[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 103 (Wednesday, May 29, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 32256-32257]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-12691]
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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
Privacy Act of 1974; Report of an Altered CMS System of Records
Notice
AGENCY: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), Department of
Health and Human Services (HHS).
ACTION: Altered System of Records Notice (SORN).
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SUMMARY: In accordance with the requirements of the Privacy Act of 1974
(5 USC 552a), CMS proposes the following alterations to existing system
of records (SOR) number 09-70-0560 ``Health Insurance Exchanges (HIX)
Program,'' published at 78 Federal Register (FR) 8538 (February 6,
2013):
1. Add ``Relevant Individual(s)'' as a new category of individuals;
2. Add personally identifiable information (PII) pertaining to
``Relevant Individual(s)'' as a new category of records;
3. Add new purposes to describe the reason for the above additions;
and
4. Revise existing routine uses to authorize the agency to disclose
PII of ``Relevant Individual(s)'' to parties outside the agency.
DATES: Effective Dates: Effective 30 days after publication of this
notice in the Federal Register unless comments received on or before
that date result in revisions to this notice.
ADDRESSES: The public should send comments to: CMS Privacy Officer,
Division of Privacy Policy, Privacy Policy and Compliance Group, Office
of E-Health Standards & Services, Offices of Enterprise Management,
CMS, Room S2-24-25, 7500 Security Boulevard, Baltimore, Maryland 21244-
1850. Comments received will be available for review at this location,
by appointment, during regular business hours, Monday through Friday
from 9:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m., Eastern Time zone.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Karen Mandelbaum, JD, MHA, Office of
Health Insurance Exchanges, Consumer Information and Insurance Systems
Group, Center for Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight, 7210
Ambassador Road, Baltimore, MD 21244, Office Phone: (410) 786-1762,
[[Page 32257]]
Facsimile: (301) 492-4353, Email: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: CMS proposes to alter the SOR to add
``Relevant Individual(s)'' as a category of individuals whose PII is
necessary for determining the eligibility of applicants for insurance
affordability programs or a certification of exemption under provisions
of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Pub. L. 111-148), as
amended by the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010
(Pub. L. 111-152) (collectively referred to as the Affordable Care Act)
and CMS' implementation of the Affordable Care Act.
For the purpose of this SORN, ``Relevant Individual(s)'' means any
individual listed on an application for an insurance affordability
program or certification of exemption whose PII may bear upon the
eligibility of an individual for an insurance affordability program (as
defined in 42 CFR 435.4 and 45 CFR 155.20),\1\ or certification of
exemption. These individuals include non-applicant household members/
family members, certain non-applicant tax payers or tax filers, and
spouses and parents of applicants. Due to the potential impact of the
Relevant Individuals' PII on an individual's eligibility determination
this category of individuals is added to the SOR.
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\1\ See also 78 FR 8539, 8540.
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Additionally, Routine Use 3 is proposed to be modified to
permit CMS to disclose information about Relevant Individual(s), in
addition to applicants, in order to obtain information from other
Federal and State agencies and third party data sources that provide
information to CMS, pursuant to agreements with CMS, for purposes of
determining eligibility of applicants to enroll in qualified health
plans (QHP) through an Exchange, in insurance affordability programs,
or for a certification of exemption from the individual responsibility
requirement. Routine Use 8 is proposed to be modified to
enable CMS to provide information about Relevant Individual(s), in
addition to applicants, to application filers who are filing on behalf
of those applicants for whom an eligibility determination will require
information about the Relevant Individual(s).
The proposed changes require the following alterations to sections
of the notice.
1. Categories of Individuals Covered by the System: Remove the
``and'' before ``(7)'' and add the following at the end of this
section:
``and (8) Individuals, including non-applicant household members/family
members, non-applicant tax payers or tax filers, and spouses and
parents of applicants, who are listed on the application and whose PII
may bear upon a determination of the eligibility of an individual for
an insurance affordability program and for certifications of exemption
from the individual responsibility requirement. Such individuals will
hereafter be referred to as ``Relevant Individual(s)''.''
2. Categories of Records in the System: Add the following to the
end of the first paragraph of this section:
``The system will collect and maintain information pertaining to
Relevant Individual(s) that includes the following: First name, last
name, middle initial, permanent residential address, date of birth, SSN
(if the Relevant Individual has one or is required to provide it as
specified in 45 CFR 155.305(f)(6)), taxpayer status, gender, residency,
relationship to applicant, employer information, and household income,
including tax information from the IRS, income information from the
Social Security Administration, and financial information from other
third party sources.''
3. Purpose(s) of the System: Replace the first sentence of the
first paragraph of this section with the following sentence:
``The purpose of this system is to collect, create, use and disclose
PII about individuals who apply for eligibility determinations for
enrollment in a QHP through the Exchange, for insurance affordability
programs, and for certifications of exemption from the individual
responsibility requirement and on Relevant Individual(s) whose PII may
bear upon a determination of the eligibility of an individual for an
insurance affordability program and for certifications of exemption
from the individual responsibility requirement.''
4. Routine Use 3: Delete entry and replace with:
``To disclose information about applicants and Relevant Individual(s)
in order to obtain information from other Federal agencies and State
agencies and third party data sources that provide information to CMS,
pursuant to agreements with CMS, for purposes of determining the
eligibility of applicants to enroll in QHPs through an Exchange, in
insurance affordability programs, or for a certification of exemption
from the individual responsibility requirement.''
5. Routine Use 8: Delete entry and replace with:
``To provide information about applicants and Relevant Individual(s) to
applicants/enrollees, authorized representatives of applicants/
enrollees, and application filers, who are filing on behalf of those
applicants, when relevant and necessary to determine eligibility for
enrollment in a QHP through an Exchange, insurance affordability
programs, or a certification of exemption from the individual
responsibility requirement.''
The information collected by this system and the purposes for which
it is used and disclosed by CMS are described in the modifications to
the SORN as stated above.
Michelle Snyder,
Deputy Chief Operating Officer, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid
Services.
[FR Doc. 2013-12691 Filed 5-28-13; 8:45 am]
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