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

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

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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:

Test the policies and implementation methods of

competitive bidding to determine whether or not is should be expanded

as a Medicare Program.

Reduce the price that Medicare pays for medical equipment

and supplies.

Limit beneficiary out-of-pocket expenditures for

copayments.

Improve beneficiary access to high quality medical

equipment and supplies.

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[email protected], 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.

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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