[Federal Register: March 9, 2001 (Volume 66, Number 47)]
[Notices]
[Page 14156]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr09mr01-67]
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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Health Care Financing Administration
[Document Identifier: HCFA-10016]
Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection;
Comment Request
AGENCY: Health Care Financing Administration, HHS.
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, is
publishing the following summary of proposed collections for public
comment. Interested persons are invited to send comments regarding this
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: Reinstatement, with change,
of a previously approved collection for which approval has expired;
Title of Information Collection: Oxygen Consumer Survey: Medical
Equipment and Supplies Consumer Survey; Form No.: HCFA-10016 (OMB#
0938-0807); Use: The Oxygen Consumer Survey and Medical Equipment and
Supplies Consumer Survey will be used to collect information from
Medicare beneficiaries who use oxygen equipment, hospital beds,
wheelchairs, orthotics, and inhalation drugs used with a nebulizer.
This information will be used to evaluate the Health Care Financing
Administration's (HCFA's) Competitive Bidding Demonstration for Durable
Medicare Equipment (DME) and Prosthetics, Orthotics, and Supplies
(POS). In the demonstration, HCFA will use competitive bidding to set
Medicare Part B fees for selected types of DME and POS.
The purpose of the evaluation is to determine whether the
demonstration affects Medicare expenditures, access to care, quality of
care, diversity of product selection, and industry competitiveness. The
evaluation will also examine any problems associated with implementing
competitive bidding for Part B services. Results of the evaluation will
be used by HCFA and Congress to determine whether it is feasible to
expand competitive bidding.
The research questions to be addressed by the surveys focus on
access, quality, and product selection. Our information collection
process will include fielding a survey for oxygen users and a survey
for other medical equipment and supplies users before the demonstration
begins and again after the new demonstration prices have been put into
effect. Beneficiaries within the demonstration area will be surveyed;
we will also survey beneficiaries within a control site that is similar
to the demonstration site in terms of population, managed care
penetration, volume of services, and number of beneficiaries. We will
also control the socioeconomic factors when analyzing the date. This
design will allow us to separate the effects of the demonstration from
beneficiary-or site-specific effects.
This evaluation was expanded to a second site, San Antonio, Texas
as of March 2000. The Balanced Budget Act of 1997 allowed for the
demonstration to be conducted in up to three different regions. The
demonstration has been ongoing in the first site, Polk County, Florida,
since 1999. The baseline Polk County beneficiary surveys were conducted
between March and June of 1999. The follow-up Polk County beneficiary
surveys were conducted during the fall of 2000.
We are seeking approval for the new beneficiary surveys (Baseline
and Follow-up) for the San Antonio demonstration and comparison site
and any subsequent demonstration and comparison sites that include the
same DME and POS products. The surveys for the second site, San
Antonio, are almost identical to the surveys used in the first site,
Polk County, Florida; Frequency: Annually; Affected Public: Individuals
and Households; Number of Respondents: 2,500; Total Annual Responses:
725; Total Annual Hours: 725.
To obtain copies of the supporting statement and any related forms
for the proposed paperwork collections referenced above, access HCFA's
Web Site address at http://www.hcfa.gov/regs/prdact95.htm, or E-mail
your request, including your address, phone number, OMB number, and
HCFA document identifier, 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 60 days of this notice directly to the HCFA Paperwork Clearance
Officer designated at the following address: HCFA, Office of
Information Services, Security and Standards Group, Division of HCFA
Enterprise Standards, Attention: Melissa Musotto, Room N2-14-26, 7500
Security Boulevard, Baltimore, Maryland 21244-1850.
Dated: February 22, 2001.
John P. Burke III,
HCFA Reports Clearance Officer, HCFA Office of Information Services,
Security and Standards Group, Division of HCFA Enterprise Standards.
[FR Doc. 01-5785 Filed 3-8-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4120-03-P