[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 8 (Wednesday, January 12, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 1752-1754]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-00375]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services

[Document Identifier: CMS-10718]


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 pilot the collection of race and ethnicity data on Part C and D 
enrollment forms. 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 
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.

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DATES: Comments must be received by March 14, 2022.

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 
http://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, you may make 
your request using one of following:
    1. Access CMS' website address at website address at https://www.cms.gov/Regulations-and-Guidance/Legislation/PaperworkReductionActof1995/PRA-Listing.html.

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-10718 Model Medicare Advantage and Medicare Prescription Drug Plan 
Individual Enrollment Request

    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: Model Medicare 
Advantage and Medicare Prescription Drug Plan Individual Enrollment 
Request; Use: The enrollment form is considered a ``model'' under 
Medicare regulations at Sec. Sec.  422.2262 and 423.2262, for purposes 
of communication and marketing review and approval; therefore, MA and 
Part D plans are able to modify the language, content, format, or order 
of the enrollment form. The model enrollment form includes the minimal 
amount of information to process the enrollment, located in Section 1, 
and other limited information, in Section 2, that the sponsor is 
required (i.e., race and ethnicity data, accessible format preference) 
or chooses to provide to the beneficiary (i.e., premium payment 
information). The optional data elements, which aid the MA and Part D 
plans in processing the enrollment, is developed for efficiency for the 
plans. Plan sponsors can obtain information at the initial point of 
contact to help streamline the beneficiary's enrollment process. The 
optional questions include information, specific to the plan's business 
needs that serves to reduce overall burden and allow for timely 
processing of an enrollment request. All data elements in Section 2 are 
optional for the beneficiary to complete, but the plan will be required 
to have the questions on the enrollment forms. Plan enrollment will not 
be affected if the beneficiary does not complete this additional 
information.
    With the long-term goal of collecting race and ethnicity data from 
all Medicare beneficiaries, CMS will focus initial efforts on 
beneficiaries who newly elect or change coverage in the Medicare Part C 
and D program. The detailed race and ethnicity categories collected 
through the demographic pilot on the enrollment form will be compliant 
with the 2011 HHS Data Collection Standards to provide granular 
information for plans and CMS to understand the diversity of the 
beneficiary population. The data will be used to: (1) Explore the 
response rate to race and ethnicity questions as a whole and how it 
intersects with beneficiary income and other demographics; (2) Conduct 
focus groups, to be approved in a separate PRA package, among non-
responders to the race and ethnicity questions to understand how people 
who elect to not respond to the race and ethnicity questions perceive 
the addition of those questions on the form; (3) Continue to test CMS' 
race and ethnicity imputation models by adding additional race and 
ethnicity data to the data CMS already has; and (4) Determine the data 
necessary for sufficient samples sizes to conduct analyses of 
disaggregated race and ethnicity categories. As part of a broader 
health equity effort, CMS has interest in identifying patterns of 
differences across many key process and care outcomes by 
sociodemographic characteristics, including race and ethnicity. To best 
characterize these differences, self-reported and granular data are 
needed. Collecting these data will support efforts to continue to 
strengthen, for example, CMS OMH's stratified reporting efforts, which 
currently do consider quality indicators by race and ethnicity, but at 
present these data are not granular and not self-reported. In addition, 
this data will allow us to validate imputation methods CMS currently 
uses for race and ethnicity, to ensure that we do not rely on 
methodologies that unintentionally create or exacerbate disparities. To 
assess readiness for analysis of collected data (particularly with 
regard to considering sample sizes, especially of small groups), 
continual assessment will be required--simultaneously as enrollment 
happens--because readiness will depend partly on distribution of 
responses to these items by enrollees.
    These categories are of great interest to CMS and will improve the 
accuracy of current data sets. We acknowledge that it may take several 
years of data collection to conduct other meaningful studies CMS 
intends to pursue that are not listed above. In addition to the 
aforementioned uses, CMS will ultimately use this information to: Track 
beneficiary enrollment, including tracking patterns in enrollment by 
race and ethnicity over time; to identify, monitor, and develop 
effective and efficient strategies and incentives to reduce and 
eliminate health and health care inequities; to validate existing race 
and ethnicity imputation methods; and to ensure that clinically 
appropriate and equitable care (in terms of payment, access, and 
quality) is consistently provided to all beneficiaries. Form Number: 
CMS-10718 (OMB control number: 0938-1378); Frequency: Yearly; Affected 
Public: State, Local, or Tribal Governments, Federal Government, 
Private Sector (Business or other for-

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profits and Not-for-profits); Number of Respondents: 80,539,628; Number 
of Responses: 80,539,628; Total Annual Hours: 8,567,975. (For questions 
regarding this collection contact Deme Umo at (410) 786-8854.).)

    Dated: January 6, 2022.
William N. Parham, III,
Director, Paperwork Reduction Staff, Office of Strategic Operations and 
Regulatory Affairs.
[FR Doc. 2022-00375 Filed 1-11-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4120-01-P