[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 197 (Friday, October 13, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 71067-71069]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-22655]


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SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION

[Docket No: SSA-2023-0040]


Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Requests

    The Social Security Administration (SSA) publishes a list of 
information collection packages requiring clearance by the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) in compliance with Public Law (Pub. L.) 
104-13, the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, effective October 1, 1995. 
This notice includes extensions and revisions of OMB-approved 
information collections, new information collections, and an 
information collection in use without an OMB number.
    SSA is soliciting comments on the accuracy of the agency's burden 
estimate; the need for the information; its practical utility; ways to 
enhance its quality, utility, and clarity; and ways to minimize burden 
on respondents, including the use of automated collection techniques or 
other forms of information technology. Mail, email, or fax your 
comments and recommendations on the information collection(s) to the 
OMB Desk Officer and SSA Reports Clearance Officer at the following 
addresses or fax numbers.
    (OMB) Office of Management and Budget, Attn: Desk Officer for SSA, 
Fax: 202-395-6974, Email address: [email protected]. Submit 
your comments online referencing Docket ID Number [SSA-2023-0040].
    (SSA) Social Security Administration, OLCA, Attn: Reports Clearance 
Director, Mail Stop 3252 Altmeyer, 6401 Security Blvd., Baltimore, MD 
21235, Fax: 410-966-2830, Email address: [email protected].
    Or you may submit your comments online through https://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain, referencing Docket ID Number [SSA-
2023-0040].
    I. The information collections below are pending at SSA. SSA will 
submit them to OMB within 60 days from the date of this notice. To be 
sure we consider your comments, we must receive them no later than 
December 12, 2023. Individuals can obtain copies of the collection 
instruments by writing to the above email address.
    1. Appointed Representative Availability Portal for SSA Hearings--
20 CFR 404.929, 404.933, 404.1740, 416.1429, 416.1433, 416.1540, 
418.1350, 422.203--0960-NEW. As part of the appeal process, claimants 
can request a hearing with an Administrative Law Judge. As per sections 
20 CFR 404.1740(b)(3)(iii) and 416.1540(b)(3)(iii) of the Code of 
Federal Regulations (Code), representatives, when asked, have an 
affirmative duty to provide potential availability for hearings. When 
the SSA schedules hearings, it usually considers the availability of 
appointed representatives. Historically, representatives provide their 
hearing availability to schedulers via telephone or email, using a 
process for gathering and considering representative availability that 
is not standardized and varies greatly amongst the regional centralized 
scheduling units (RCSUs).
    In the Spring of 2023, SSA launched a new web-based portal called 
the Enhanced Representative Availability Process (ERAP) to provide 
representatives with a uniform, standardized, and streamlined 
representative availability collection process. The new web-based 
Representative Availability Portal (Portal) marks the next step in 
modernizing SSA's scheduling practices for hearings. We expect use of 
the Portal will result in receiving consistent structured data from 
appointed representatives, which will allow for a more streamlined and 
effective hearing scheduling process. The Portal also meets a 
longstanding customer-experience request by the representative 
community, one of SSA's key stakeholders in the process.
    This collection asks respondents to submit their availability for 
hearings through the Portal on a rolling, monthly basis. The respondent 
can be the representative or a delegated official from the appointed 
representative's firm or Designated Scheduling Group (DSG). The 
respondents will request availability five months in advance of the 
hearing. Respondents who chose not to use the Portal will continue to 
be able to submit their availability via email. Once a submission 
period closes, SSA will schedule the hearings. SSA will schedule 
hearings even if a respondent has not submitted the representative's 
availability.
    SSA plans to roll the Portal out to all appointed representatives 
registered with the Registration, Appointment, and Services for 
Representatives (RASR) application who regularly conduct business with 
SSA through RASR. Respondents will need to have a mySocial Security 
account to use the Portal and be registered into the Portal by SSA 
systems. Respondents who wish to use the Portal, but who are not 
registered with RASR, or who do not have a Representative ID, must 
provide SSA systems with the necessary data, including name and SSN, to 
complete the Portal registration process. Portal response options will 
include DSG group, hearing region, availability during the period of 
submission, and respondent-preferred case maximums, and will allow SSA 
to obtain the information we require to schedule hearings for 
attendees.
    Respondents are authorized representatives and delegated officials 
from appointed representative firms or DSG.
    Type of Request: Request for a new information collection.

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                                                                                                                            Average
                                                                                       Average burden  Estimated total    theoretical      Total annual
      Modality of completion          Number of       Frequency of      Number of       per response    annual burden     hourly cost      opportunity
                                     respondents        response        responses        (minutes)         (hours)           amount       cost (dollars)
                                                                                                                          (dollars) *           **
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ERAP Portal......................           4,000               12          48,0000               20           16,000         * $29.76      ** $476,160
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* We based this figure on average U.S. worker's hourly wages; State and local government worker's salaries; and attorney representative payee wages as
  reported by Bureau of Labor Statistics data (https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_stru.htm).
** This figure does not represent actual costs that SSA is imposing on recipients of Social Security payments to complete this application; rather,
  these are theoretical opportunity costs for the additional time respondents will spend to complete the application. There is no actual charge to
  respondents to complete the application.

    2. Medicaid Use Report--20 CFR 416.268--0960-0267. Section 1619(b) 
of the Social Security Act (Act) and 20 CFR 416.268 of the Code require 
SSA to determine eligibility for: (1) special Supplemental Security 
Income (SSI)

[[Page 71068]]

payments and (2) special SSI eligibility status for a person who works 
despite a disabling condition. Section 20 CFR 416.268 of the Code also 
provides that to qualify for special SSI eligibility status, an 
individual must establish that termination of eligibility for benefits 
under Title XIX of the Act would seriously inhibit their ability to 
continue employment. The collected information is used to determine if 
an individual is entitled to special Title XVI SSI payments and, 
consequently, to Medicaid or Medi-Cal.
    In most cases, if an SSI beneficiary is blind or disabled, 
regardless of age, and they have Medicaid before beginning to work 
again, they can retain their Medicaid benefits while continuing to work 
as long as their disabling condition still exists. During a personal or 
telephone Redetermination interview with the SSI recipient, an SSA 
employee asks the following questions:
     Have you used any medical care or services in the past 12 
months that were paid for by Medicaid (or Medi-Cal, etc.)?
     Do you expect to receive any medical care or services in 
the next 12 months that will be paid for by Medicaid (or Medi-Cal, 
etc.)?
     Without Medicaid (Medi-Cal, etc.), would you be unable to 
pay your medical bills if you become ill or injured in the next 12 
months?
    Generally, a response of ``yes'' to one of those three questions 
will lead to SSA determining that an SSI recipient whose payments have 
stopped based on earnings, is entitled to special SSI payments and, 
consequently, to Medicaid benefits under section 1619 (b) of the Act. 
The respondents are SSI recipients for whom SSA has stopped payments 
based on earnings.
    Type of Request: Extension of an OMB-approved information 
collection.

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                                                                                                                          Average wait
                                                                                                           Average       time in field     Total annual
                                      Number of       Frequency of    Average burden  Estimated total    theoretical      offices and      opportunity
      Modality of completion         respondents        response       per response    annual burden     hourly cost      teleservice     cost (dollars)
                                                                        (minutes)         (hours)           amount          centers            ***
                                                                                                         (dollars) *      (minutes) **
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20 CFR 416.268 SSI Claims System.          99,000                1                3            4,950         * $12.81            ** 21     *** $507,276
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* We based this figure on average SSI payments based on SSA's current FY 2023 data (https://www.ssa.gov/legislation/2023factsheet.pdf).
** We based this figure on the average FY 2023 wait times for field offices and teleservice centers, based on SSA's current management information data.
*** This figure does not represent actual costs that SSA is imposing on recipients of Social Security payments to complete this application; rather,
  these are theoretical opportunity costs for the additional time respondents. There is no actual charge to respondents to complete the application.

    3. Appeal of Determination for Extra Help with Medicare 
Prescription Drug Costs--0960-0695. Public Law 108-173, also known as 
the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement and Modernization Act of 
2003 (MMA), amended Title XVIII of the Act to establish a subsidy 
program to help certain individuals with limited income and resources 
pay for Medicare Part D prescription drug coverage. This subsidy 
program is commonly referred to as Extra Help.
    Individuals seeking Extra Help may apply via the SSA-1020 paper 
form or i1020 online application (OMB No. 0960-0696). If SSA determines 
that the claimant is not eligible for Extra Help, SSA will mail a 
notice to the claimant indicating the claim is denied. Extra Help 
denial notices include appeal rights and explain how to request an 
appeal.
    Individuals learn about the appeal process for Extra Help via 
determination notices, 800# representatives, as well as SSA and CMS 
websites. Individuals voluntarily initiate the Extra Help appeal 
process by printing the form from SSA's online website and sending the 
completed form to SSA, contacting SSA's 800 Number to request an 
appeal, or going into the field office to request the appeal. If the 
individual chooses to call the 800# or go into the field office, an SSA 
technician enters the individual's request into the MAPS system. The 
request is then electronically sent to the Subsidy Determination Unit, 
who then schedules an appointment for the appeal and sends an 
appointment notice to the individual. Individuals who appeal SSA's 
decision regarding eligibility or continuing eligibility for Medicare 
Part D Extra Help must complete Form SSA-1021. The respondent may mail 
the completed form to either the local field office or to the Wilkes-
Barre Direct Operations Center. The respondent may also complete the 
form with assistance from an SSA technician via an in-person interview 
at the Field Office or over the telephone. All claims are entered into 
Medicare Application Processing System (MAPS), which automatically 
adjudicates claims based on the data input by SSA technicians. 
Respondents are Medicare beneficiaries, or proper applicants acting on 
behalf of a Medicare beneficiary, who do not agree with the outcome of 
an SSA Extra Help eligibility determination and want to file an appeal.
    Type of Request: Revision of an OMB-approved information 
collection.

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                                                                                                              Average
                                                                          Average burden     Estimated      theoretical    Average wait    Total annual
         Modality of completion              Number of     Frequency of    per response    total annual     hourly cost    time in field    opportunity
                                            respondents      response        (minutes)    burden (hours)      amount          office      cost (dollars)
                                                                                                            (dollars) *    (minutes) **         ***
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SSA-1021--(Paper version)...............           1,859               1              10             310        * $29.76  ..............      *** $9,226
SSA-1021--(Internet version: MAPS)......           5,291               1              10             882         * 29.76           ** 24      *** 89,220
                                         ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Totals..............................           7,150  ..............  ..............           1,192  ..............  ..............      *** 98,446
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* We based this figure on average U.S. worker's hourly wages; State and local government worker's salaries; and attorney representative payee wages as
  reported by Bureau of Labor Statistics data (https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_stru.htm).
** We based this figure on the average FY 2023 wait times for field offices, based on SSA's current management information data.
*** This figure does not represent actual costs that SSA is imposing on recipients of Social Security payments to complete this application; rather,
  these are theoretical opportunity costs for the additional time respondents will spend to complete the application. There is no actual charge to
  respondents to complete the application.



[[Page 71069]]

    Dated: October 10, 2023.
Naomi R. Sipple,
Reports Clearance Officer, Office of Regulations and Reports Clearance, 
Social Security Administration.
[FR Doc. 2023-22655 Filed 10-12-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4191-02-P