[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 76 (Wednesday, April 20, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 23570-23571]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-08416]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Employee Benefits Security Administration


Agency Information Collection Activities; Request for Public 
Comment on Revisions to the National Medical Support Notice--Part B

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

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Labor (the Department), as part of its 
continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, conducts a 
preclearance consultation program to provide the general public and 
Federal

[[Page 23571]]

agencies with an opportunity to comment on proposed and continuing 
collections of information in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction 
Act of 1995 (PRA 95). This program helps to ensure that the data the 
Department collects can be provided in the desired format, that the 
reporting burden on the public (time and financial resources) is 
minimized, that the public understands the Department's collection 
instruments, and that the Department can accurately assess the impact 
of its collection requirements on respondents. Currently, the Employee 
Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) is soliciting comments 
concerning a revision to the information collection contained in the 
National Medical Support Notice--Part B. A copy of the ICRs 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 June 21, 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. Background

    Section 609(a) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 
1974, as amended (ERISA), requires each group health plan, as defined 
in ERISA section 607(1), to provide benefits in accordance with the 
applicable requirements of any ``qualified medical child support 
order'' (QMCSO). A QMCSO is, generally, an order issued by a state 
court or other competent state authority that requires a group health 
plan to provide group health coverage to a child or children of an 
employee eligible for coverage under the plan. In accordance with 
Congressional directives contained in the Child Support Performance and 
Incentive Act of 1998 (CSPIA), EBSA and the Federal Office of Child 
Support Enforcement (OCSE) in the Department of Health and Human 
Services (HHS) cooperated in the development of regulations to create a 
National Medical Support Notice (NMSN or Notice). The Notice simplifies 
the issuance and processing of qualified medical child support orders 
issued by state child support enforcement agencies, provides for 
standardized communication between state agencies, employers, and plan 
administrators, and creates a uniform and streamlined process for 
enforcement of medical child support obligations ordered by state child 
support enforcement agencies. The NMSN comprises two parts: Part A was 
promulgated by HHS and pertains to state child support enforcement 
agencies and employers; Part B was promulgated by the Department and 
pertains to plan administrators pursuant to ERISA. This solicitation of 
public comment relates only to Part B of the NMSN, which was 
promulgated by the Department. In connection with promulgation of Part 
B of the NMSN, the Department submitted an ICR to the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) for review, and OMB approved the 
information collections contained in Part B under OMB control number 
1210-0113. OMB's approval of this ICR is scheduled to expire on October 
31, 2022.

II. Current Actions

    This notice requests comments on a revision to the ICR included in 
Part B of the NMSN. The changes are generally formatting changes and 
additional spaces intended to facilitate completion of the Form and 
conform to similar changes made to Part A. Specific changes include 
check boxes added to the Plan Administrator Response, expanded space on 
the Form to allow for the identification of up to six children, and 
minor text edits for clarity. An addendum provides additional space to 
identify insurance provider information and to list the children that 
are no longer eligible for coverage because they are above the age at 
which dependents are eligible for coverage under the plan. Spaces are 
also added for email contact information for both the issuing agency 
and the plan administrator. Finally, the changes add an instruction 
that the Plan Administrator Response must be returned to the child 
support agency that issued the Form, so as to avoid parties 
inadvertently providing the response to the Department of Labor.
    A summary of the Department's ICR and its current burden estimates 
follows:
    Title: National Medical Support Notice--Part B.
    Type of Review: Revision of a currently approved collection of 
information.
    OMB Number: 1210-0113.
    Affected Public: Not-for-profit institutions, Businesses or other 
for-profits.
    Respondents: 425,444.
    Responses: 10,546,371.
    Estimated Total Burden Hours: 878,864.
    Estimated Total Burden Cost (Operating and Maintenance): 
$3,322,107.

III. Focus of Comments

    The Department is currently soliciting comments on the information 
collection contained in the National Medical Support Notice--Part B. 
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.

    Signed at Washington, DC, this 14th day of April, 2022.
Ali Khawar,
Acting Assistant Secretary, Employee Benefits Security Administration, 
U.S. Department of Labor.
[FR Doc. 2022-08416 Filed 4-19-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-29-P