[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 81 (Thursday, April 26, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 18397-18398]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-08746]
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DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS
Privacy Act of 1974; Matching Program
AGENCY: Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).
ACTION: Notice of a new matching program.
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SUMMARY: Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552a, the Privacy Act of 1974, as
amended, and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Guidelines on
the Conduct of Matching Programs, notice is hereby given that the
Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) intends to conduct a computer
matching program with the Social Security Administration (SSA). Data
from the proposed match will be used to verify the earned income of
nonservice-connected veterans, and those veterans who are zero percent
service-connected (noncompensable), whose eligibility for VA medical
care is based on their inability to defray the cost of medical care.
These veterans supply household income information that includes their
spouses and dependents at the time of application for VA health care
benefits.
DATES: Comments on this matching program must be received no later than
May 29, 2018. If no public comment is received during the period
allowed for comment or unless otherwise published in the Federal
Register by VA, the new agreement will become effective a minimum of 30
days after date of publication in the Federal Register or April 9,
2018, whichever is later. If VA receives public comments, VA shall
review the comments to determine whether any changes to the notice are
necessary. This matching program will be valid for 18 months from the
effective date of this notice.
ADDRESSES: Written comments may be submitted through
www.Regulations.gov; by mail or hand-delivery to Director, Regulation
Policy and Management (00REG), Department of Veterans Affairs, 810
Vermont Ave. NW, Room 1064, Washington, DC 20420; or by fax to (202)
273-9026 (not a toll-free number). Comments should indicate that they
are submitted in response to SSA-VA/VHA CMA #1052. Copies of comments
received will be available for public inspection in the Office of
Regulation Policy and Management, Room 1063B, between the hours of 8:00
a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday (except holidays). Please
call (202) 461-4902 for an appointment. (This is not a toll-free
number.) In addition, comments may be viewed online at
www.Regulations.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: LeRoy F. Garcia, Acting Director,
Health Eligibility Center (HEC), (404) 848-5300 (this is not a toll
free number).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Department of Veterans Affairs has
statutory authorization under 38 U.S.C. 5317, 38 U.S.C. 5106, 26 U.S.C.
6103(l)(7)(D)(viii) and 5 U.S.C. 552a to establish matching agreements
and request and use income information from other agencies for purposes
of verification of income for determining eligibility for benefits. 38
U.S.C. 1710(a)(2)(G), 1710(a)(3), and 1710(b) identify those veterans
whose basic eligibility for medical care benefits is dependent upon
their financial status. Eligibility for nonservice-connected and zero
percent noncompensable service-connected veterans is determined based
on the veteran's inability to defray the expenses for necessary care as
defined in 38 U.S.C. 1722. This determination can affect their
responsibility to participate in the cost of their care through
copayments and their assignment to an enrollment priority group. The
goal of this match is to obtain SSA earned income information data
needed for the income verification process. The VA records involved in
the match are ``Enrollment and Eligibility Records--VA'' (147VA16). The
SSA records are from the Earnings Recording and Self-Employment Income
System, SSA/OEEAS 09-60-0059 and Master Files of Social Security Number
Holders and SSN Applications, SSA/OEEAS, 60-0058, (referred to as ``the
Numident''). A copy of this notice has been sent to both Houses of
Congress and OMB.
Participating Agencies: The Social Security Administration is the
source agency, and the Department of Veterans Affairs is the recipient
agency.
Authority for Conducting the Matching Program: Public Law 101-508,
Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act, as amended, and Public Law 104-262,
[[Page 18398]]
Veterans Health Care Amendments Act, grant VA the authority to verify
income data furnished by certain veteran applicants. This agreement is
executed under the Privacy Act of 1974, 5 United States Code (U.S.C.)
552a, as amended by the Computer Matching and Privacy Protection Act of
1988, and the regulations and guidance promulgated thereunder. Legal
authority for the disclosures under this agreement is 38 U.S.C. 5106
and 5317, and 26 U.S.C. 6103(l)(7)(D)(viii). Under 38 U.S.C. 1710, VA/
VHA has a statutory obligation to collect income information from
certain applicants for medical care and to use that income data to
determine the appropriate eligibility category for the applicant's
medical care. 26 U.S.C. 6103(l)(7) authorizes the disclosure of tax
return information with respect to net earnings from self-employment
and wages, as defined by relevant sections of the Internal Revenue Code
(IRC), to Federal, state, and local agencies administering certain
benefit programs under Title 38 of the U.S.C.
Purpose(s): This computer matching agreement sets forth the terms,
conditions, and safeguards under which SSA will disclose tax return
information to VA, Veterans Health Administration (VHA) to be used to
verify Veteran's employment status and earnings to determine
eligibility for its health benefit programs.
Categories of Individuals: Veterans who have applied for or have
received VA health care benefits under Title 38, United States Code,
Chapter 17; Veterans' spouses and other dependents as provided for in
other provisions of Title 38, United States Code.
Categories of Records: Federal Tax Information (FTI) and social
security information generated as a result of computer matching
activity with records from the IRS and SSA. The records may also
include, but are not limited to, correspondence between HEC, Veterans,
their family members, and Veterans' representatives such as Veterans
Service Officers (VSO); copies of death certificates; Notice of
Separation; disability award letters; IRS documents (e.g., Form 1040s,
Form 1099s, W-2s); workers compensation forms; and various annual
earnings statements, as well as pay stubs and miscellaneous receipts.
System(s) of Records: SSA will initially access and verify
submitted SSNs through the Master Files of Social Security Number
Holders and SSN Applications, 60-0058, (the Enumeration System), last
fully published on December 29, 2010 (75 FR 82121), and amended on July
5, 2013 (78 FR 40542), and February 13, 2014 (79 FR 8780) for
verification purposes. SSA will subsequently run those verified SSNs
against systems records to extract and disclose the necessary tax
return information from the Earnings Recording and Self-Employment
Income System, 60-0059, last fully published on January 11, 2006 (71 FR
1819), and amended on July 5, 2013 (78 FR 40542). VA/VHA will match SSA
information with information extracted from its system of records (SOR)
``Income Verification Records--VA'' (89VA10NB). Routine use nineteen
(19) permits VA/VHA to disclose identifying information, including
SSNs, concerning veterans, their spouses, and dependents of veterans to
Federal agencies for purposes of conducting computer matches to
determine or verify eligibility of certain veterans who are receiving
VA/VHA medical care under Title 38 of the U.S.C. The SORs involved in
this computer matching program have routine uses permitting the
disclosures needed to conduct this match.
Signing Authority
The Senior Agency Official for Privacy, or designee, approved this
document and authorized the undersigned to sign and submit the document
to the Office of the Federal Register for publication electronically as
an official document of the Department of Veterans Affairs. John
Oswalt, Executive Director for Privacy, Department of Veterans Affairs
approved this document on March 19, 2018 for publication.
Dated: April 23, 2018.
Kathleen M. Mazwell,
Program Analyst, VA Privacy Service, Office of Privacy Information and
Identity Protection, Office of Quality, Privacy and Risk, Office of
Information and Technology, Department of Veterans Affairs.
[FR Doc. 2018-08746 Filed 4-25-18; 8:45 am]
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