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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 238 (Wednesday, December 11, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 99871-99873]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-29002]

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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services

[Document Identifiers: CMS-10515 and CMS-10780]

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 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 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.

DATES: Comments must be received by February 10, 2025.

[[Page 99872]]

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, 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 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-10515 Payment Collections Operations Contingency Plan
CMS-10780 Requirements Related to Surprise Billing: Qualifying Payment 
Amount, Notice and Consent, Disclosure on Patient Protections Against 
Balance Billing, and State Law Opt-in

    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 Collections

    1. Type of Information Collection Request: Revision of a currently 
approved collection; Title of Information Collection: Payment 
Collections Operations Contingency Plan; Use: The Patient Protection 
and Affordable Care Act, Public Law 111-148, enacted on March 23, 2010, 
and the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act, Public Law 111-
152, enacted on March 30, 2010 [collectively, the ``Affordable Care 
Act'' (ACA)], provides for consumers to receive subsidies based on 
income to purchase affordable health care on the Exchanges. The U.S. 
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) uses a manual process to 
obtain enrollment and payment data from issuers in States transitioning 
from Federally-facilitated Exchanges (FFEs) and State-based Exchanges 
on the Federal platform (SBE-FPs) to State-based Exchanges (SBEs) to 
facilitate the payment of subsidies to issuers on behalf of eligible 
enrollees. This document describes the data collection requirements 
related to this manual process, known as the Enrollment and Payment 
Data template. This extension reduces burden compared to the currently 
approved collection based on recent program experience. Form Number: 
CMS-10515 (OMB Control Number: 0938-1217); Frequency: Annually; 
Affected Public: Private Sector, Business or other for-profit and not-
for-profit institutions; Number of Respondents: 25; Number of 
Responses: 150; Total Annual Hours: 1,500. (For policy questions 
regarding this collection, contact Jacquelyn Rudich at 301-492-5211.)
    2. Type of Information Collection Request: Revision of a currently 
approved collection; Title of Information Collection: Requirements 
Related to Surprise Billing: Qualifying Payment Amount, Notice and 
Consent, Disclosure on Patient Protections Against Balance Billing, and 
State Law Opt-in; Use: On December 27, 2020, the Consolidated 
Appropriations Act, 2021 (Pub. L. 116-260), which included the No 
Surprises Act, was signed into law. The No Surprises Act provides 
federal protections against surprise billing and limits out-of-network 
cost sharing under many of the circumstances in which surprise medical 
bills arise most frequently. The July 13, 2021 interim final rules 
``Requirements Related to Surprise Billing; Part I'' (86 FR 36872, July 
2021 interim final rules) issued by the Department of Health and Human 
Services, the Department of Labor, the Department of the Treasury, and 
the Office of Personnel Management, implement provisions of the No 
Surprises Act that apply to group health plans, health insurance 
issuers offering group or individual health insurance coverage, and 
carriers in the Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) Program that 
provide protections against balance billing and out-of-network cost 
sharing with respect to emergency services, non-emergency services 
furnished by nonparticipating providers related to patient visits to 
certain types of participating health care facilities, and services 
furnished by nonparticipating providers of air ambulance services. The 
July 2021 interim final rules prohibit nonparticipating providers, 
emergency facilities, and providers of air ambulance services from 
balance billing participants, beneficiaries, and enrollees in certain 
situations unless they satisfy certain notice and consent requirements.
    The No Surprises Act and the July 2021 interim final rules require 
group health plans and issuers of health insurance coverage to provide 
information about qualifying payment amounts (QPAs) to nonparticipating 
providers and facilities and to provide disclosures on patient 
protections against balance billing to participants, beneficiaries and 
enrollees. Self-insured plans opting in to a specified state law are 
required to provide a disclosure to participants. Certain 
nonparticipating providers and nonparticipating emergency facilities 
may provide participants, beneficiaries, and enrollees with notice and 
obtain their consent to waive balance billing protections, provided 
certain requirements are met. In addition, certain providers and 
facilities are required to provide disclosures on patient protections 
against balance billing to participants, beneficiaries and enrollees. 
The No Surprises Act requires the Secretary of HHS to audit no more 
than 25 group health plans and health insurance issuers offering group 
or individual health insurance coverage annually, and permits 
additional audits based on complaints, to ensure that such plans and 
coverage are in compliance with the requirement of applying a QPA and 
that the QPA applied satisfies the definition under the No Surprises 
Act with respect to the year involved. Form Number: CMS-10780 (OMB 
control number:

[[Page 99873]]

0938-1401); Frequency: On Occasion; Affected Public: Individuals, 
State, Local, or Tribal Governments, Private Sector; Number of 
Respondents: 2,477,197; Total Annual Responses: 85,148,199; Total 
Annual Hours: 6,006,654. (For policy questions regarding this 
collection, contact Russell Tipps at 667-290-9640.)

William N. Parham III,
Director, Division of Information Collections and Regulatory Impacts, 
Office of Strategic Operations and Regulatory Affairs.
[FR Doc. 2024-29002 Filed 12-10-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4120-01-P
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