[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 3 (Wednesday, January 5, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 498-499]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-122]
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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Health Care Financing Administration
Statement of Organization, Functions, and Delegations of
Authority
Part F of the Statement of Organization, Functions, and Delegations
of Authority for the Department of Health and Human Services, Health
Care Financing Administration (HCFA), (Federal Register, Vol. 62, No.
85, pp. 24122, 24123, and 24124, dated Friday, May 2, 1997) is amended
to update the Office of Communications and Operations Support (OCOS)
and the Center for Beneficiary Services (CBS) functional statements to
reflect the transfer of the Agency's beneficiary-centered
communications functions from OCOS to CBS. CBS made additional changes
to the organization's functional statement to more accurately reflect
the Center's responsibilities.
The specific amendments to Part F are described below.
Section F.20.A.5. (Functions), paragraph 6, Office of
Communications and Operations Support (FAL) and paragraph 10, Center
for Beneficiary Services (FAQ), are amended by deleting both
organizations' functional statements in their entirety and replacing
them with the following:
6. Office of Communications and Operations Support (FAL)
Serves a neutral broker coordination role, including
scheduling meetings and briefings for the Administrator and
coordinating communications between and among central and regional
offices, in order to ensure that emerging issues are identified early,
all concerned components are directly and fully involved in policy
development/decision-making and that all points of view are presented.
Coordinates and monitors assigned agency initiatives which
are generally tactical, short-term and cross-component in nature (e.g.,
legislative implementation).
Provides operational and analytical support to the
Executive Council.
Manages speaking and meeting requests for or on behalf of
the
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Administrator, Deputy Administrator, and Executive Associate
Administrator and researches and writes speeches.
Coordinates agency-wide communication policies for
correspondence, manuals, regulations, and responses to audits.
Coordinates the preparation of manuals and other policy
instructions to insure accurate and consistent implementation of the
Agency's programs.
Manages the Agency's system for developing, clearing and
tracking regulations, setting regulation priorities and corresponding
work agendas; coordinates the review of regulations received for
concurrence from departmental and other government agencies and
develops routine and special reports on the Agency's regulatory
activities.
Manages the agency-wide clearance system to insure
appropriate involvement from agency components and serves as a primary
focal point for liaison with the Executive Secretariat in the Office of
the Secretary.
Operates the agency-wide correspondence tracking and
control system and provides guidance and technical assistance on
standards for content of correspondence and memoranda.
Provides management and administrative support to the
Office of the Attorney Advisor and staff.
Acts as audit liaison with the General Accounting Office
(GAO) and the HHS Office of Inspector General (OIG).
Develops and maintains Agency-wide executive management
information reporting and tracking systems (including the Management
Reform Initiative and Reports to Congress) significant item reports,
legislative (Balanced Budget Act) implementation, and management
information reports for the Office of the Administrator.
Acts as the committee management official for HCFA under
the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA).
Develops standard processes for all HCFA FACA committees
and provides operational and logistical support to HCFA components for
conferences and on all matters relating to Federal Advisory Committees.
10. Center for Beneficiary Services (FAQ)
Serves as the focal point for all Agency interactions with
beneficiaries, their families, care givers, health care providers, and
others operating on their behalf concerning improving beneficiary
ability to make informed decisions about their health and about program
benefits administered by the Agency. These activities include strategic
and implementation planning, execution, assessment and communications.
Assesses beneficiary and other consumer needs, develops
and oversees activities targeted to meet these needs, and documents and
disseminates results of these activities. These activities focus on
agency beneficiary service goals and objectives and include:
development of baseline and ongoing monitoring information concerning
populations affected by agency programs; development of performance
measures and assessment programs; design and implementation of
beneficiary services initiatives; development of communications
channels and feedback mechanisms within the Agency and between the
Agency and its beneficiaries and their representatives; and close
collaboration with other Federal and state agencies and other
stakeholders with a shared interest in better serving our
beneficiaries.
Develops national policy for all Medicare Parts A, B, and
C beneficiary eligibility, enrollment, entitlement; premium billing and
collection; coordination of benefits; rights and protections; dispute
resolution process; as well as policy for managed care enrollment and
disenrollment to assure the effective administration of the Medicare
program, including the development of related legislative proposals.
Oversees the development of privacy and confidentiality
policies pertaining to the collection, use, and release to individually
identifiable data.
Coordinates beneficiary-centered information, education,
and service initiatives.
Develops and tests new and innovative methods to improve
beneficiary aspects of health care delivery systems through Title
XVIII, XIX, and XXI demonstrations and other creative approaches to
meeting the needs of agency beneficiaries.
Assures, in coordination with other centers and offices,
the activities of Medicare contractors, including managed care plans,
agents, and state agencies meet the Agency's requirements on matters
concerning beneficiaries and other consumers.
Plans and administers the contracts and grants related to
beneficiary and customer service, including the State Health Insurance
Assistance Program grants.
Formulates strategies to advance overall beneficiary
communications goals and coordinates the design and publication process
for all beneficiary-centered information, education, and service
initiatives.
Builds a range of partnerships with other national
organizations for effective consumer outreach, awareness, and education
efforts in support of Agency programs.
Serves as the HCFA lead for Medicare carrier and fiscal
intermediary management, oversight, budget, and performance issues.
Functions as HCFA liaison for all Medicare carrier and
fiscal intermediary program issues and, in close collaboration with the
regional offices and other HCFA components, coordinates the agency-wide
contractor activities.
Manages contractor instructions, workload, and change
management process.
Collaborates with other HCFA components to establish
ongoing performance expectations for Medicare contractors (carriers and
fiscal intermediaries) consistent with the agency's goals; interpret,
evaluate, and provide information on Medicare contractors in terms of
ongoing compliance with performance requirements and expectations;
evaluate compliance with issued instructions; evaluate contractor-
specific performance and/or integrity issues; and evaluate/monitor
corrective action, if necessary.
Manages, monitors, and provides oversight of contractor
(carriers and fiscal intermediaries) transition activities including
replacement of departing contractors and the resulting transfer of
workload, functional realignments, and geographic workload carveouts.
Maintains and provides accurate contractor specific
information. Develops and implements long-term fee-for-service
contractor strategy, tactical plans, and other planning documents.
Serves as lead on current/proposed legislation in order to
determine impact on contractor operations.
Dated: December 15, 1999.
Nancy-Ann Min DeParle,
Administrator, Health Care Financing Administration.
[FR Doc. 00-122 Filed 1-4-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4120-01-P