[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 5 (Friday, January 7, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 1161-1163]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-313]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Health Care Financing Administration
[Form #HCFA-R-0264 A-H / Supplement]


[Emergency Clearance: Public Information Collection Requirements 
Submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB)]

    In compliance with the requirement of section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the 
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Health Care Financing 
Administration (HCFA), Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), 
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.
    We are, however, requesting an emergency review of the information 
collections referenced below. In

[[Page 1162]]

compliance with the requirement of section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the 
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, we have submitted to the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) the following requirements for emergency 
review. We are requesting an emergency review because the collection of 
this information is needed prior to the expiration of the normal time 
limits under OMB's regulations at 5 C.F.R. Part 1320. The Agency cannot 
reasonably comply with the normal clearance procedures because of a 
statutory deadline imposed by section 1853(a)(3) of the Balanced Budget 
Act of 1997. Without this information, HCFA would not be able to 
properly implement the requirements set forth in the statute. In order 
to fully test the operations of competitive bidding at the second site, 
and to thus test the President's plans for this part of value based 
purchasing, it is necessary to operate the demonstration for at least 
two years. The authorizing legislation for the demonstration, section 
1847 of the Balanced Budget Act, states that ``all projects under this 
section shall terminate not later than December 31, 2002.'' In order to 
operate the demonstration for two years, we need to implement the 
demonstration at the second site starting January 1, 2001. Because of 
the need for nine months for processing and bidding operations, we must 
have emergency approval of the forms in order to proceed with the 
demonstration on time and as needed. Using the regular clearance 
process would not allow the demonstration a full two year?s of 
operation as needed for a full test of the bidding concept.
    HCFA is requesting OMB review and approval of this collection by 
February 15, 2000, with a 180-day approval period. Written comments and 
recommendations will be accepted from the public if received by the 
individual designated below by January 31,2000. During this 180-day 
period, we will publish a separate Federal Register notice announcing 
the initiation of an extensive 60-day agency review and public comment 
period on these requirements. We will submit the requirements for OMB 
review and an extension of this emergency approval.
    Type of Information Collection Request: New collection;
    Title of Information Collection: Medicare DMEPOS Competitive 
Bidding Demonstration: Site 2;
    Form No.: HCFA-R-0264 A-H /Supplement;
    Use: Section 4319 of the Balanced Budget Act (BBA) mandates HCFA to 
implement demonstration projects under which competitive acquisition 
areas are established for contract award purposes for the furnishing of 
Part B items and services, except for physician's services. The first 
of these demonstration projects implements competitive bidding of 
categories of durable medical equipment, prosthetics, orthotics, and 
supplies (DMEPOS). The new set of products to be offered for 
competitive bidding are: oxygen equipment and supplies, hospital beds, 
standardized orthotic products, manual wheelchairs, and nebulizer 
drugs. Under the law, suppliers can receive payments from Medicare for 
items and services covered by the demonstration only if their bids are 
competitive in terms of quality and price. Each demonstration project 
may be conducted in up to three metropolitan areas for a three year 
period. Authority for the demonstration expires on December 31, 2002. 
The schedule for the demonstration anticipates about a six month period 
required between mailing the bidding forms to potential bidders and the 
start of payments for DMEPOS under the demonstration. There are eight 
forms that are required for this demonstration. Form A will be used by 
the bidding supplier to provide information about the characteristics 
of the company. Form B will be used by the bidding supplier to provide 
specific information about the prices it bids for specific product 
categories, and to provide information about the attributes of the 
supplier in relation to the specific product category. Form C will be 
used by HCFA or its agents to obtain information on site regarding the 
bidding supplier. Form D will be used by HCFA or its agents to obtain 
financial references on the bidding supplier from banks and other 
financial sources. Form E will be used by HCFA or its agents to obtain 
information about the bidding suppliers from referral sources such as 
home health agencies and hospital discharge planners. Form F will be 
used to obtain information about the suppliers' financial status and to 
assure that they have sufficient fiscal resources to operate in a 
competitive environment where the prices being paid for some products 
are less than what have been customarily paid. It is required only from 
suppliers whose bids are in the competitive range. Form G will be used 
for nursing facilities to identify their suppliers of products and 
services who have not been awarded Demonstration Supplier status for 
services to beneficiaries in their home. This is to permit payment to 
those suppliers for products services furnished to nursing facilities. 
Form H is a new form added since the demonstration of the first site. 
It will be used to monitor the performance of Demonstration Suppliers 
to assure their adherence to the quality standards established for the 
project.
    The competitive bidding demonstration for DMEPOS has the following 
objectives:
    <bullet> Test the policies and implementation methods of 
competitive bidding to determine whether or not is should be expanded 
as a Medicare Program.
    <bullet> Reduce the price that Medicare pays for medical equipment 
and supplies.
    <bullet> Limit beneficiary out-of-pocket expenditures for 
copayments.
    <bullet> Improve beneficiary access to high quality medical 
equipment and supplies.
    <bullet> Prevent business transactions with suppliers who engage in 
fraudulent practices.
    Frequency: On occasion;
    Affected Public: Business or other for-profit, and not-for-profit 
institutions;
    Number of Respondents: 1,375;
    Total Annual Responses: 1,375;
    Total Annual Hours: 11,242.
    To obtain copies of the supporting statement and any related forms 
for the proposed paperwork collections referenced above, access HCFA's 
Web Site address at http://www.hcfa.gov/regs/prdact95.htm, or E-mail 
your request, including your address, phone number, and HCFA form 
number(s) referenced above, to P<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#b6d7c6d3c4c1d9c4ddf6ded5d0d798d1d9c0"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="3f5e4f5a4d48504d547f575c595e11585049">[email protected]</span></a>, or call the Reports 
Clearance Office on (410) 786-1326.
    Interested persons are invited to send comments regarding the 
burden or any other aspect of these collections of information 
requirements. However, as noted above, comments on these information 
collection and recordkeeping requirements must be mailed and/or faxed 
to the designee referenced below, by January 31, 2000:

Health Care Financing Administration, Office of Information Services, 
Security and Standards Group, Division of HCFA Enterprise Standards, 
Attn: Dawn Willinghan, Room: N2-14-26, 7500 Security Boulevard, 
Baltimore, Maryland 21244-1850
      or
Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and 
Budget, Room 10235, New Executive Office Building, Washington, DC 
20503, Fax Number: (202) 395-6974 or (202) 395-5167, Attn: Allison 
Herron Eydt, HCFA Desk Officer.


[[Page 1163]]


    Dated: December 22, 1999.
John P. Burke III,
HCFA Reports Clearance Officer, HCFA, Office of Information Services, 
Security and Standards Group, Division of HCFA Enterprise Standards.
[FR Doc. 00-313 Filed 1-6-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4120-03-P


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