[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 199 (Friday, October 16, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Page 53221]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-24886]



[[Page 53221]]

=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Office of the Secretary

[Docket ID: DOD-2009-HA-0150]


Proposed Collection; Comment Request

AGENCY: Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health 
Affairs, DoD.

ACTION: Notice of action.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: In compliance with section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the Paperwork 
Reduction Act of 1995, the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense 
for Health Affairs announces a proposed new public information 
collection and seeks public comment on the provisions thereof. Comments 
are invited on: Whether the proposed collection of information is 
necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, 
including whether the information shall have practical utility; the 
accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the information 
collection; ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the 
information to be collected; and ways to minimize the burden of the 
information collection on respondents, including through the use of 
automated collection techniques or other forms of information 
technology.

DATES: Consideration will be given to all comments received by December 
15, 2009.

ADDRESSES: Written comments, identified by docket number and title, by 
any of the following methods:
    <bullet> Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
    <bullet> Mail: Federal Docket Management System Office, 1160 
Defense Pentagon, Washington, DC 20301-1160.
    Instructions: All submissions received must include the agency 
name, docket number and title for this Federal Register document. The 
general policy for comments and other submissions from members of the 
general public is to make these submissions available for public 
viewing on the Internet at http://www.regulations.gov as they are 
received without change, including any personal identifiers or contact 
information.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To request more information on this 
proposed information collection or to obtain a copy of the proposed and 
associated collection instruments, please write to Health Program 
Analysis and Evaluation/TRICARE Management Activity, ATTN: LTC Lorraine 
Babeu USA, 5111 Leesburg Pike, Five Skyline Place, Suite 510, Falls 
Church, Virginia 22041-3206.
    Title; Associated Form; and OMB Number: TRICARE Award Fee Provider 
Survey; OMB Control Number 0720-TBD.
    Needs and Uses: The information collection requirement is necessary 
to obtain and record TRICARE network civilian provider-user 
satisfaction with the administrative processes/services of managed care 
support contractors (MCSC) in the three TRICARE regions within the 
United States. The survey will obtain provider opinions regarding 
claims processing, customer service, and administrative support by the 
TRICARE regional contractors. The reports of findings from these 
surveys, coupled with performance criteria from other sources, will be 
used by the TRICARE Regional Administrative Contracting Officers to 
determine award fees.
    Affected Public: Individuals or households.
    Annual Burden Hours: 50.
    Number of Respondents: 600 (150 respondents will be surveyed each 
quarter).
    Responses per Respondent: 1.
    Average Burden per Response: 5 minutes.
    Frequency: Quarterly.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Summary of Information Collection

    The Health Program Analysis and Evaluation Directorate (HPA&E) 
under the authority of the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense 
(Health Affairs)/TRICARE Management Activity will undertake a survey of 
TRICARE network providers to ask a series of questions regarding 
satisfaction with the TRICARE Health Plan. For these purposes, a 
provider is defined as a person, business, or institution that provides 
health care. For example, a doctor, hospital, or ambulance company is a 
provider. Providers must be authorized under TRICARE regulations and 
have their status certified by the regional contractors to provide 
services to TRICARE beneficiaries.
    TRICARE Management Activity, the Defense Department activity that 
administers the health care plan for the uniformed services, retirees 
and their families, serves more than 9.4 million eligible beneficiaries 
worldwide in the Military Health System. TRICARE supplements the health 
care resources of the uniformed services with networks of civilian 
professionals to provide high-quality health care services while 
maintaining the capability to support military operations. The TRICARE 
Management Activity has partnered with civilian regional contractors in 
the three U.S regions to provide these health care services and support 
to beneficiaries.
    DoD has delegated oversight of the civilian provider network to the 
TRICARE Regional Offices. To improve DoD's oversight of the civilian 
provider network, the General Accounting Office (GAO) (Defense Health 
Care: Oversight of the Tricare Civilian Provider Network Should Be 
Improved; GAO-03-928; July 31, 2003) has recommended the Assistant 
Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs to explore options for 
improving the civilian provider surveys so that the results of the 
surveys could be useful to DoD and to the contractors in identifying 
civilian provider concerns and developing actions that might mitigate 
concerns and help ensure the adequacy of the civilian provider network.
    As a result, the new MCSC incorporate an incentive award fee 
component. The determination of the award fee is through an evaluation 
by the Government that rewards contractor performance that exceeds 
contract requirements. For assessment of awards, activities will 
include, in part, the collection and analyses of survey data obtained 
confidentially via telephone from network civilian providers within 
U.S. regions. The goal of this survey effort is to provide regional 
Administrative Contracting Officers with information on provider-user 
satisfaction with the administrative processes/services of MCSC. 
Specifically, confidential telephone surveys of civilian network 
providers will be conducted that focus on three basic business 
functions provided of claims processing, customer service, and 
administrative services by the MCSC.

    Dated: October 8, 2009.
Patricia L. Toppings,
OSD Federal Register Liaison Officer, Department of Defense.
[FR Doc. E9-24886 Filed 10-15-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 5001-06-P