40846 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 143 / Thursday, July 29, 2021 / Notices 

wages, number of home health agencies 

and number of OASIS assessments at 

each time point. Form Number: CMS– 

10545 (OMB control number: 0938– 

1279); Frequency: Occasionally; 

Affected Public: Private Sector (Business 

or other for-profit and Not-for-profit 

institutions); Number of Respondents: 

11,400; Total Annual Responses: 

17,932,166; Total Annual Hours: 

9,893,376. (For policy questions 

regarding this collection contact Joan 

Proctor at 410–786–0949). 

2. Type of Information Collection 

Request: Extension of currently 

approved collection; Title of 

Information Collection: Granting and 

Withdrawal of Deeming Authority to 

Private Nonprofit Accreditation 

Organizations and CLIA Exemption 

Under State Laboratory Programs; Use: 

The information required is necessary to 

determine whether a private 

accreditation organization/State 

licensure program standards and 

accreditation/licensure process is at 

least equal to or more stringent than 

those of the Clinical Laboratory 

Improvement Amendments of 1988 

(CLIA). If an accreditation organization 

is approved, the laboratories that it 

accredits are ‘‘deemed’’ to meet the 

CLIA requirements based on this 

accreditation. Similarly, if a State 

licensure program is determined to have 

requirements that are equal to or more 

stringent than those of CLIA, its 

laboratories are considered to be exempt 

from CLIA certification and 

requirements. The information collected 

will be used by HHS to: Determine 

comparability/equivalency of the 

accreditation organization standards 

and policies or State licensure program 

standards and policies to those of the 

CLIA program; to ensure the continued 

comparability/equivalency of the 

standards; and to fulfill certain statutory 

reporting requirements. Form Number: 

CMS–R–185 (OMB control number: 

0938–0686); Frequency: Occasionally; 

Affected Public: Private Sector— 

Business or other for-profits and Notfor-profit institutions; Number of 

Respondents: 9; Total Annual 

Responses: 9; Total Annual Hours: 

5,464. (For policy questions regarding 

this collection contact Arlene Lopez at 

410–786–6782.) 

Dated: July 26, 2021. 

William N. Parham, III, 

Director, Paperwork Reduction Staff, Office 

of Strategic Operations and Regulatory 

Affairs. 

[FR Doc. 2021–16205 Filed 7–28–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4120–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND 

HUMAN SERVICES 

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid 

Services 

[Document Identifier: CMS–10500] 

Agency Information Collection 

Activities: Submission for OMB 

Review; Comment Request 

AGENCY: Centers for Medicare & 

Medicaid Services, Health and Human 

Services (HHS). 

ACTION: Notice. 

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 August 30, 2021. 

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, you may make your request 

using one of following: 

1. Access CMS’ website address at 

website address at: https://

www.cms.gov/Regulations-andGuidance/Legislation/ 

PaperworkReductionActof1995/PRAListing.html 

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: National 

Implementation of the Outpatient and 

Ambulatory Surgery Consumer 

Assessment of Healthcare Providers and 

Systems (OAS CAHPS) Survey; Use: 

The national implementation of OAS 

CAHPS is designed to allow third-party, 

CMS-approved survey vendors to 

administer OAS CAHPS using mailonly, telephone-only, mixed-mode (mail 

with telephone follow-up), mixed-mode 

(web with mail follow-up), or mixedmode (web with telephone follow-up). 

The information collected in the OAS 

CAHPS will be used for the following 

purposes: 

• To provide a source of information 

from which selected measures can be 

publicly reported to beneficiaries to 

help them make informed decisions for 

outpatient surgery facility selection; 

• To aid facilities with their internal 

quality improvement efforts and 

external benchmarking with other 

facilities; and 

• To provide CMS with information 

for monitoring and public reporting 

purposes. 

CMS established a reporting program 

in which ASCs and HOPDs can choose 

to participate in the survey and also 

choose whether or not to publicly report 

data. HOPD and ASC facilities that 

choose to participate contract with a 

CMS-approved, independent third-party 

survey vendor to implement the survey 

on their behalf and to submit the OAS 


jbell on DSKJLSW7X2PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 143 / Thursday, July 29, 2021 / Notices 40847 

CAHPS data to CMS. CMS publicly 

reports comparative results from OAS 

CAHPS after each facility has conducted 

data collection for 12 months. OAS 

CAHPS measures, enable consumers to 

make more informed decisions when 

choosing an outpatient surgery facility, 

aid facilities in their quality 

improvement efforts, and help CMS 

monitor the performance of outpatient 

surgery facilities. Form Number: CMS– 

10500 (OMB control number: 0938– 

1240); Frequency: Once; Affected 

Public: Individuals and Households, 

Business or other for-profits, Not-forprofit institutions and State, Local and 

Tribal Governments; Number of 

Respondents: 993,300; Total Annual 

Responses: 993,300; Total Annual 

Hours: 221,100. (For policy questions 

regarding this collection contact 

Memuna Ifedirah at 410–786–6849.) 

Dated: July 26, 2021. 

William N. Parham, III, 

Director, Paperwork Reduction Staff, Office 

of Strategic Operations and Regulatory 

Affairs. 

[FR Doc. 2021–16202 Filed 7–28–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4120–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND 

HUMAN SERVICES 

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid 

Services 

[Document Identifier: CMS–10701 and CMS– 

10757] 

Agency Information Collection 

Activities: Submission for OMB 

Review; Comment Request 

AGENCY: Centers for Medicare & 

Medicaid Services, Health and Human 

Services (HHS). 

ACTION: Notice. 

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 August 30, 2021. 

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, you may make your request 

using one of following: 

1. Access CMS’ website address at 

website address at: https://

www.cms.gov/Regulations-andGuidance/Legislation/ 

PaperworkReductionActof1995/PRAListing.html. 

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: New Collection (Request for a 

new OMB control number); Title of 

Information Collection: Medicare 

Beneficiary Experiences with Care 

Survey (MBECS) System; Use: The 

MBECS system is designed to conduct 

population specific surveys that will be 

administered to the group of interest, 

fielded one time. This means that over 

the three-year period, two individual 

surveys will be administered. This will 

allow CMS OMH to respond quickly to 

the data needs of stakeholders with 

interests in these underrepresented 

groups. Data collected through the 

MBECS system will be used to better 

understand—and thus serve the needs 

of—Medicare beneficiaries in minority 

populations. The core questionnaire 

will collect information on 

communication with medical 

professionals, coordination of health 

care, experiences getting needed health 

care, experiences with personal doctors 

and specialists, and key demographics. 

Data will be compared to benchmarks 

from the FFS CAHPS, MA CAHPS, and 

NAM CAHPS surveys. The populationspecific questionnaire module described 

and submitted via a specific collection 

request will collect information about 

issues most relevant for that particular 

group of interest. 

The goal of this umbrella data 

collection effort is to gather data via 

separate surveys on a variety of minority 

Medicare beneficiaries’ experiences. 

Topics and questions of interest may ask 

about beneficiaries’ communication 

with medical professionals, 

coordination of health care, experiences 

getting needed health care, and 

experiences with personal doctors and 

specialists. CMS OMH will compare 

survey data to benchmarks from the 

general population of Medicare 

beneficiaries while controlling for 

population characteristics, as 

appropriate. 

Survey respondents will have the 

opportunity to respond to an MBECS 

survey via a self-administered webbased survey (also called computerassisted web interview or CAWI). CAWI 

technology minimizes respondent 

burden by (1) automatically providing 

text fills within questions and handling 

skip patterns based on responses to each 

question; (2) allowing respondents to 

complete the survey at a convenient 

time; (3) allowing respondents to stop 

and re-enter the survey if needed; and 

(4) capturing data in real-time, thereby 

eliminating the need for manual data 

entry. Form Number: CMS–10701 (OMB 

Control number: 0938–New); Frequency: 

Annually; Affected Public: Individuals 

and Households; Number of 

Respondents: 13,000; Total Annual 

Responses: 13,000; Total Annual Hours: 

4,290 (For policy questions regarding 

this collection contact Luis Pons Perez 

at 410–786–8557). 

2. Type of Information Collection 

Request: Extension of a currently 

approved information collection; Title 


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