[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 3 (Wednesday, January 5, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 498-499]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-122]


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

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Health Care Financing Administration


Statement of Organization, Functions, and Delegations of 
Authority

    Part F of the Statement of Organization, Functions, and Delegations 
of Authority for the Department of Health and Human Services, Health 
Care Financing Administration (HCFA), (Federal Register, Vol. 62, No. 
85, pp. 24122, 24123, and 24124, dated Friday, May 2, 1997) is amended 
to update the Office of Communications and Operations Support (OCOS) 
and the Center for Beneficiary Services (CBS) functional statements to 
reflect the transfer of the Agency's beneficiary-centered 
communications functions from OCOS to CBS. CBS made additional changes 
to the organization's functional statement to more accurately reflect 
the Center's responsibilities.
    The specific amendments to Part F are described below.
    Section F.20.A.5. (Functions), paragraph 6, Office of 
Communications and Operations Support (FAL) and paragraph 10, Center 
for Beneficiary Services (FAQ), are amended by deleting both 
organizations' functional statements in their entirety and replacing 
them with the following:

6. Office of Communications and Operations Support (FAL)

    <bullet> Serves a neutral broker coordination role, including 
scheduling meetings and briefings for the Administrator and 
coordinating communications between and among central and regional 
offices, in order to ensure that emerging issues are identified early, 
all concerned components are directly and fully involved in policy 
development/decision-making and that all points of view are presented.
    <bullet> Coordinates and monitors assigned agency initiatives which 
are generally tactical, short-term and cross-component in nature (e.g., 
legislative implementation).
    <bullet> Provides operational and analytical support to the 
Executive Council.
    <bullet> Manages speaking and meeting requests for or on behalf of 
the

[[Page 499]]

Administrator, Deputy Administrator, and Executive Associate 
Administrator and researches and writes speeches.
    <bullet> Coordinates agency-wide communication policies for 
correspondence, manuals, regulations, and responses to audits.
    <bullet> Coordinates the preparation of manuals and other policy 
instructions to insure accurate and consistent implementation of the 
Agency's programs.
    <bullet> Manages the Agency's system for developing, clearing and 
tracking regulations, setting regulation priorities and corresponding 
work agendas; coordinates the review of regulations received for 
concurrence from departmental and other government agencies and 
develops routine and special reports on the Agency's regulatory 
activities.
    <bullet> Manages the agency-wide clearance system to insure 
appropriate involvement from agency components and serves as a primary 
focal point for liaison with the Executive Secretariat in the Office of 
the Secretary.
    <bullet> Operates the agency-wide correspondence tracking and 
control system and provides guidance and technical assistance on 
standards for content of correspondence and memoranda.
    <bullet> Provides management and administrative support to the 
Office of the Attorney Advisor and staff.
    <bullet> Acts as audit liaison with the General Accounting Office 
(GAO) and the HHS Office of Inspector General (OIG).
    <bullet> Develops and maintains Agency-wide executive management 
information reporting and tracking systems (including the Management 
Reform Initiative and Reports to Congress) significant item reports, 
legislative (Balanced Budget Act) implementation, and management 
information reports for the Office of the Administrator.
    <bullet> Acts as the committee management official for HCFA under 
the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA).
    <bullet> Develops standard processes for all HCFA FACA committees 
and provides operational and logistical support to HCFA components for 
conferences and on all matters relating to Federal Advisory Committees.

10. Center for Beneficiary Services (FAQ)

    <bullet> Serves as the focal point for all Agency interactions with 
beneficiaries, their families, care givers, health care providers, and 
others operating on their behalf concerning improving beneficiary 
ability to make informed decisions about their health and about program 
benefits administered by the Agency. These activities include strategic 
and implementation planning, execution, assessment and communications.
    <bullet> Assesses beneficiary and other consumer needs, develops 
and oversees activities targeted to meet these needs, and documents and 
disseminates results of these activities. These activities focus on 
agency beneficiary service goals and objectives and include: 
development of baseline and ongoing monitoring information concerning 
populations affected by agency programs; development of performance 
measures and assessment programs; design and implementation of 
beneficiary services initiatives; development of communications 
channels and feedback mechanisms within the Agency and between the 
Agency and its beneficiaries and their representatives; and close 
collaboration with other Federal and state agencies and other 
stakeholders with a shared interest in better serving our 
beneficiaries.
    <bullet> Develops national policy for all Medicare Parts A, B, and 
C beneficiary eligibility, enrollment, entitlement; premium billing and 
collection; coordination of benefits; rights and protections; dispute 
resolution process; as well as policy for managed care enrollment and 
disenrollment to assure the effective administration of the Medicare 
program, including the development of related legislative proposals.
    <bullet> Oversees the development of privacy and confidentiality 
policies pertaining to the collection, use, and release to individually 
identifiable data.
    <bullet> Coordinates beneficiary-centered information, education, 
and service initiatives.
    <bullet> Develops and tests new and innovative methods to improve 
beneficiary aspects of health care delivery systems through Title 
XVIII, XIX, and XXI demonstrations and other creative approaches to 
meeting the needs of agency beneficiaries.
    <bullet> Assures, in coordination with other centers and offices, 
the activities of Medicare contractors, including managed care plans, 
agents, and state agencies meet the Agency's requirements on matters 
concerning beneficiaries and other consumers.
    <bullet> Plans and administers the contracts and grants related to 
beneficiary and customer service, including the State Health Insurance 
Assistance Program grants.
    <bullet> Formulates strategies to advance overall beneficiary 
communications goals and coordinates the design and publication process 
for all beneficiary-centered information, education, and service 
initiatives.
    <bullet> Builds a range of partnerships with other national 
organizations for effective consumer outreach, awareness, and education 
efforts in support of Agency programs.
    <bullet> Serves as the HCFA lead for Medicare carrier and fiscal 
intermediary management, oversight, budget, and performance issues.
    <bullet> Functions as HCFA liaison for all Medicare carrier and 
fiscal intermediary program issues and, in close collaboration with the 
regional offices and other HCFA components, coordinates the agency-wide 
contractor activities.
    <bullet> Manages contractor instructions, workload, and change 
management process.
    <bullet> Collaborates with other HCFA components to establish 
ongoing performance expectations for Medicare contractors (carriers and 
fiscal intermediaries) consistent with the agency's goals; interpret, 
evaluate, and provide information on Medicare contractors in terms of 
ongoing compliance with performance requirements and expectations; 
evaluate compliance with issued instructions; evaluate contractor-
specific performance and/or integrity issues; and evaluate/monitor 
corrective action, if necessary.
    <bullet> Manages, monitors, and provides oversight of contractor 
(carriers and fiscal intermediaries) transition activities including 
replacement of departing contractors and the resulting transfer of 
workload, functional realignments, and geographic workload carveouts.
    <bullet> Maintains and provides accurate contractor specific 
information. Develops and implements long-term fee-for-service 
contractor strategy, tactical plans, and other planning documents.
    <bullet> Serves as lead on current/proposed legislation in order to 
determine impact on contractor operations.

    Dated: December 15, 1999.
Nancy-Ann Min DeParle,
Administrator, Health Care Financing Administration.
[FR Doc. 00-122 Filed 1-4-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4120-01-P