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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 235 (Friday, December 6, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 97009-97010]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-28515]

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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services

[Document Identifier: CMS-10767]

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 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 January 6, 2025.

ADDRESSES: Written comments and recommendations for the proposed 
information collection should be sent within 30 days of publication of 
this

[[Page 97010]]

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: Reinstatement without 
change of a previously approved collection; Title of Information 
Collection: Patient Access through Application Programming Interfaces 
(API); Use: This final rule is the first phase of policies centrally 
focused on advancing interoperability and patient access to health 
information using the authority available to the Centers for Medicare & 
Medicaid Services (CMS). We believe this is an important step in 
advancing interoperability, putting patients at the center of their 
health care, and ensuring they have electronic access to their health 
information. We are committed to working with stakeholders to solve the 
issue of interoperability and getting patients access to information 
about their health care, and we are taking an active approach to move 
participants in the health care market toward interoperability and the 
secure and timely exchange of electronic health information by adopting 
policies for the Medicare and Medicaid programs, the Children's Health 
Insurance Program (CHIP), and qualified health plan (QHP) issuers on 
the individual market Federally-facilitated Exchanges (FFEs). For 
purposes of this rule, references to QHP issuers on the FFEs excludes 
issuers offering only stand-alone dental plans (SADPs). Likewise, we 
are also excluding QHP issuers only offering QHPs in the Federally-
facilitated Small Business Health Options Program Exchanges (FF-SHOPs) 
from the provisions of this rule. This rule requires these impacted 
payers to maintain and use standards-based APIs to make certain 
information available to enrollees. CMS regulations at 42 CFR 417.414, 
417.416, 422.112(a)(1)(i), and 422.114(a)(3)(ii) require that all 
Medicare Advantage organizations (MAOs) offering coordinated care 
plans, network-based private fee-for-service (PFFS) plans, and as well 
as section 1876 cost organizations, maintain a network of appropriate 
providers that is sufficient to provide adequate access to covered 
services to meet the needs of the population served. To enforce this 
requirement, CMS regulations at Sec.  422.116 outline network adequacy 
criteria which set forth the minimum number of providers and maximum 
travel time and distance from enrollees to providers, for required 
provider specialty types in each county in the United States and its 
territories. Organizations must be in compliance with the current CMS 
network adequacy criteria guidance, which is updated and published 
annually on CMS's website. This collection of information is essential 
to appropriate and timely compliance monitoring by CMS, in order to 
ensure that all active contracts offering network-based plans maintain 
an adequate network.
    This notice originally published on August 22, 2024 (89 FR 67943), 
but CMS was delayed in submitting it to OMB. For that reason, we are 
republishing this notice and the associated information collection 
request will be submitted upon to OMB upon publication of this notice. 
Form Number: CMS-10767 (OMB control number: 0938-1412); Frequency: 
Occasionally; Affected Public: Private sector; Number of Respondents: 
345; Number of Responses: 345; Total Annual Hours: 589,950. (For policy 
questions regarding this collection contact Lorraine Doo at 410-786-
6597.)

William N. Parham, III,
Director, Division of Information Collections and Regulatory Impacts, 
Office of Strategic Operations and Regulatory Affairs.
[FR Doc. 2024-28515 Filed 12-5-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4120-01-P
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