Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 82 / Friday, April 27, 2012 / Notices 25181 

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND 

HUMAN SERVICES 

Centers for Disease Control and 

Prevention 

Disease, Disability, and Injury 

Prevention and Control Special 

Emphasis Panel (SEP): Initial Review 

The meeting announced below 

concerns Research Technical Assistance 

To The Ministry Of Public Health Of 

Haiti To Support Post Earthquake 

Reconstruction, Cholera And HIV/AIDS 

Response, GH12–003, initial review. 

In accordance with Section 10(a)(2) of 

the Federal Advisory Committee Act 

(Pub. L. 92–463), the Centers for Disease 

Control and Prevention (CDC) 

announces the aforementioned meeting: 

Time and Date: 11:00 a.m.–2:00 p.m., May 

22, 2012 (Closed). 

Place: Teleconference. 

Status: The meeting will be closed to the 

public in accordance with provisions set 

forth in Section 552b(c)(4) and (6), Title 5 

U.S.C., and the Determination of the Director, 

Management Analysis and Services Office, 

CDC, pursuant to Public Law 92–463. 

Matters To Be Discussed: The meeting will 

include the initial review, discussion, and 

evaluation of applications received in 

response to ‘‘Research Technical Assistance 

To The Ministry Of Public Health Of Haiti To 

Support Post Earthquake Reconstruction, 

Cholera And HIV/AIDS Response, GH12– 

003’’. 

Contact Person for More Information: 

Hylan D. Shoob, Ph.D., M.S.P.H., Scientific 

Review Officer, CDC, 1600 Clifton Road NE., 

Mailstop D72, Atlanta, Georgia 30333, 

Telephone: (404) 639–4796. 

The Director, Management Analysis and 

Services Office, has been delegated the 

authority to sign Federal Register notices 

pertaining to announcements of meetings and 

other committee management activities, for 

both the Centers for Disease Control and 

Prevention and the Agency for Toxic 

Substances and Disease Registry. 

Dated: April 23, 2012. 

Elaine L. Baker, 

Director, Management Analysis and Services 

Office, Centers for Disease Control and 

Prevention. 

[FR Doc. 2012–10266 Filed 4–26–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4163–18–P 

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND 

HUMAN SERVICES 

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid 

Services 

[Document Identifier CMS–10203 and CMS– 

10417] 

Agency Information Collection 

Activities: Proposed Collection; 

Comment Request 

AGENCY: Centers for Medicare & 

Medicaid Services. 

In compliance with the requirement 

of section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the 

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid 

Services (CMS) 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. 

1. Type of Information Collection 

Request: Revision of a currently 

approved Collection, Title of 

Information Collection: Medicare Health 

Outcomes Survey (HOS); Use: CMS has 

a responsibility to its Medicare 

beneficiaries to require that care 

provided by managed care organizations 

under contract to CMS is of high 

quality. One way of ensuring high 

quality care in Medicare Managed Care 

Organizations (MCOs), or more 

commonly referred to as Medicare 

Advantage Organizations (MAOs), is 

through the development of 

standardized, uniform performance 

measures to enable CMS to gather the 

data needed to evaluate the care 

provided to Medicare beneficiaries. The 

goal of the Medicare Health Outcome 

Survey (HOS) program is to gather valid, 

reliable, clinically meaningful health 

status data in Medicare managed care 

for use in quality improvement 

activities, plan accountability, public 

reporting, and improving health. All 

managed care plans with Medicare 

Advantage (MA) contracts must 

participate. CMS, in collaboration with 

the National Committee for Quality 

Assurance (NCQA), launched the 

Medicare HOS as part of the 

Effectiveness of Care component of the 

former Health Plan Employer Data and 

Information Set, now known as the 

Healthcare Effectiveness Data and 

Information Set (HEDIS®). 

The HOS measure was developed 

under the guidance of a technical expert 

panel comprised of individuals with 

specific expertise in the health care 

industry and outcomes measurement. 

The measure includes the most recent 

advances in summarizing physical and 

mental health outcomes results and 

appropriate risk adjustment techniques. 

In addition to health outcomes 

measures, the HOS is used to collect the 

Management of Urinary Incontinence in 

Older Adults, Physical Activity in Older 

Adults, Fall Risk Management, and 

Osteoporosis Testing in Older Women 

HEDIS® measures. The collection of 

Medicare HOS is necessary to hold 

Medicare managed care contractors 

accountable for the quality of care they 

are delivering. This reporting 

requirement allows CMS to obtain the 

information necessary for proper 

oversight of the Medicare Advantage 

program. 

Since the last collection, the survey 

instrument has been revised and the 

burden has changed. There have been 

some questions added and others 

deleted. Form Number: CMS–10203 

(OCN: 0938–0701); Frequency: Yearly; 

Affected Public: Individuals and 

households; Number of Respondents: 

2,352; Total Annual Responses: 

666,120; Total Annual Hours: 219,820 

(For policy questions regarding this 

collection contact Jason Petroski at 410– 

786–4681. For all other issues call 410– 

786–1326.) 

2. Type of Information Collection 

Request: Extension of a currently 

approved collection; Title of 

Information Collection: Medicare Feefor-Service Prepayment Medical 

Review; Use: The information required 

under this collection is requested by 

Medicare contractors to determine 

proper payment or if there is a suspicion 

of fraud. Medicare contractors request 

the information from providers or 

suppliers submitting claims for payment 

from the Medicare program when data 

analysis indicates aberrant billing 

patterns or other information which 

may present a vulnerability to the 

Medicare program. In addition, we are 

specifically soliciting public comments 

on the information collection burden 

that is associated with the currently 

approved information collection 

request. Form Number: CMS–10417 

(OMB 0938–0969); Frequency: 

Occasionally; Affected Public: Private 

Sector (Business or other for-profit and 

Not-for-profit institutions); Number of 

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25182 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 82 / Friday, April 27, 2012 / Notices 

Respondents: 2,700,000; Total Annual 

Responses: 2,700,000; Total Annual 

Hours: 1,360,000. (For policy questions 

regarding this collection contact Debbie 

Skinner at 410–786–7480. For all other 

issues call 410–786–1326.) 

To obtain copies of the supporting 

statement and any related forms for the 

proposed paperwork collections 

referenced above, access CMS’ Web Site 

address at http://www.cms.hhs.gov/ 

PaperworkReductionActof1995, or 

Email your request, including your 

address, phone number, OMB number, 

and CMS document identifier, to 

Paperwork@cms.hhs.gov, or call the 

Reports Clearance Office on (410) 786– 

1326. 

In commenting on the proposed 

information collections please reference 

the document identifier or OMB control 

number. To be assured consideration, 

comments and recommendations must 

be submitted in one of the following 

ways by June 26, 2012: 

1. Electronically. You may submit 

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) 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 llllllll, 

Room C4–26–05, 7500 Security 

Boulevard, Baltimore, Maryland 21244– 

1850. 

Dated: April 24, 2012. 

Martique Jones, 

Director, Regulations Development Group, 

Division B Office of Strategic Operations and 

Regulatory Affairs. 

[FR Doc. 2012–10231 Filed 4–26–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4120–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND 

HUMAN SERVICES 

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid 

Services 

[Document Identifier CMS–10102, CMS–R– 

263 and CMS–855(O)] 

Agency Information Collection 

Activities: Submission for OMB 

Review; Comment Request 

AGENCY: Centers for Medicare & 

Medicaid Services, HHS. 

In compliance with the requirement 

of section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the 

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid 

Services (CMS), 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 function; 

(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. 

1. Type of Information Collection 

Request: Revision of a currently 

approved collection; 

Title of Information Collection: 

National Implementation of Hospital 

Consumer Assessment of Healthcare 

Providers and Systems (HCAHPS); Use: 

The HCAHPS (Hospital Consumer 

Assessment of Healthcare Providers and 

Systems) survey is the first national, 

standardized, publicly reported survey 

of patients’ perspectives of hospital 

care. HCAHPS (pronounced ‘‘H-caps’’), 

also known as the CAHPS® Hospital 

Survey, is a survey instrument and data 

collection methodology for measuring 

patients’ perceptions of their hospital 

experience. While many hospitals have 

collected information on patient 

satisfaction for their own internal use, 

until HCAHPS there was no national 

standard for collecting and publicly 

reporting information about patient 

experience of care that allowed valid 

comparisons to be made across hospitals 

locally, regionally and nationally. 

Three broad goals have shaped 

HCAHPS. First, the survey is designed 

to produce data about patients’ 

perspectives of care that allow objective 

and meaningful comparisons of 

hospitals on topics that are important to 

consumers. Second, public reporting of 

the survey results creates new 

incentives for hospitals to improve 

quality of care. Third, public reporting 

serves to enhance accountability in 

health care by increasing transparency 

of the quality of hospital care provided 

in return for the public investment. 

With these goals in mind, the Centers 

for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) 

has taken substantial steps to assure that 

the survey is credible, useful, and 

practical. Hospitals implement HCAHPS 

under the auspices of the Hospital 

Quality Alliance (HQA), a private/ 

public partnership that includes major 

hospital and medical associations, 

consumer groups, measurement and 

accrediting bodies, government, and 

other groups that share an interest in 

improving hospital quality. Both the 

HQA and the National Quality Forum 

have endorsed HCAHPS. 

The enactment of the Deficit 

Reduction Act of 2005 created an 

additional incentive for acute care 

hospitals to participate in HCAHPS. 

Since July 2007, hospitals subject to the 

Inpatient Prospective Payment System 

(IPPS) annual payment update 

provisions (‘‘subsection (d) hospitals’’) 

must collect and submit HCAHPS data 

in order to receive their full IPPS annual 

payment update. IPPS hospitals that fail 

to publicly report the required quality 

measures, which include the HCAHPS 

survey, may receive an annual payment 

update that is reduced by 2.0 percentage 

points. Non-IPPS hospitals, such as 

Critical Access Hospitals, may 

voluntarily participate in HCAHPS. 

The Patient Protection and Affordable 

Care Act of 2010 (Pub. L. 111–148) 

includes HCAHPS among the measures 

to be used to calculate value-based 

incentive payments in the Hospital 

Value-Based Purchasing program, 

beginning with discharges in October 

2012. 

Currently the HCAHPS survey asks 

discharged patients 27 questions about 

their recent hospital stay. The survey 

contains 18 core questions about critical 

aspects of patients’ hospital experiences 

(communication with nurses and 

doctors, the responsiveness of hospital 

staff, the cleanliness and quietness of 

the hospital environment, pain 

management, communication about 

medicines, discharge information, 

overall rating of hospital, and would 

they recommend the hospital). The 

survey also includes four items to direct 

patients to relevant questions, three 

items to adjust for the mix of patients 

across hospitals, and two items that 

support Congressionally-mandated 

reports. 

This revision is being submitted in 

order to add five new items to the 

survey: three items that comprise a Care 

Transitions composite; one item that 

asks whether the patient was admitted 

through the emergency room; and one 

item that asks about the patient’s overall 

mental health. This marks the first 

addition of items to the HCAHPS 

Survey since its national 

implementation in 2006. Form Number: 

CMS–10102 (OCN: 0938–0981); 

Frequency: Occasionally; Affected 

Public: Individuals or Households, 

Private Sector—Business or other forprofits and not-for-profit institutions. 

Number of Respondents: 2,713,812; 

Total Annual Responses: 2,713,812; 

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