Department of Health and Human Services December 27, 2006 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

In accordance with the requirements of the Privacy Act of 1974, we are proposing to modify or alter a SOR, ``CMS Fraud Investigation Database (FID), System No. 09-70-0527,'' most recently modified at 67 FR 65795 (October 28, 2002). We propose to modify existing routine use number 1 that permits disclosure to agency contractors and consultants to include disclosure to CMS grantees who perform a task for the agency. CMS grantees, charged with completing projects or activities that require CMS data to carry out that activity, are classified separate from CMS contractors and/or consultants. The modified routine use will remained as routine use number 1. We will delete routine use number 2 authorizing disclosure to support constituent requests made to a congressional representative. If an authorization for the disclosure has been obtained from the data subject, then no routine use is needed. The Privacy Act allows for disclosures with the ``prior written consent'' of the data subject. We propose to broaden the scope of the disclosure provisions of this system by adding a routine use to permit the release of information to another Federal and state agencies to: (1) Contribute to the accuracy of CMS' proper payment of Medicare benefits; (2) enable such agency to administer a Federal health benefits program, and/or (3) assist Federal/state Medicaid programs within the state. We will broaden the scope of routine uses number 4 and 5 authorizing disclosures to combat fraud and abuse in the Medicare and Medicaid programs to include combating ``waste'' which refers to specific beneficiary/recipient practices that result in unnecessary cost to all Federally-funded health benefit programs. We are modifying the language in the remaining routine uses to provide a proper explanation as to the need for the routine use and to provide clarity to CMS's intention to disclose individual-specific information contained in this system. The routine uses will then be prioritized and reordered according to their usage. We will also take the opportunity to update any sections of the system that were affected by the recent reorganization or because of the impact of the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003 (MMA) (Pub. L. 108-173) provisions and to update language in the administrative sections to correspond with language used in other CMS SORs. The primary purpose of the system of records is to collect and maintain information to: (1) Identify if a violation(s) of a provision of the Social Security Act (the Act) or a related penal or civil provision of the United States Code (U.S.C.) related to Medicare (Title XVIII), Medicaid (Title XIX), HMO/Managed Care (Title XX), and Children's Health Insurance Program (Title XXI) have been committed; (2) determine if HHS has made a proper payment as prescribed under applicable sections of the Act; (3) determine whether these programs have been abused; and (4) coordinate investigations related to Medicare, Medicaid, HMO/Managed Care, and Children's Health Insurance Program; (5) prevent duplications investigatory efforts; and (5) provide case file material to the HHS Office of the Inspector General when a case is referred for fraud investigation. Information retrieved from this system of records will also be disclosed to: (1) Support regulatory, reimbursement, and policy functions performed within the Agency or by a contractor, consultant, or a CMS grantee; (2) assist another Federal and/or state agency, agency of a state government, an agency established by state law, or its fiscal agent; (3) support litigation involving the Agency related to this system of records; and (4) combat fraud, waste, and abuse in certain health care programs. We have provided background information about the modified system in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section below. Although the Privacy Act requires only that CMS provide an opportunity for interested persons to comment on the proposed routine uses, CMS invites comments on all portions of this notice. See ``Effective Dates'' section for comment period. Effective Dates: CMS filed a modified or altered system report with the Chair of the House Committee on Government Reform and Oversight, the Chair of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs, and the Administrator, Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget (OMB) on December 20, 2006. To ensure that all parties have adequate time in which to comment, the modified system, including routine uses, will become effective 30 days from the publication of the notice, or 40 days from the date it was submitted to OMB and Congress, whichever is later, unless CMS receives comments that require alterations to this notice.

This notice supersedes the Federal Register Notice (FR)71 FR 70971 (December 7, 2006) that contained Centers Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) identification numbers that do not properly identify the CMS systems of records to be deleted.

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) gives notice concerning the final effect of the HHS decision to designate a class of employees at the Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico, as an addition to the Special Exposure Cohort (SEC) under the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act of 2000. On November 9, 2006, as provided for under 42 U.S.C. 7834q(b), the Secretary of HHS designated the following class of employees as an addition to the SEC:

Under the provisions of Section 3507(a)(1)(D) of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) a request for review and approval the information collection listed below. This proposed information collection was previously published in the Federal Register on August 28, 2006, pages 50924-50925, and allowed 60-days for public comments. Only one comment was received. The purpose of this notice is to allow an additional 30 days for public comment. The National Institutes of Health may not conduct or sponsor, and the respondent is not required to respond to, an information collection that has been extended, revised, or implemented on or after October 1, 1995, unless it displays a currently OMB control number. Proposed Collection: Title: The Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study (ARIC). Type of Information Collection Request: Revision of a currently approved collection (OMB NO. 0925-0281. Need and Use of Information Collection: This project involves annual follow-up by telephone of participants in the ARIC study, review of their medical records, and interviews with doctors and family to identify disease occurrence. Interviewers will contact doctors and hospitals to ascertain participants' cardiovascular events. Information gathered will be used to further describe the risk factors, occurrence rates, and consequences of cardiovascular disease in middle aged and older men and women. Frequency of Response: The participants will be contacted annually. Affected Public: Individuals or households: Businesses or other for profit; Small businesses or organizations. Type of Respondents: Individuals or households; doctors and staff of hospitals and nursing homes. The annual reporting burden is as follows: Estimated Number of Respondents: 12,845; Estimated Number of Responses per Respondent: 1.0; Average Burden Hours per Response: 0.242; and Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours Requested: 3,108. The annualized cost to respondents is estimated at $60,525, assuming respondents' time at the rate of $16.5 per hour for family and patient respondents, and $75 per hour for physicians. There are not Capital Costs to report. There are no Operation or Maintenance Costs to report.