[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 188 (Friday, September 29, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 67298-67299]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-21523]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services

[Document Identifier: CMS-10718, CMS-10142 and CMS-10540]


Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; 
Comment Request

AGENCY: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Health and Human 
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 November 28, 2023.

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, 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 N. 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-10718 Model Medicare Advantage and Medicare Prescription Drug Plan 
Individual Enrollment Request Form
CMS-10142 Bid Pricing Tool (BPT) for Medicare Advantage (MA) Plans and 
Prescription Drug Plans (PDP)
CMS-10540 Quality Improvement Strategy Implementation Plan, Progress 
Report, and Modification Summary Supplement Forms

    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 with change to 
the currently approved collection; Title of Information Collection: 
Model Medicare Advantage and Medicare Prescription Drug Plan Individual 
Enrollment Request Form; Use: The enrollment form is considered a 
``model'' under Medicare regulations at Sec. Sec.  422.2262 and 
423.2262, for purposes of

[[Page 67299]]

communication and marketing review and approval; therefore, MA and Part 
D plans are able to modify the language, content, format, or order of 
the enrollment form. The model enrollment form includes the minimal 
amount of information to process the enrollment, located in Section 1 
of the MA/PDP enrollment form, and other limited information, in 
Section 2, that the sponsor is required (i.e. race and ethnicity data, 
accessible format preference) or chooses (i.e. premium payment 
information) to provide to the beneficiary.
    CMS expects MA and PDP organizations to ensure the enrollment form 
complies with CMS' instructions regarding content and format. New and 
current enrollees that utilize the enrollment form to elect an MA or 
Part D plan must acknowledge the requirement to: (1) maintain Medicare 
Part A and B to stay in MA, or Part A or B to stay in Part D; (2) 
reside in the plan's service area; (3) make a valid request during a 
valid election period; (4) follow plan rules; (5) consent to the 
disclosure and exchange of information between the plan and CMS; and 
(6) enroll in only one Medicare health plan and that enrollment in the 
MA or Part D plan automatically disenrolls them from any other Medicare 
health plan and prescription drug plan.
    CMS will use this information to: track beneficiary enrollment, 
including tracking patterns in enrollment by race and ethnicity, sexual 
orientation, and gender identity over time; to identify, monitor, and 
develop effective and efficient strategies and incentives to reduce and 
eliminate health and health care inequities; to validate existing race 
and ethnicity imputation methods; and to ensure that clinically 
appropriate and equitable care (in terms of payment, access and 
quality) is consistently provided to all Medicare beneficiaries. Form 
Number: CMS-10718 (OMB control number: 0938-0832); Frequency: 
Occasionally; Affected Public: Individuals and Households, Private 
sector--(Business or other for-profits and Not-for-profit 
institutions); Number of Respondents: 19,815,897; Total Annual 
Responses: 39,632,597; Total Annual Hours: 10,557,541. (For policy 
questions regarding this collection contact AnhViet Nguyen at 410-786-
4548).
    2. Type of Information Collection Request: Revision with change to 
the currently approved collection; Title of Information Collection: Bid 
Pricing Tool (BPT) for Medicare Advantage (MA) Plans and Prescription 
Drug Plans (PDP; Use: Medicare Advantage organizations (MAO) and 
Prescription Drug Plans (PDP) are required to submit an actuarial 
pricing ``bid'' for each plan offered to Medicare beneficiaries for 
approval by CMS. The MAOs and PDPs use the Bid Pricing Tool (BPT) 
software to develop their actuarial pricing bid. The competitive 
bidding process defined by the ``The Medicare Prescription Drug, 
Improvement, and Modernization Act'' (MMA) applies to both the MA and 
Part D programs. It is an annual process that encompasses the release 
of the MA rate book in April, the bid's that plans submit to CMS in 
June, and the release of the Part D and RPPO benchmarks, which 
typically occurs in August. Form Number: CMS-10142 (OMB control number: 
0938-0832); Frequency: Annually; Affected Public: Private sector--
(Business or other for-profits and Not-for-profit institutions); 555; 
Total Annual Responses: 4,995; Total Annual Hours: 149,850 (For policy 
questions regarding this collection contact Rachel Shevland at 410-786-
3026).
    3. Type of Information Collection Request: Extension of a 
previously approved collection; Title of Information Collection: 
Quality Improvement Strategy Implementation Plan, Progress Report, and 
Modification Summary Supplement Forms; Use: Section 1311(c)(1)(E) of 
the Affordable Care Act requires qualified health plans (QHPs) offered 
through an Exchange must implement a quality improvement strategy (QIS) 
as described in section 1311(g)(1). Section 1311(g)(3) of the 
Affordable Care Act specifies the guidelines under Section 1311(g)(2) 
shall require the periodic reporting to the applicable Exchange the 
activities that a qualified health plan has conducted to implement a 
strategy as described in section 1311(g)(1). CMS intends to have QHP 
issuers complete the appropriate QIS forms annually for implementation 
and progress reporting of their quality improvement strategies. The QIS 
forms will include topics to assess an issuer's compliance in creating 
a payment structure that provides increased reimbursement or other 
incentives to improve the health outcomes of plan enrollees, prevent 
hospital readmissions, improve patient safety and reduce medical 
errors, promote wellness and health, and reduce health and health care 
disparities, as described in Section 1311(g)(1) of the Affordable Care 
Act.
    QIS forms will allow: (1) the Department of Health & Human Services 
(HHS) to evaluate the compliance and adequacy of QHP issuers' quality 
improvement efforts, as required by Section 1311(c) of the Affordable 
Care Act, and (2) HHS will use the issuers' validated information to 
evaluate the issuers' quality improvement strategies for compliance 
with the requirements of Section 1311(g) of the Affordable Care Act. 
Form Number: CMS-10540 (OMB control number: 0938-1286); Frequency: 
Annually; Affected Public: Public sector (Individuals and Households), 
Private sector (Business or other for-profits and not-for-profit 
institutions); Number of Respondents: 250; Total Annual Responses: 250; 
Total Annual Hours: 4,933. (For policy questions regarding this 
collection contact Preeti Hans at 301.492.5144).

    Dated: September 26, 2023.
William N. Parham, III,
Director, Paperwork Reduction Staff, Office of Strategic Operations and 
Regulatory Affairs.
[FR Doc. 2023-21523 Filed 9-28-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4120-01-P