[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 30 (Monday, February 14, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8394-8395]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-3171]
[[Page 8394]]
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SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION
Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Request and
Comment Request
The Social Security Administration (SSA) publishes a list of
information collection packages requiring clearance by the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) in compliance with Public Law 104-13, the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, effective October 1, 1995. This notice
includes revisions to and an extension of OMB-approved information
collections.
SSA is soliciting comments on the accuracy of the agency's burden
estimate; the need for the information; its practical utility; ways to
enhance its quality, utility, and clarity; and ways to minimize burden
on respondents, including the use of automated collection techniques or
other forms of information technology. Mail, e-mail, or fax your
comments and recommendations on the information collection(s) to the
OMB Desk Officer and SSA Reports Clearance Officer at the following
addresses or fax numbers.
(OMB), Office of Management and Budget, Attn: Desk Officer for SSA,
Fax: 202-395-6974, E-mail address: [email protected];
(SSA), Social Security Administration, DCBFM, Attn: Reports Clearance
Officer, 1333 Annex Building, 6401 Security Blvd., Baltimore, MD 21235,
Fax: 410-965-6400, E-mail address: [email protected].
I. The information collections below are pending at SSA. SSA will
submit them to OMB within 60 days from the date of this notice. To be
sure we consider your comments, we must receive them no later than
April 15, 2011. Individuals can obtain copies of the collection
instruments by calling the SSA Reports Clearance Officer at 410-965-
8783 or by writing to the above e-mail address.
1. Medicare Modernization Act Outreach Mailer--20 CFR 418--0960-
0773. To promote awareness of the Medicare Part D subsidy program and
encourage potentially eligible Medicare beneficiaries to complete Form
SSA-1020 (OMB No. 0960-0696, the Application for Extra Help with
Medicare Prescription Drug Plan Costs), SSA uses an outreach brochure
that includes a mailer. Pharmacies, doctors' offices, and medical
clinics display and distribute copies of the brochure/mailer to
encourage eligible Medicare beneficiaries to request and complete Form
SSA-1020. Using a recorded, automated message telephone call that will
not require any conversation with respondents, SSA follows up with
beneficiaries who use the mailer to request an SSA-1020 but do not
submit it to the agency. The respondents are Medicare beneficiaries who
are potentially eligible for Part D subsidy benefits and who request a
copy of Form SSA-1020, using the SSA-1023 mailer.
Type of Request: Revision of an OMB-approved information
collection.
Number of Respondents: 75,000.
Frequency of Response: 1.
Average Burden Per Response: 1 minute.
Estimated Annual Burden: 1,250.
2. Medicare Income-Related Monthly Adjustment Amount--Life-Changing
Event Form--0960-0784. Per the Medicare Modernization Act of 2003,
reductions in the Federal subsidy for Medicare medical coverage
(Medicare Part B) result in selected Medicare Part B recipients paying
an income-related monthly adjustment amount (IRMAA). The Internal
Revenue Service transmits income tax return data to SSA for SSA to
determine the IRMAA. SSA uses Form SSA-44 to determine if a recipient
qualifies for a reduction in the IRMAA. If affected Medicare recipients
believe SSA should use more recent tax data because of a life-changing
event that significantly reduces their income, they can report these
changes to SSA and ask for a new initial determination of their IRMAA.
In November 2010, we requested emergency OMB clearance for a new
SSA-44 to fulfill the provisions of the Affordable Care Act (Pub. L.
111-148), which mandates reductions in the Federal Medicare Part D
prescription drug coverage subsidies, resulting in higher premiums for
those who have this coverage and who have income above a specific
threshold. The provisions of the law became effective January 1, 2011,
and we obtained emergency clearance for this form on November 23, 2010.
We are now seeking full OMB clearance for this form. The respondents
are Medicare Part B and prescription drug coverage recipients and
enrollees with modified adjusted gross income over a high-income
threshold who experience one of the eight significant life-changing
events.
Type of Request: Extension of an OMB-approved information
collection.
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Average burden Estimated
Method of collection Number of Frequency of per response annual burden
respondents response (minutes) (hours)
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Personal Interview (SSA field office)........... 147,000 1 30 73,500
Paper Form (mailed)............................. 39,000 1 45 29,250
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Totals...................................... 186,000 .............. .............. 102,750
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II. SSA has submitted the information collection listed below to
OMB for clearance. Your comments on the information collection would be
most useful if OMB and SSA receive them within 30 days from the date of
this publication. To be sure we consider your comments, we must receive
them no later than March 16, 2011. You can obtain a copy of the OMB
clearance package by calling the SSA Reports Clearance Officer at 410-
965-8783 or by writing to the above e-mail address.
State Death Match Collections--20 CFR 404.301, 404.310-404.311,
404.316, 404.330-404-341, 404.350-404.352, 404.371; 416.912--0960-0700.
SSA uses the State Death Match Collections to ensure the accuracy of
payment files by detecting unreported or inaccurate deaths of
beneficiaries. Under the Social Security Act, entitlement to
retirement, disability, wife's, husband's, or parent's benefits
terminate when the beneficiary dies. The States furnish death
certificate information to SSA via the manual registration process or
the Electronic Death Registration (EDR) process. Both death match
processes are automated electronic transfers between the States and
SSA. The respondents are the States' bureaus of vital statistics.
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Frequency of Average cost Estimated
Method of collection Number of responses (per per record annual cost
respondents state) request burden
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State Death Match--Manual Process............... 23 50,000 .80 $920,000
State Death Match--EDR.......................... 30 50,000 2.86 4,290,000
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Totals...................................... .............. .............. .............. *5,210,000
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* Please note that both data matching processes are fully electronic and there is no hourly burden for the
respondent to provide this information.
Dated: February 8, 2011.
Faye Lipsky,
Reports Clearance Officer, Center for Reports Clearance, Social
Security Administration.
[FR Doc. 2011-3171 Filed 2-11-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4191-02-P