Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Seeks Info Collection: Disclosure Requirement for In-Office Ancillary Services Exception

WASHINGTON, Jan. 28 -- The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has asked the Office of Management and Budget to approve an information collection of a "Disclosure Requirement for the In-Office Ancillary Services Exception."

A Jan. 28, 2021, notice published in the Federal Register by William N. Parham, III, Director, Paperwork Reduction Staff, Office of Strategic Operations and Regulatory Affairs, opens a/also opens a new 30-day public comment period.

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: Extension of a currently approved collection; Title of Information Collection: Disclosure Requirement for the In-Office Ancillary Services Exception; Use: Section 6003 of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) established a new disclosure requirement that a physician must perform for certain imaging services to meet the in-office ancillary services exception to the prohibition of the physician self-referral law. This section of the ACA amended section 1877(b)(2) of the Act by adding a requirement that the referring physician informs the patient, at the time of the referral and in writing, that the patient may receive the imaging service from another supplier.

Physicians who provide certain imaging services (MRI, CT, and PET) under the in-office ancillary services exception to the physician self-referral prohibition are required to provide the disclosure notice as well as the list of other imaging suppliers to the patient. The patient will then be able to use the disclosure notice and list of suppliers in making an informed decision about his or her course of care for the imaging service.

CMS would use the collected information for enforcement purposes. Specifically, if we were investigating the referrals of a physician providing advanced imaging services under the in- office ancillary services exception, we would review the written disclosure in order to determine if it satisfied the requirement. Form Number: CMS-10332 (OMB control number: 0938-1133); Frequency: Occasionally; Affected Public: Private Sector, Business or other for-profits, Not-for-profits institutions; Number of Respondents: 2,239; Total Annual Responses: 989,971; Total Annual Hours: 18,694. (For questions regarding this collection contact Laura Dash at 410-786-8623.)

Dated: January 25, 2021.

William N. Parham, III,

Director, Paperwork Reduction Staff, Office of Strategic Operations and Regulatory Affairs.

[FR Doc. 2021-01896 Filed 1-27-21; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4120-01-P

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Complete text: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2021/01/28/2021-01896/agency-information-collection-activities-submission-for-omb-review-comment-request

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