[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 17 (Thursday, January 25, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 4949-4950]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-01383]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services

[Document Identifier: CMS-R-262 and CMS-10769]


Agency Information Collection Activities: Submission for OMB 
Review; 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 (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 a second opportunity 
for public comment on the notice. Interested persons are invited to 
send comments regarding the burden estimate 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

[[Page 4950]]

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 on the collection(s) of information must be received by 
the OMB desk officer by February 26, 2024.

ADDRESSES: Written comments and recommendations for the proposed 
information collection should be sent within 30 days of publication of 
this notice to www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain . Find this particular 
information collection by selecting ``Currently under 30-day Review--
Open for Public Comments'' or by using the search function.
    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 Parham at (410) 786-4669.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 
(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 (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)) requires 
Federal agencies to publish a 30-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 that 
summarizes the following proposed collection(s) of information for 
public comment:
    1. Type of Information Collection Request: Revision of a currently 
approved Information Collection; Title of Information Collection: CMS 
Plan Benefit Package (PBP) and Formulary CY 2025; Use: Under the 
Medicare Modernization Act (MMA), Medicare Advantage (MA) and 
Prescription Drug Plan (PDP) organizations are required to submit plan 
benefit packages for all Medicare beneficiaries residing in their 
service area. The plan benefit package submission consists of the Plan 
Benefit Package (PBP) software, formulary file, and supporting 
documentation, as necessary. MA and PDP organizations use the PBP 
software to describe their organization's plan benefit packages, 
including information on premiums, cost sharing, authorization rules, 
and supplemental benefits. They also generate a formulary to describe 
their list of drugs, including information on prior authorization, step 
therapy, tiering, and quantity limits.
    CMS requires that MA and PDP organizations submit a completed PBP 
and formulary as part of the annual bidding process. During this 
process, organizations prepare their proposed plan benefit packages for 
the upcoming contract year and submit them to CMS for review and 
approval. CMS uses this data to review and approve the benefit packages 
that the plans will offer to Medicare beneficiaries. This allows CMS to 
review the benefit packages in a consistent way across all submitted 
bids during with incredibly tight timeframes. This data is also used to 
populate data on Medicare Plan Finder, which allows beneficiaries to 
access and compare Medicare Advantage and Prescription Drug plans. Form 
Number: CMS-R-262 (OMB control number: 0938-0763); Frequency: Yearly; 
Affected Public: Private Sector, Business or other for-profits and Not-
for-profit institutions; Number of Respondents: 825; Total Annual 
Responses: 8,770; Total Annual Hours: 55,782 (For policy questions 
regarding this collection contact Kristy Holtje at 410-786-2209.)
    2. Type of Information Collection Request: Revision of a currently 
approved information collection; Title of Information Collection: 
Satisfaction of Nursing Homes, Hospitals, and Outpatient Clinicians 
Working with the CMS Network of Quality Improvement and Innovation 
Contractors Program (NQIIC); Use: The purpose of this Information 
Collection Request (ICR) is to collect data to inform the program 
evaluation of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) 
Quality Innovation Network-Quality Improvement Organization (QIN-QIO) 
and Hospital Quality Improvement Contractors (HQIC) programs under the 
Network of Quality Improvement and Innovation Contractors (NQIIC) 
contract vehicle. This is a revision package. First, we updated the 
Nursing Home and Hospital Surveys to cover all the quality improvement 
focus areas targeted by NQIIC awardees, removed some but not all COVID-
19 Public Health Emergency (PHE) related questions to reflect the 
progress of Federal health program (e.g., Agency for Healthcare 
Research and Quality Project Echo program was officially ended in 
August 2021), and made minor refinements based on the first round of 
survey fielding. Second, we added the Outpatient Clinician Survey in 
the same revision package since all three surveys are conducted under 
the same NQIIC contract.
    This revision package supports evaluation of the technical 
assistance provided by the QINQIO Program to nursing homes and 
outpatient clinicians in community settings, and Hospital Quality 
Improvement Contractors (HQIC) Program activities to support hospitals. 
This ICR is part of a larger evaluation of the overall impact of the 
NQIIC Program. Form Number: CMS-10769 (OMB control number: 0938-1424); 
Frequency: Yearly; Affected Public: State and Private Sector (Business 
or other for-profits); Number of Respondents: 1,900; Total Annual 
Responses: 1,900; Total Annual Hours: 559. (For policy questions 
regarding this collection, contact Jeff Mokry at 214-767-4021.)

    Dated: January 19, 2024.
William N. Parham, III,
Director, Division of Information Collections and Regulatory Impacts, 
Office of Strategic Operations and Regulatory Affairs.
[FR Doc. 2024-01383 Filed 1-24-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4120-01-P