[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 226 (Friday, November 25, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 72485-72487]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-25738]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services

[Document Identifier: CMS-10816, CMS-R-131, CMS-10415 and CMS-1957]


Agency Information Collection Activities: Submission for OMB 
Review; Comment Request

AGENCY: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Health and Human 
Services (HHS).

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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 (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 a second opportunity 
for public comment on the notice. Interested persons are invited to 
send comments regarding the burden estimate 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 on the collection(s) of information must be received by 
the OMB desk officer by December 27, 2022.

ADDRESSES: Written comments and recommendations for the proposed 
information collection should be sent within 30 days of publication of 
this notice to www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain. Find this particular 
information collection by selecting ``Currently under 30-day Review--
Open for Public Comments'' or by using the search function.
    To obtain copies of a supporting statement and any related forms 
for the proposed collection(s) summarized in this notice, please access 
the CMS PRA website by copying and pasting the following web address 
into your web browser: https://www.cms.gov/Regulations-and-Guidance/Legislation/PaperworkReductionActof1995/PRA-Listing.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: William Parham at (410) 786-4669.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 
(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 (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)) requires 
federal agencies to publish a 30-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 that 
summarizes the following proposed collection(s) of information for 
public comment:
    1. Type of Information Collection Request: New Collection; Title of 
Information Collection: Medicare Part C and Medicare Part D Enrollment 
Form Interviews; Use: As CMS moves towards stratified reporting of 
quality measures and addressing healthcare inequity, highlighted by the 
COVID-19 pandemic, the ability to analyze disparities across Medicare 
programs and policies depends on the ability to access and collect 
reliable race and ethnicity data consistently from Medicare Part C and 
Part D plans. The recent Executive Orders (E.O.) 13985 on Advancing 
Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the 
Federal Government and E.O. 14031 on Advancing Equity, Justice, and 
Opportunity for Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific 
Islanders, have focused attention on the need for CMS to improve the 
collection and quality of its enrollees' race and ethnicity data, 
especially at the disaggregated level.
    Collecting complete race/ethnicity data is important to CMS because 
CMS has interest in identifying patterns of differences across many key 
process and care outcomes by sociodemographic characteristics, 
including race and ethnicity.
    CMS' primary objective for the interviews is to identify the 
drivers of nonresponse to the race and ethnicity questions. 
Specifically, we aim to solicit detail on whether and what concerns 
drove individuals' nonresponse to these items, including (but not 
limited to) (a) concerns about confidentiality of their data, (b) 
concerns about how their race and ethnicity data would be used, 
including concerns about whether disclosing such information could in 
any way affect eligibility for Medicare benefits (which it would not), 
or (c) concerns about response options (e.g., missing response options 
for race or ethnicity groups in which they may identify). We also 
intend to explore whether it is possible to amend the race and 
ethnicity elements on Part C/D enrollment form to address any of those 
concerns, and if so, how. Additionally, we plan to ask whether there 
are other--beyond the Part C/D enrollment form--vehicles for collecting 
race and ethnicity information that would be more acceptable to non-
responders, and if so, what those are.; Form Number: CMS-10816 (OMB 
control number: 0938-New); Frequency: Annually; Affected Public: 
Individuals and households; Number of Respondents: 120; Total Annual 
Responses: 120; Total Annual Hours: 114. (For policy questions 
regarding this collection contact Deme Umo at 410-786-8854).
    2. Type of Information Collection Request: Extension of a 
previously approved information collection; Title of Information 
Collection: Advance Beneficiary Notice of Noncoverage (ABN); Use: The 
use of the written Advance Beneficiary Notice of Non-coverage (ABN) is 
to inform Medicare beneficiaries of their liability under specific 
conditions. This has been available since the ``limitation on 
liability'' provisions in section 1879 of the Social Security Act (the 
Act) were enacted in 1972 (Pub. L. 92-603).
    The ABNs are not given every time items and services are delivered. 
Rather, ABNs are given only when a physician, provider, practitioner, 
or supplier anticipates that Medicare will not provide payment in 
specific cases. An ABN may be given, and the beneficiary may 
subsequently choose not to receive the item or service. An ABN may also 
be issued because of other applicable statutory requirements other than 
Sec.  1862(a)(1) such as when a beneficiary wants to obtain an item 
from a supplier who has not met Medicare supplier number requirements, 
as listed in section 1834(j)(1) of the Act or when statutory 
requirements for issuance specific to HHAs are applicable. Form Number: 
CMS-R-131 (OMB control number: 0938-0566); Frequency: Occasionally; 
Affected Public: Private sector; businesses or other for-profits, not-
for-profits institutions; Number of Respondents: 1,701,558; Total 
Annual Responses: 323,947,630; Total Annual Hours: 37,794,970. (For 
policy questions regarding this collection contact Jennifer McCormick 
at 410-786-2852.)
    3. Type of Information Collection Request: Revision of a currently 
approved collection; Title of Information Collection: Generic Clearance 
for the Collection of Qualitative Feedback on Agency Service Delivery; 
Use: This collection of information is necessary to enable the Agency 
to garner customer and stakeholder feedback in an efficient, timely 
manner, in accordance with our commitment to improving service 
delivery. The information collected from our customers and stakeholders

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will help ensure that users have an effective, efficient, and 
satisfying experience with the Agency's programs. This feedback will 
provide insights into customer or stakeholder perceptions, experiences 
and expectations, provide an early warning of issues with service, or 
focus attention on areas where communication, training or changes in 
operations might improve delivery of products or services. These 
collections will allow for ongoing, collaborative and actionable 
communications between the Agency and its customers and stakeholders. 
It will also allow feedback to contribute directly to the improvement 
of program management. Collecting voluntary customer feedback is the 
least burdensome, most effective way for the Agency to determine 
whether or not its public websites are useful to and used by its 
customers. Generic clearance is needed to ensure that the Agency can 
continuously improve its websites through regular surveys developed 
from these pre-defined questions. Surveying the Agency websites on a 
regular, ongoing basis will help ensure that users have an effective, 
efficient, and satisfying experience on any of the websites, maximizing 
the impact of the information and resulting in optimum benefit for the 
public. The surveys will ensure that this communication channel meets 
customer and partner priorities, builds the Agency's brands, and 
contributes to the Agency's health and human services impact goals. 
Form Number: CMS-10415 (OMB control number 0938-1185); Frequency: 
Occasionally; Affected Public: Individuals and households; Number of 
Respondents: 2,000,000; Number of Responses: 2,000,000; Total Annual 
Hours: 50,000. (For policy questions regarding this collection contact 
Aaron Lartey at 410-786-7866.)
    4. Type of Information Collection Request: Extension of a currently 
approved collection; Title of Information Collection: Social Security 
Office (SSO) Report of State Buy-In Problem; Use: The statutory 
authority for the State Buy-in program is section 1843 of the Social 
Security Act, amended through 1989. Under section 1843, a State can 
enter into an agreement to provide Medicare protection to individuals 
who are members of a Buy-in coverage group, as specified in the State's 
Buy-in agreement. The Code of Federal Regulations at 42 CFR 407.40 
provides for States to enroll in Medicare and pay the premiums for all 
eligible members covered under a Buy in coverage group. Individuals 
enrolled in Medicare through the Buy-in program must be eligible for 
Medicare and be an eligible member of a Buy-in coverage group. The day 
to day operations of the State Buy-in program is accomplished through 
an automated data exchange process. The automated data exchange process 
is used to exchange Medicare and Buy-in entitlement information between 
the Social Security District Offices, State Medicaid Agencies and the 
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). When problems arise 
that cannot be resolved though the normal data exchange process, 
clerical actions are required. The CMS-1957, ``SSO Report of State Buy-
In Problem'' is used to report Buy-in problems cases. The CMS-1957 is 
the only standardized form available for communications between the 
aforementioned agencies for the resolution of beneficiary complaints 
and inquiries regarding State Buy-in eligibility. Form Number: CMS-1957 
(OMB control number 0938-0035); Frequency: Occasionally; Affected 
Public: Individuals and households; Number of Respondents: 1,400; 
Number of Responses: 1,400; Total Annual Hours: 467. (For policy 
questions regarding this collection contact Keith Johnson at 410-786-
2262.)

    Dated: November 21, 2022.
William N. Parham, III,
Director, Paperwork Reduction Staff, Office of Strategic Operations and 
Regulatory Affairs.
[FR Doc. 2022-25738 Filed 11-23-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4120-01-P