Proposed Collection; Comment Request

RAILROAD RETIREMENT BOARD

Proposed Collection; Comment Request

SUMMARY: In accordance with the requirement of Section 3506(c)(2)(A) of

the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 which provides opportunity for

public comment on new or revised data collections, the Railroad

Retirement Board (RRB) will publish periodic summaries of proposed data

collections.

Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the proposed information

collection is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of

the agency, including whether the information has practical utility;

(b) the accuracy of the RRB's estimate of the burden of the collection

of the information; (c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and

clarity of the information to be collected; and (d) ways to minimize

the burden related to the collection of information on respondents,

including the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of

information technology.

Title and purpose of information collection: Application for

Hospital Insurance Benefits; OMB 3220-0082 Under Section 7(d) of the

Railroad Retirement Act (RRA), the Railroad Retirement Board (RRB)

administers the Medicare program for persons covered by the railroad

retirement system. The RRB uses Form AA-6, Employee Application for

Medicare; Form AA-7, Spouse/Divorced Spouse Application For Medicare;

and Form AA-8, Widow/Widower Application for Medicare; to obtain the

information needed to determine whether individuals who have not yet

filed for benefits under the RRA are qualified for Medicare payments

provided under Title XVIII of the Social Security Act. Completion is

required to obtain a benefit. One response is requested of each

respondent.

The RRB proposes a minor editorial change to Forms AA-6, AA-7 and

AA-8 to incorporate language required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of

1995. The RRB estimates that 180 Form AA-6's, 50 Form AA-7's, and 10

Form AA-8's are completed annually. The completion time for all three

forms is estimated at 8 minutes.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION OR COMMENTS: To request more information or to

obtain a copy of the information collection justification, forms, and/

or supporting material, please call the RRB Clearance Officer at (312)

751-3363. Comments regarding the information collection should be

addressed to Ronald J. Hodapp, Railroad Retirement Board, 844 North

Rush Street, Chicago, Illinois 60611-2092. Written comments should be

received within 60 days of this notice.

Chuck Mierzwa,

Clearance Officer.

[FR Doc. 97-4905 Filed 2-26-97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 7905-01-M