Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; Comment Request

AGENCY:

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, HHS.

In compliance with the requirement of section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) 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.

1. Type of Information Collection Request: Extension of a currently approved collection; Title of Information Collection: Retiree Drug Subsidy (RDS) Payment Request and Instructions; Form Number: CMS-10170 (OMB#: 0938-0977); Use: Under section 1860D-22 of the Social Security Act (Act), added by the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement and Modernization Act of 2003, plan sponsors (employers, unions) who offer prescription drug coverage to their qualified covered retirees are eligible to receive a 28 percent tax-free subsidy for allowable drug costs. To receive the subsidy, plan sponsors must submit required prescription cost data. CMS has contracted with an outside vendor (ViPS) to assist in the administration of the retiree drug subsidy (RDS) program; this effort is called the RDS Center. Plan sponsors will request subsidy payments on-line by logging on to the RDS secure Web site. Cost data required for each payment request may be entered into the RDS secure Web site, or uploaded to the RDS Center mainframe. Once the plan sponsor submits the payment request, the RDS Center will process the request to determine if payment is due and the amount of the payment. Frequency: Recordkeeping and Reporting—Monthly, Quarterly and Annually; Affected Public: Not-for-profit institutions, Business or other for-profit, Federal Government, State, Local, or Tribal Government; Number of Respondents: 6,000; Total Annual Responses: 6,000; Total Annual Hours: 222,000.

To obtain copies of the supporting statement and any related forms for the proposed paperwork collections referenced above, access CMS' Web site address at http://www.cms.hhs.gov/regulations/pra/ , or E-mail your request, including your address, phone number, OMB number, and CMS document identifier, to Paperwork@cms.hhs.gov, or call the Reports Clearance Office on (410) 786-1326.

To be assured consideration, comments and recommendations for the proposed information collections must be received at the address below, no later than 5 p.m. on February 21, 2006. CMS, Office of Strategic Operations and Regulatory Affairs, Division of Regulations Development—C, Attention: Bonnie L Harkless, Room C4-26-05, 7500 Security Boulevard, Baltimore, Maryland 21244-1850.