect to the following collection of information, ACL 
invites comments on our burden estimates or any other aspect of this 
collection of information, including:
    (1) Whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for 
the proper performance of ACL's functions, including whether the 
information will have practical utility;
    (2) the accuracy of ACL's estimate of the burden of the proposed 
collection of information, including the validity of the methodology 
and assumptions used to determine burden estimates;
    (3) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the 
information to be collected; and
    (4) ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on 
respondents, including through the use of automated collection 
techniques when appropriate, and other forms of information technology.
    The purpose of this data collection is to collect annual 
performance data from grantees. This data collection is required by 
Congress for program monitoring and Government Performance Results Act 
(GPRA) purposes. The data collected through this request is used by ACL 
and the SMP Programs to communicate with Congress and the public on SMP 
activities. There are 54 programs nationally, one in all 50 states, the 
District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands. It 
is imperative that data be collected to ensure that grantees' contacts 
are captured and that Medicare beneficiaries are given the tools to 
prevent, detect and report health care fraud, error and abuse. The 
respondents for this data collection are grantees, SMP team members, 
and volunteers who meet with Medicare beneficiaries in group settings 
and in one-on-one sessions to educate them on the importance of being 
aware of Medicare fraud, error and abuse, and having the knowledge to 
protect the Medicare system.
    Under Public Law 104-208, the Omnibus Consolidated Appropriations 
Act of 1997, Congress established the Senior Medicare Patrol Projects 
in order to further curb losses to the Medicare program. The Senate 
Committee noted that retired professionals, with appropriate training, 
could serve as educators and resources to assist Medicare beneficiaries 
and others to detect and report error, fraud and abuse.
    Among other requirements, it directed the Administration for 
Community Living to work with the Office of Inspector General (OIG) and 
the Government Accountability Office (GAO), to assess the performance 
of the program. The Administration for Community Living has worked with 
HHS/OIG to develop project-level performance measures. The HHS/OIG has 
collected SMP performance data and issued SMP performance reports since 
1997. The OIG changed the reporting period from twice a year to once a 
year in 2008.
    This information is used by ACL as the primary method for 
monitoring the SMP Projects. This information collection reports the 
number of active team members, number of community outreach activities, 
number of beneficiaries reached by education and outreach activities, 
and the number of dollars recoverable for the Medicare Trust Fund among 
other performance measures. The information from the current collection 
is reported by the OIG to Congress and the public.
    Measures as required by Congress and the Government Performance 
Results Modernization Act of 2010 (GPRMA), are also supported in ACL 
tracking

[[Page 31597]]

performance outcomes and efficiency measures with respect to the annual 
and long-term performance targets established in compliance with the 
GPRAMA. The Performance Data for the SMP data collection will continue 
to provide data necessary to determine the effectiveness of the 
program.
    The proposed data collection tools may be found on the ACL website 
for review at https://www.acl.gov/about-acl/public-input.

Estimated Program Burden

    ACL estimates the burden associated with this collection of 
information as follows: The burden hours are based on the number of 
projects for 54 SMP grantees. With an estimated time of 138 burden 
hours per response for a total of 7,452 annual burden hours.

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                                                                                                          Number of      Average burden
               Type of respondent                              Form name                 Number of      responses per     per response     Total burden
                                                                                        respondents       respondent       (in hours)         hours
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SMP grantees....................................  SMP Project annual Report Form....              54                1              138            7,452
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    Dated: June 26, 2019.
Mary Lazare,
Principal Deputy Administrator.
[FR Doc. 2019-14086 Filed 7-1-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4154-01-P