Agency information collection activities: Submission for OMB review; comment request,

[Federal Register: November 9, 1998 (Volume 63, Number 216)]

[Notices]

[Page 60357]

From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

[DOCID:fr09no98-101]

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Health Care Financing Administration

[Document Identifier: HCFA-250,254]

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

In compliance with the requirement of section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA), Department of Health and Human Services, has submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) the following proposal for the collection of information. Interested persons are invited to send comments regarding the burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including any of the following subjects: (1) The necessity and utility of the proposed information collection for the proper performance of the agency's functions; (2) the accuracy of the estimated burden; (3) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (4) the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology to minimize the information collection burden.

Type of Information Collection Request: Extension of a currently approved collection; Title of Information Collection: Medicare Secondary Payer Information Collection and Supporting Regulations 42 CFR 489.20; Form No.: HCFA-250,254 OMB # 0938-0214; Use: This questionnaire will collect information from beneficiaries on health insurance coverage that is primary to Medicare. This information is necessary in order for HCFA to identify those Medicare beneficiaries who have group health insurance that would pay before Medicare, resulting in savings to the Medicare Trust Fund. Medicare Secondary Payer (MSP) is essentially the same concept known in the private insurance industry as coordination of benefits, and refers to those situations where Medicare does not have primary responsibility for paying the medical expenses of a Medicare beneficiary. HCFA contracts with health insuring organizations, herein referred to as intermediaries and carriers, to process Medicare claims. HCFA charges its Medicare intermediaries and carriers with various tasks to detect MSP cases; develops and disseminates tools to enable them to better perform their tasks; and monitors their performance in achievement of their assigned MSP functions. Because intermediaries and carriers are also marketing health insurance products that may have liability when Medicare is secondary, the MSP provisions create the potential for conflict of interest. Recognizing this inherent conflict, HCFA has taken steps to ensure that its intermediaries and carriers process claims in accordance with the MSP provisions, regardless of what other insurer is primary. Frequency: One time only; Affected Public: Individuals or Households; Number of Respondents: 14,204,000; Total Annual Responses: 14,204,000; Total Annual Hours: 773,240.

To obtain copies of the supporting statement for the proposed paperwork collections referenced above, E-mail your request, including your address and phone number, to Paperwork@hcfa.gov, or call the Reports Clearance Office on (410) 786-1326. Written comments and recommendations for the proposed information collections must be mailed within 30 days of this notice directly to the OMB Desk Officer designated at the following address: OMB Human Resources and Housing Branch, Attention: Allison Eydt, New Executive Office Building, Room 10235, Washington, D.C. 20503.

Dated: October 28, 1998. John P. Burke III, HCFA Reports Clearance Officer, HCFA, Office of Information Services, Security and Standards Group, Division of HCFA Enterprise Standards.

[FR Doc. 98-29961Filed11-6-98; 8:45 am]

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