[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 218 (Tuesday, November 14, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 78048-78050]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-25059]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services

[Document Identifier: CMS-10552]


Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; 
Comment Request

AGENCY: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Health and Human 
Services (HHS).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is 
announcing an opportunity for the public to comment on CMS' intention 
to collect information from the public. Under the Paperwork Reduction 
Act of 1995 (the PRA), Federal agencies are required to publish notice 
in the Federal Register concerning each proposed collection of 
information (including each proposed extension or reinstatement of an 
existing collection of information) and to allow 60 days for public 
comment on the proposed action. Interested persons are invited to send 
comments regarding our

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burden estimates or any other aspect of this collection of information, 
including the necessity and utility of the proposed information 
collection for the proper performance of the agency's functions, the 
accuracy of the estimated burden, ways to enhance the quality, utility, 
and clarity of the information to be collected, and the use of 
automated collection techniques or other forms of information 
technology to minimize the information collection burden.

DATES: Comments must be received by January 16, 2024.

ADDRESSES: When commenting, please reference the document identifier or 
OMB control number. To be assured consideration, comments and 
recommendations must be submitted in any one of the following ways:
    1. Electronically. You may send your comments electronically to 
https://www.regulations.gov. Follow the instructions for ``Comment or 
Submission'' or ``More Search Options'' to find the information 
collection document(s) that are 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:__, Room C4-26-05, 7500 Security Boulevard, Baltimore, Maryland 
21244-1850.

    To obtain copies of a supporting statement and any related forms 
for the proposed collection(s) summarized in this notice, please access 
the CMS PRA website by copying and pasting the following web address 
into your web browser: https://www.cms.gov/Regulations-and-Guidance/Legislation/PaperworkReductionActof1995/PRA-Listing.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: William N. Parham at (410) 786-4669.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Contents

    This notice sets out a summary of the use and burden associated 
with the following information collections. More detailed information 
can be found in each collection's supporting statement and associated 
materials (see ADDRESSES).

CMS-10552 Implementation of Medicare Programs;--Medicare Promoting 
Interoperability Program

    Under the PRA (44 U.S.C. 3501-3520), Federal agencies must obtain 
approval from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for each 
collection of information they conduct or sponsor. The term 
``collection of information'' is defined in 44 U.S.C. 3502(3) and 5 CFR 
1320.3(c) and includes agency requests or requirements that members of 
the public submit reports, keep records, or provide information to a 
third party. Section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the PRA requires Federal agencies 
to publish a 60-day notice in the Federal Register concerning each 
proposed collection of information, including each proposed extension 
or reinstatement of an existing collection of information, before 
submitting the collection to OMB for approval. To comply with this 
requirement, CMS is publishing this notice.

Information Collection

    1. Type of Information Collection Request: Revision of a currently 
approved collection; Title of Information Collection: Implementation of 
Medicare Programs;--Medicare Promoting Interoperability Program; Use: 
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is requesting 
approval to collect information from eligible hospitals and critical 
access hospitals (CAHs). We have finalized changes to this program as 
discussed in the FY 2024 Inpatient Prospective Payment System (IPPS)/
Long-term Care Hospital Prospective Payment System (LTCH PPS) final 
rule. This is a revision of the information collection request.
    The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act) 
(Pub. L. 111-5) was enacted on February 17, 2009. Title IV of Division 
B of the Recovery Act amended Titles XVIII and XIX of the Social 
Security Act (the Act) by establishing incentive payments to eligible 
professionals (EPs), eligible hospitals and CAHs, and Medicare 
Advantage (MA) organizations participating in the Medicare and Medicaid 
programs that adopt and successfully demonstrate meaningful use of 
certified EHR technology (CEHRT). These Recovery Act provisions, 
together with Title XIII of Division A of the Recovery Act, may be 
cited as the ``Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical 
Health Act'' or the ``HITECH Act.''
    The HITECH Act created incentive programs for EPs, eligible 
hospitals including CAHs, and MA organizations in the Medicare Fee-for-
Service (FFS), and Medicaid programs that successfully demonstrated 
meaningful use of CEHRT. In their first payment year, Medicaid EPs, 
eligible hospitals including MA organizations and CAHs could adopt, 
implement, or upgrade to certified EHR technology. It also allowed for 
negative payment adjustments in the Medicare FFS and MA programs 
starting in 2015 for EPs, eligible hospitals including MA organizations 
and CAHs participating in Medicare that are not meaningful users of 
CEHRT. The Medicaid Promoting Interoperability Program did not 
authorize negative payment adjustments, but its participants were 
eligible for incentive payments until December 31, 2021, when the 
program ended.
    In CY 2017, we began collecting data from eligible hospitals and 
CAHs to determine the application of the Medicare payment adjustments. 
This information collection was also used to make incentive payments to 
eligible hospitals in Puerto Rico from 2016 through 2021. At this time, 
Medicare eligible professionals no longer reported to the EHR Incentive 
Program, as they began reporting under the Merit-based Incentive 
Payment System's (MIPS) Promoting Interoperability Performance 
Category. In 2019, the EHR Incentives Program for eligible hospitals 
and CAHs was subsequently renamed the Medicare Promoting 
Interoperability Program. In subsequent years, we have focused on 
balancing reporting burden for eligible hospitals and CAHs while also 
implementing changes designed to incentivize the advanced use of CEHRT 
to support health information exchange, interoperability, advanced 
quality measurement, and maximizing clinical effectiveness and 
efficiencies.
    In the FY 2024 IPPS/LTCH PPS final rule, we finalized the following 
policy changes for eligible hospitals and CAHs that attest to CMS under 
the Medicare Promoting Interoperability Program. None of the policies 
we finalized will affect the information collection burden: (i) to 
adopt three electronic clinical quality measures (eCQMs) beginning with 
the CY 2025 reporting period: (1) Hospital Harm--Pressure Injury eCQM; 
(2) Hospital Harm--Acute Kidney Injury eCQM; and (3) Excessive 
Radiation Dose or Inadequate Image Quality for Diagnostic Computed 
Tomography (CMT) in Adults eCQM; (ii) to modify the Safety Assurance 
Factors for EHR Resilience (SAFER) Guides measure to require eligible 
hospitals and CAHs to submit a ``yes'' attestation to fulfill the 
measure beginning with the EHR reporting period in CY 2024; and (iii) 
to establish an EHR reporting period of a minimum of any continuous 
180-day period in CY 2025. Form Number: CMS-10552 (OMB control number: 
0938-1278); Frequency: Annually; Affected Public: State, Local or 
Private Government; Business and for-profit and Not-for-profit; Number 
of

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Respondents: 4,500; Total Annual Responses: 4,500; Total Annual Hours: 
29,625. (For policy questions regarding this collection, contact 
Jessica Warren at 410-786-7519.)

    Dated: November 8, 2023.
William N. Parham, III,
Director, Paperwork Reduction Staff, Office of Strategic Operations and 
Regulatory Affairs.
[FR Doc. 2023-25059 Filed 11-13-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4120-01-P