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                              SORN 09-70-0588
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SORN 09-70-0588








  
  
    

  
      





**System Name:**Medicare Advantage Prescription Drug (MARx) System, HHS/CMS/CM.

**Security Classification:**Level Three Privacy Act Sensitive.

**System Location(s):**

CMS Data Center, 7500 Security Boulevard, North Building, First Floor, Baltimore, Maryland 21244-1850.

**Categories of Individuals Covered by the System:**The system includes information on recipients of Medicare hospital insurance (Part A) and Medicare medical insurance (Part B), and recipients of the Prescription Drug Benefits Program (Part D) enrolled in the Medicare Advantage (MA) Program .

**Categories of Records in the System:**The system includes information about a beneficiary's entitlement to Medicare benefits and enrollment in Medicare Programs, prescription drug coverage and supplementary medical claims information. The system contains identifying information such as beneficiary name, health insurance claim number, social security number, and other demographic information.

**Authority for Maintenance of the System:**Authority for maintenance of the system is given under Section 101 of the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003 (MMA) (Pub. L. 108-173), which amended the Title XVIII of the Social Security Act. Authority for maintenance of the system is also given under the provisions of §§ 1833(a)(1)(A), 1860D-1 to D-43, 1866, and 1876 of Title XVIII of the Act (42 U.S.C. 1395(A)(1)(a), 1395w-101 to 1395w-153, 1395cc, and 1395mm).

**Purpose(s):**The primary purpose of the SOR is to maintain a master file of Medicare Advantage (MA) and Medicare Advantage Prescription Drug (MA -PD) plan members for accounting and payment control; expedite the exchange of data with MA and MA-PD; control the posting of pro- rata amounts to the Part B deductible of currently enrolled MA members; and track participation of the prescription drug benefits provided under prescription drug plans (PDPs) and Medicare employer plans.. Information in this system is disclosed to: (1) Support regulatory, reimbursement, and policy functions performed by a contractor, consultant, or CMS grantee contracted by the Agency; (2) support another Federal or State agency, agency of a state government, an agency established by state law, or its fiscal agent; (3) assist providers and suppliers of service directly or dealing through contractors, fiscal intermediaries (FI) or carriers for the administration of Title XVIII (4) assist third party contacts in situations where the party to be contacted has, or is expected to have information relating to the individual's capacity to manage his or her affairs; (5) assist insurance companies, third party administrators, employers, self-insurers, managed care organizations, and other supplemental insurers; (6) facilitate research on the quality and effectiveness of care provided, as well as payment- related projects; (7) support litigation involving the Agency; (8) combat fraud, waste, and abuse in certain health benefits programs, and (9) assist in a response to a suspected or confirmed breach of the security or confidentiality of information.

**Routine Uses of Records Maintained in the System, Including Categories of Users and the Purposes of such Uses:**

**B. Entities Who May Receive Disclosures Under Routine Use.**

These routine uses specify circumstances, in addition to those provided by statute in the Privacy Act of 1974, under which CMS may release information from the MARx without the consent of the individual to whom such information pertains. Each proposed disclosure of information under these routine uses will be evaluated to ensure that the disclosure is legally permissible, including but not limited to ensuring that the purpose of the disclosure is compatible with the purpose for which the information was collected.

1. To Agency contractors, consultants, or CMS grantees that have been contracted by the Agency to assist in accomplishment of a CMS function relating to the purposes for this system and who need access to the records in order to assist CMS.

5. To another Federal or state agency, agency of a state government, an agency established by state law, or its fiscal agent to:

a. Contribute to the accuracy of CMS's proper payment of Medicare benefits,

b. Enable such agency to administer a Federal health benefits program, or as necessary to enable such agency to fulfill a requirement of a Federal statute or regulation that implements a health benefits program funded in whole or in part with Federal funds, and/or

c. Assist Federal/state Medicaid programs within the state.

6. To assist providers and suppliers of services directly or through fiscal intermediaries or carriers for the administration of Title XVIII of the Act.

7. To third party contacts in situations where the party to be contacted has, or is expected to have information relating to the individual's capacity to manage his or her affairs or to his or her eligibility for, or an entitlement to, benefits under the Medicare program and,

b. The individual is unable to provide the information being sought (an individual is considered to be unable to provide certain types of information when any of the following conditions exists: The individual is confined to a mental institution, a court of competent jurisdiction has appointed a guardian to manage the affairs of that individual, a court of competent jurisdiction has declared the individual to be mentally incompetent, or the individual's attending physician has certified that the individual is not sufficiently mentally competent to manage his or her own affairs or to provide the information being sought, the individual cannot read or write, cannot afford the cost of obtaining the information, a language barrier exists, or the custodian of the information will not, as a matter of policy, provide it to the individual), or

d. The data are needed to establish the validity of evidence or to verify the accuracy of information presented by the individual, and it concerns one or more of the following: The individual's entitlement to benefits under the Medicare program, the amount of reimbursement, and in cases in which the evidence is being reviewed as a result of suspected fraud and abuse, program integrity, quality appraisal, or evaluation and measurement of activities.

6. To insurance companies, third party administrators (TPA), employers, self-insurers, managed care organizations, other supplemental insurers, non-coordinating insurers, multiple employer trusts, group health plans (*i.e.,* health maintenance organizations (HMOs) or a competitive medical plan with a Medicare contract, or a Medicare-approved health care prepayment plan (HCPP)), directly or through a contractor, and other groups providing protection for their enrollees. Information to be disclosed shall be limited to Medicare entitlement data. In order to receive the information, they must agree to:

e. Certify that the individual about whom the information is being provided is one of its insured or employees, or is insured and/or employed by another entity for whom they serve as a TPA;

f. Utilize the information solely for the purpose of processing the identified individual's insurance claims; and

g. Safeguard the confidentiality of the data and prevent unauthorized access.

11. To an individual or organization for a research, evaluation, or epidemiological project related to the prevention of disease or disability, the restoration or maintenance of health, or payment-related projects.

12. To the Department of Justice (DOJ), court or adjudicatory body when:

a. The Agency or any component thereof, or

b. Any employee of the Agency in his or her official capacity, or

c. Any employee of the Agency in his or her individual capacity where the DOJ has agreed to represent the employee, or

d. The United States Government, is a party to litigation or has an interest in such litigation, and by careful review, CMS determines that the records are both relevant and necessary to the litigation and that the use of such records by the DOJ, court or adjudicatory body is compatible with the purpose for which the agency collected the records.

13. To a CMS contractor (including, but not limited to FIs and carriers) that assists in the administration of a CMS-administered health benefits program, or to a CMS grantee of a CMS-administered grant program, when disclosure is deemed reasonably necessary by CMS to prevent, deter, discover, detect, investigate, examine, prosecute, sue with respect to, defend against, correct, remedy, or otherwise combat fraud, waste, or abuse in such programs.

14. To another Federal agency or to an instrumentality of any governmental jurisdiction within or under the control of the United States (including any state or local governmental agency), that administers, or that has the authority to investigate potential fraud, waste, or abuse in, a health benefits program funded in whole or in part by Federal funds, when disclosure is deemed reasonably necessary by CMS to prevent, deter, discover, detect, investigate, examine, prosecute, sue with respect to, defend against, correct, remedy, or otherwise combat fraud, waste, or abuse in such programs.

15. To assist appropriate Federal agencies and Department contractors that have a need to know the information for the purpose of assisting the Department's efforts to respond to a suspected or confirmed breach of the security or confidentiality of information maintained in this system of records, and the information disclosed is relevant and necessary for the assistance. In order to receive the information, CMS must:

a. Determines that the use or disclosure does not violate legal limitations under which the record was provided, collected, or obtained;

b. Determines that the purpose for which the disclosure is to be made:

(1) Cannot be reasonably accomplished unless the record is provided in individually identifiable form,

(2) is of sufficient importance to warrant the effect and/or risk on the privacy of the individual that additional exposure of the record might bring, and

(3) there is reasonable probability that the objective for the use would be accomplished;

c. Require the recipient of the information to:

(1) establish reasonable administrative, technical, and physical safeguards to prevent unauthorized use or disclosure of the record, and

(2) remove or destroy the information that allows the individual to be identified at the earliest time at which removal or destruction can be accomplished consistent with the purpose of the disclosure, and

(3) Make no further use or disclosure of the record except:

(a) In emergency circumstances affecting the health or safety of any individual, or

(b) When required by law.

d. Secure a written statement attesting to the information recipient's understanding of and willingness to abide by these provisions and complete a Data Use Agreement (CMS Form 0235) in accordance with current CMS policies.

**C. Additional Circumstances Affecting Routine Use Disclosures**

This system contains Protected Health Information as defined by HHS regulation "Standards for Privacy of Individually Identifiable Health Information" (45 CFR Parts 160 and 164, 65 Fed. Reg. 82462 (12-28-00), Subparts A and E. The protected health information is collected from the Plan during the enrollment process and passed onto the Medicare Beneficiary Database. These elements include the Beneficiary Name, Sex, Date of Birth, and Health Insurance Claim Number. Disclosures of Protected Health Information authorized by these routine uses may only be made if, and as, permitted or required by the "Standards for Privacy of Individually Identifiable Health Information."

In addition, our policy will be to prohibit release even of data not directly identifiable, except pursuant to one of the routine uses or if required by law, if CMS determines there is a possibility that an individual can be identified through implicit deduction based on small cell sizes (instances where the patient population is so small that individuals who are familiar with the enrollees could, because of the small size, use this information to deduce the identity of the beneficiary).

**Policies and Practices for Storing, Retrieving, Accessing, Retaining, and Disposing of Records in the System—**

**Storage:**Magnetic storage media.

**Retrievability:**Information can be retrieved by name and health insurance claim number of the beneficiary.

**Safeguards:**CMS has safeguards in place for authorized users and monitors such users to ensure against excessive or unauthorized use. Personnel having access to the system have been trained in the Privacy Act and information security requirements. Employees who maintain records in this system are instructed not to release data until the intended recipient agrees to implement appropriate management, operational and technical safeguards sufficient to protect the confidentiality, integrity and availability of the information and information systems and to prevent unauthorized access.

This system will conform to all applicable Federal laws and regulations and Federal, HHS, and CMS policies and standards as they relate to information security and data privacy. These laws and regulations include but are not limited to: The Privacy Act of 1974; the Federal Information Security Management Act of 2002; the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act of 1986; the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996; the E-Government Act of 2002, the Clinger-Cohen Act of 1996; the Medicare Modernization Act of 2003, and the corresponding implementing regulations. OMB Circular A-130, Management of Federal Resources, Appendix III, Security of Federal Automated Information Resources also applies. Federal, HHS, and CMS policies and standards include but are not limited to: All pertinent National Institute of Standards and Technology publications; the HHS Information Systems Program Handbook and the CMS Information Security Handbook.

**Retention and Disposal:**Records are maintained with identifiers for all transactions after they are entered into the system for a period of 6 years and 3 months. Records are housed in both active and archival files. All claims-related records are encompassed by the document preservation order and will be retained until notification is received from the Department of Justice.

**System Manager(s) and Address(es):**

Director, Division of MA & Part D Application Analysis, Information Services Design and Development Group, Office of Information Services, CMS.

**Notification Procedure:**For purpose of access, the subject individual should write to the systems manager who will require the system name, SSN, address, date of birth, sex, and for verification purposes, the subject individual's name (woman's maiden name, if applicable). Furnishing the SSN is voluntary, but it may make searching for a record easier and prevent delay.

**Record Access Procedures:**For purpose of access, use the same procedures outlined in Notification Procedures above. Requestors should also reasonably specify the record contents being sought. (These procedures are in accordance with Department regulation 45 CFR 5b.5(a)(2)).

**Contesting Record Procedures:**The subject individual should contact the system manager named above, and reasonably identify the record and specify the information to be contested. State the corrective action sought and the reasons for the correction with supporting justification. (These procedures are in accordance with Department regulation 45 CFR 5b.7).

**Record Source Categories:**Data for this system is collected from MAs, MA-PDs, and PDPs (which obtained the data from the individuals concerned); Social Security Administration; and the Medicare Beneficiary Database, 1-800 Medicare Choice, and Health Plan Management System.

**System Exempted from Certain Provisions of the Act:**None.

                    
  


Content created by Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Division Content last reviewed December 28, 2017 Back to top
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