[Federal Register: March 10, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 47)]
[Notices]
[Page 12368-12369]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr10mr06-83]
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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Office of Inspector General
Healthcare Integrity and Protection Data Bank: Change in User
Fees
AGENCY: Office of Inspector General (OIG), HHS.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: In accordance with final regulations at 45 CFR part 61,
implementing the Healthcare Integrity and Protection Data Bank (HIPDB),
the Department is authorized to assess a fee on all requests for
information, except requests from Federal agencies. In accordance with
Sec. 61.13 of the HIPDB regulations, the Department is announcing an
adjustment from $4.25 to $4.75 in the fee charged for each query
submitted by authorized entities. There will be no change to the
current $8 self-query fee.
EFFECTIVE DATE: This change will be effective May 9, 2006.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Joel Schaer, Office of External
Affairs, (202) 619-0089.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
User Fee Amount
Section 1128E(d)(2) of the Social Security Act (the Act), as added
by section 221(a) of the Health Insurance Portability and
Accountability Act of 1996, specifically authorizes the establishment
of fees for the costs of processing requests for disclosure and for
providing information from the Healthcare Integrity and Protection Data
Bank (HIPDB). Final regulations at 45 CFR part 61 set forth the
criteria and procedures for information to be reported to and disclosed
by the HIPDB. The Act also requires that the Department recover the
full costs of operating the HIPDB through such user fees. In
determining any changes in the amount of the user fee, the Department
employs the criteria set forth in Sec. 61.13(b) of the HIPDB
regulations.
[[Page 12369]]
Specifically, Sec. 61.13(b) states that the amount of each fee
will be determined based on the following criteria:
Direct and indirect personnel costs;
Physical overhead, consulting, and other indirect costs,
including rent and depreciation on land, buildings, and equipment;
Agency management and supervisory costs;
Costs of enforcement, research, and establishment of
regulations and guidance;
Use of electronic data processing equipment to collect and
maintain information, i.e., the actual cost of the service, including
computer search time, runs, and printouts; and
Any other direct or indirect costs related to the
provision of services.
The current fee structure of $4.25 for each separate query
submitted by authorized entities was announced in a Federal Register
notice on April 22, 2003, (68 FR 19838) and became effective on July 1,
2003. Based on the above criteria and our analysis of operational costs
and the comparative costs of the various methods for filing and paying
for queries, the Department is now raising the fee by $.50 cents, from
$4.25 to $4.75, for each query submitted by authorized entities. The
practitioner self-query fee will remain at $8 and the investigative
research fee will remain at $10.
When an authorized entity query is submitted for information on one
or more health care practitioners, providers, or suppliers, the
appropriate total fee will be $4.75 multiplied by the number of
individuals or organizations about which information is being
requested.
To minimize administrative costs, the Department will accept
queries submitted by authorized entities by credit card or electronic
funds transfer. The Department will continue to accept payment for
self-queries only by credit card. The HIPDB accepts Visa, MasterCard,
and Discover. To submit queries, registered entities (including law
enforcement agencies) must use the HIPDB Web site at http://www.npdb-hipdb.com
.
The Department will continue to review the user fee periodically
and will revise it as necessary. Any future changes in the fee and its
effective date will be announced through a notice in the Federal
Register.
Examples
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Fee per name
in query, by
Query method method of Examples
payment
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Authorized entity query........... $4.75 10 names in query:
10 x $4.75 =
$47.50.
Self-query........................ 8.00 10 self-queries: 10
x $8 = $80.
Investigative research query...... 10.00 10 investigative
research queries:
10 x $10 = $100.
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Dated: March 3, 2006.
Daniel R. Levinson,
Inspector General.
[FR Doc. E6-3378 Filed 3-9-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4152-01-P