Federal Register: June 11, 2001 (Volume 66, Number 112)
DOCID: FR Doc 01-14599
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Inspector General Office, Health and Human Services Department
NOTICE: NOTICES
ACTION: Health care programs; fraud and abuse:
DOCUMENT ACTION: Notice.
SUBJECT CATEGORY:
Healthcare Integrity and Protection Data Bank: Change in User Fees
EFFECTIVE DATES: This increase will be effective on October 1, 2001.
DOCUMENT SUMMARY:
In accordance with final regulations implementing the
Healthcare Integrity and Protection Data Bank (HIPDB) published in the
Federal Register on October 26, 1999 (64 FR 57740), the Department is
authorized to assess a fee on all requests for information, except
requests from Federal agencies. In accordance with Sec. 61.13 of the
HIPDB regulations, the Department is announcing a one dollar increase
from $4 to $5in the fee charged for queries submitted by authorized entities to query the data bank.
[[Page 31246]]
SUMMARY:
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act—; Healthcare Integrity and Protection Data Bank; user fee increase,
SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION
User Fee Amount
Section 1128E(d)(2) of the Social Security Act (the Act), as added by section 221(a) of the Health Insurance Portability and
Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996, specifically authorizes the
establishment of fees for the costs of processing requests for
disclosure and for providing such information, and the final
regulations at 45 CFR part 61 set forth the criteria and procedures for
information to be reported to and disclosed by the HIPDB. The Act
requires that the Department recover the full costs of operating the
HIPDB through user fees. In determining any changes in the amount of
the user fee, the Department is employing the criteria set forth in Sec. 61.13(b) of the HIPDB regulations.
Specifically, Sec. 61.13(b) states that the amount of each fee will be determined based on the following criteria:
The current fee structure of $4 for each separate query submitted
by authorized entities was announced in a Federal Register notice on
March 3, 2000 (65 FR 11589). Based on the above criteria and our
analysis of the comparative costs of the various methods for filing and
paying for queries, the Department is now increasing the fee for each
query submitted by authorized entities by one dollarfrom $4 to $5.\1\
\1\ As part of its obligations under the Privacy Act, the Department previously announced a $10 fee for health care
practitioners, providers or suppliers to selfquery (64 FR 58851; November 1, 1999).
When an authorized entity query is submitted for information on one or more health care practitioners, providers or suppliers, the appropriate total fee will be $5 multiplied by the number of individuals or organizations about whom information is being requested.
In order to minimize administrative costs, the Department will accept queries submitted by authorized entities by credit card or electronic funds transfer. The Department will continue to accept payment for selfqueries only by credit card. The HIPDB accepts Visa, MasterCard, and Discover. To submit queries, registered entities (including law enforcement agencies) must use the HIPDB web site at www.npdbhipdb.com.
The Department will continue to review the user fee periodically,
and will revise it as necessary. Any future changes in the fee and its
effective date will be announced through notice in the Federal Register.
Examples
Fee per
name in
Query method query, by Examples method of
payment
Authorized Entity query........... $5.00 10 names in query: 10 x $5 = $50.00.
Selfquery........................ $10.00 10 selfqueries 10 x 10 = $100.
Dated: May 31, 2001.
Michael F. Mangano,
Acting Inspector General.
[FR Doc. 0114599 Filed 6801; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 415201U