[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 92 (Friday, May 10, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Page 40484]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-10256]



[[Page 40484]]

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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services

[Document Identifiers: CMS-10767]


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 (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 July 9, 2024.

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-10767 Patient Access through Application Programming Interfaces 
(API)

    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: Reinstatement without 
change of a previously approved collection; Title of Information 
Collection: Patient Access through Application Programming Interfaces 
(API); Use: This final rule is the first phase of policies centrally 
focused on advancing interoperability and patient access to health 
information using the authority available to the Centers for Medicare & 
Medicaid Services (CMS). We believe this is an important step in 
advancing interoperability, putting patients at the center of their 
health care, and ensuring they have electronic access to their health 
information. We are committed to working with stakeholders to solve the 
issue of interoperability and getting patients access to information 
about their health care, and we are taking an active approach to move 
participants in the health care market toward interoperability and the 
secure and timely exchange of electronic health information by adopting 
policies for the Medicare and Medicaid programs, the Children's Health 
Insurance Program (CHIP), and qualified health plan (QHP) issuers on 
the individual market Federally-facilitated Exchanges (FFEs). For 
purposes of this rule, references to QHP issuers on the FFEs excludes 
issuers offering only stand-alone dental plans (SADPs). Likewise, we 
are also excluding QHP issuers only offering QHPs in the Federally-
facilitated Small Business Health Options Program Exchanges (FF-SHOPs) 
from the provisions of this rule. This rule requires these impacted 
payers to maintain and use standards-based APIs to make certain 
information available to enrollees. CMS regulations at 42 CFR 417.414, 
417.416, 422.112(a)(1)(i), and 422.114(a)(3)(ii) require that all 
Medicare Advantage organizations (MAOs) offering coordinated care 
plans, network-based private fee-for-service (PFFS) plans, and as well 
as section 1876 cost organizations, maintain a network of appropriate 
providers that is sufficient to provide adequate access to covered 
services to meet the needs of the population served. To enforce this 
requirement, CMS regulations at Sec.  422.116 outline network adequacy 
criteria which set forth the minimum number of providers and maximum 
travel time and distance from enrollees to providers, for required 
provider specialty types in each county in the United States and its 
territories. Organizations must be in compliance with the current CMS 
network adequacy criteria guidance, which is updated and published 
annually on CMS's website. This collection of information is essential 
to appropriate and timely compliance monitoring by CMS, in order to 
ensure that all active contracts offering network-based plans maintain 
an adequate network. Form Number: CMS-10767 (OMB control number: 0938-
1412); Frequency: Occasionally; Affected Public: Private sector; Number 
of Respondents: 345; Number of Responses: 345; Total Annual Hours: 
589,950. (For policy questions regarding this collection contact 
Lorraine Doo at 410-786-6597.)

William N. Parham, III
Director, Division of Information Collections and Regulatory Impacts, 
Office of Strategic Operations and Regulatory Affairs.
[FR Doc. 2024-10256 Filed 5-9-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4120-01-P