[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 220 (Thursday, November 18, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 64528-64529]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-25162]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Employee Benefits Security Administration


Agency Information Collection Activities; Request for Public 
Comment

AGENCY: Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA), Department of 
Labor.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Labor (the Department), in accordance with 
the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA 95) provides the general 
public and Federal agencies with an opportunity to comment on proposed 
and continuing collections of information. This helps the Department 
assess the impact of its information collection requirements and 
minimize the reporting burden on the public and helps the public 
understand the Department's information collection requirements and 
provide the requested data in the desired format. Currently, the 
Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) is soliciting comments 
on Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act Patient Protection 
Notice. A copy of the information collection request (ICR) may be 
obtained by contacting the office listed in the ADDRESSES section of 
this notice.

DATES: Written comments must be submitted to the office shown in the 
ADDRESSES section on or before January 18, 2022.

ADDRESSES: James Butikofer, Department of Labor, Employee Benefits 
Security Administration, 200 Constitution Avenue NW, Room N- 5718, 
Washington, DC 20210, or [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Current Actions

    This notice requests public comment pertaining to the Department's 
request for extension of OMB's approval of the Application. After 
considering comments received in response to this notice, the 
Department intends to submit an ICR to OMB for continuing approval. No 
change to the existing ICR is proposed or made at this time. The 
Department notes that an agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a 
person is not required to respond to, an

[[Page 64529]]

information collection unless it displays a valid OMB control number. A 
summary of the ICR and the current burden estimates follows:
    Agency: Employee Benefits Security Administration, Department of 
Labor.
    Title: Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act Patient 
Protection Notice.
    Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection of 
information.
    OMB Number: 1210-0142.
    Affected Public: Business or other for-profit; Not-for-profit 
institutions.
    Respondents: 56,543.
    Frequency of Responses: On occasion.
    Responses: 256,262.
    Estimated Total Burden Hours: 7,068.
    Estimated Total Burden Cost (Operating and Maintenance): $3,203.
    Description: The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (the 
Affordable Care Act) was enacted on March 23, 2010. Section 2719A of 
the Public Health Service Act (the PHS Act), as added by the Affordable 
Care Act, and the Department's 2015 final regulations (29 CFR 2590.715-
2719A) provide that if a group health plan, or a health insurance 
issuer offering group or individual health insurance coverage, requires 
or provides for designation by a participant, beneficiary, or enrollee 
of a participating primary care provider, then the plan or issuer must 
permit each participant, beneficiary, or enrollee to designate any 
participating primary care provider who is available to accept the 
participant, beneficiary, or enrollee.
    The statute and the 2015 final regulations impose a requirement for 
the designation of a pediatrician similar to the requirement for the 
designation of a primary care physician. Specifically, if a plan or 
issuer requires or provides for the designation of a participating 
primary care provider for a child by a participant, beneficiary, or 
enrollee, the plan or issuer must permit the designation of a physician 
(allopathic or osteopathic) who specializes in pediatrics as the 
child's primary care provider if the provider participates in the 
network of the plan or issuer. The statute and the 2015 final 
regulations also provide that a group health plan, or a health 
insurance issuer may not require authorization or referral by the plan, 
issuer, or any person (including a primary care provider) for a female 
participant, beneficiary, or enrollee who seeks obstetrical or 
gynecological care provided by an in-network health care professional 
who specializes in obstetrics or gynecology.
    On December 27, 2020, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 
(CAA), which includes the No Surprises Act, was signed into law. The No 
Surprises Act provides Federal protections against surprise billing and 
limits out-of-network cost sharing under many of the circumstances in 
which surprise bills arise most frequently. The CAA added provisions 
applicable to group health plans and health insurance issuers in the 
group and individual markets in a new Part D of title XXVII of the 
Public Health Service Act (PHS Act) and also added new provisions to 
part 7 of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), and 
Subchapter B of chapter 100 of the Internal Revenue Code (Code).
    The No Surprises Act expanded the patient protections related to 
emergency services to provide additional protections. In addition, the 
No Surprises Act added reorganized part 7 of ERISA and added a section 
722 that includes provisions which mirror those related to choice of 
healthcare professional that are currently applicable under section 
2719A of the PHS Act (which is incorporated by reference through ERISA 
section 715). The patient protections under the No Surprises Act apply 
generally to all group health plans and health insurance coverage and a 
result of the recodification of this provision is that it now applies 
to grandfathered health plans. The 2021 interim final regulations 
``Requirements Related to Surprise Billing; Part I'' add a sunset 
clause to the current patient protection provisions codified in the 
2015 final regulations, and re-codify the provisions related to choice 
of health care professional in a new section. Accordingly, the 2015 
final regulations and 2021 interim final regulations requires plans and 
issuers to provide a notice to participants (in the individual market, 
primary subscribers) of these rights when applicable. The notice must 
be provided whenever the plan or issuer provides a participant with a 
summary plan description or other similar description of benefits under 
the plan or health insurance coverage, or in the individual market, 
provides a primary subscriber with a policy, certificate, or contract 
of health insurance.
    On September 10, 2021, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) 
approved the information collection request (OMB Control Number 1210-
0142) under the emergency procedures for review and clearance in 
accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-13, 44 
U.S.C. chapter 35) and 5 CFR 1320.13. The approval is scheduled to 
expire on March 31, 2022.

II. Focus of Comments

    The Department is particularly interested in comments that:
     Evaluate whether the collections of information are 
necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, 
including whether the information will have practical utility;
     Evaluate the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the 
collections of information, including the validity of the methodology 
and assumptions used;
     Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the 
information to be collected; and
     Minimize the burden of the collection of information on 
those who are to respond, including through the use of appropriate 
automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection 
techniques or other forms of information technology, e.g., by 
permitting electronic submissions of responses.
     Evaluate the effectiveness of the additional demographic 
questions.
    Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized 
and/or included in the ICR for OMB approval of the information 
collection; they will also become a matter of public record.
    Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized 
and/or included in the ICR for OMB approval of the information 
collection; they will also become a matter of public record.

    Signed at Washington, DC, this 11th day of November, 2021.
Ali Khawar,
Acting Assistant Secretary, Employee Benefits Security Administration, 
U.S. Department of Labor.
[FR Doc. 2021-25162 Filed 11-17-21; 8:45 am]
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