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

**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


### 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;