Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request; Affordable Care Act Internal Claims and Appeals and External Review Procedures for Non-Grandfathered Plans

ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY:

The Department of Labor (DOL) is submitting the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) sponsored information collection request (ICR) titled, “Affordable Care Act Internal Claims and Appeals and External Review Procedures for Non-grandfathered Plans,” to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval for continued use in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-13, 44 U.S.C. chapter 35).

DATES:

Submit comments on or before March 31, 2011.

ADDRESSES:

A copy of this ICR, with applicable supporting documentation, including a description of the likely respondents, proposed frequency of response, and estimated total burden may be obtained from the RegInfo.gov Web site, http://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain,, on the day following publication of this notice or by contacting Michel Smyth by telephone at 202-693-4129 (this is not a toll-free number) or sending an e-mail to DOL_PRA_PUBLIC@dol.gov.

Submit comments about this request to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Attn: OMB Desk Officer for the U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA), Office of Management and Budget, Room 10235, Washington, DC 20503, Telephone: 202-395-6929/Fax: 202-395-6881 (these are not toll-free numbers), e-mail: OIRA_submission@omb.eop.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Michel Smyth by telephone at 202-693-4129 (this is not a toll-free number) or by e-mail at DOL_PRA_PUBLIC@dol.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

The Affordable Care Act added Public Health Service Act section 2719, which provides rules relating to internal claims and appeals and external review processes. On July 23, 2010, the EBSA issued interim final regulations to implement the statutory provision. See 75 FR 43330. With respect to internal claims and appeals processes for group health coverage, group health plans and health insurance issuers offering group health insurance coverage must comply with the internal claims and appeals processes set forth in 29 CFR 2560.503-1 (the DOL claims procedure regulation) and update such processes in accordance with standards established by the Secretary of Labor. Group health plans and issuers offering group health insurance coverage must comply with either a State external review process or a Federal review process. The regulations provide a basis for determining when plans and issuers must comply with an applicable State external review process and when they must comply with the Federal external review process.

The claims procedure regulation imposes information collections, as part of the reasonable procedures that an employee benefit plan must establish regarding the handling of a benefit claim. These information collections include third-party notice and disclosure requirements that the plan must satisfy by providing information to participants and beneficiaries of the plan; consequently, the collections are subject to the PRA. A Federal agency generally cannot conduct or sponsor a collection of information, and the public is generally not required to respond to an information collection, unless it is approved by the OMB under the PRA and displays a currently valid OMB Control Number. In addition, notwithstanding any other provisions of law, no person shall generally be subject to penalty for failing to comply with a collection of information if the collection of information does not display a valid OMB Control Number. See 5 CFR 1320.5(a) and 1320.6. The DOL obtains OMB approval for these information collections under OMB Control Number 1210-0144. The current OMB approval is scheduled to expire on February 28, 2011; however, it should be noted that information collections submitted to the OMB receive a month-to-month extension while they undergo review. For additional information, see the related notice published in the Federal Register on December 10, 2010.

Interested parties are encouraged to send comments to the OMB, Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs at the address shown in the ADDRESSES section within 30 days of publication of this notice in the Federal Register. In order to ensure appropriate consideration, comments should reference OMB Control Number 1210-0144. The OMB is particularly interested in comments that:

• Evaluate whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, including whether the information will have practical utility;
• Evaluate the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the proposed collection of information, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions used;
• Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and
• Minimize the burden of the collection of information on those who are to respond, including through the use of appropriate automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or other forms of information technology, e.g., permitting electronic submission of responses.

Agency: Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA).

Title of Collection: Affordable Care Act Internal Claims and Appeals and External Review Procedures for Non-grandfathered Plans.

OMB Control Number: 1210-0144.

Affected Public: Private sector—Businesses and other for-profits and Not-for-profit institutions.

Total Estimated Number of Responses: 94,483.

Total Estimated Annual Burden Hours: 631.

Total Estimated Annual Costs Burden: $250,328.