Centers for Medicare & Medicaid
Response to Public Comments Received for the
Evaluation of the Medical Adult Day Care Services Demonstration
CMS - 10204
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) received comments from American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) related to CMS – 10204 request for data collection for the Evaluation of the Medical Adult Day Care Services (MADC) Demonstration, phase one.
Comment:
AARP suggested that Medicare beneficiaries provide written consent to the in-home interviews in this MADC demonstration evaluation.
Response:
CMS appreciates the recommendation that Medicare beneficiaries provide written consent to the in-home interviews that will be conducted as part of phase one in this evaluation. Please note that Medicare beneficiaries have given prior written consent to participate in the MADC demonstration. CMS acknowledges the need that beneficiaries are provided with accurate and detailed information about participation in CMS sponsored evaluations. The introductory letter for the MADC interview includes an informed consent form that provides the beneficiary with specific information about the MADC study as well as their rights as a study participant should they choose to participate or decline to participate in the in-home interview. CMS utilizes a standard, uniform procedure for all surveys and interviews it conducts for various evaluations and collection of beneficiary data. This procedure entails a letter sent to potential participants that is drafted and approved by the CMS Privacy Officer. This letter explains the purpose of the study and invites participation. The letter is followed up by a phone call to see if the beneficiary agrees to participate. During this call contractors who work on behalf of CMS recite a scripted verbal informed consent and the beneficiary is notified that they have every right to participate or refuse to participate with no consequences to their Medicare benefits. Further, at the in-person interview, the CMS contractor again confirms that a beneficiary agreed to participate in the interview. However, if the beneficiary declines to participate, the contractor leaves the home. Therefore to be consistent with current CMS survey and interview protocols, CMS will continue to follow the methodology as outlined in this package.
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Comment:
AARP also requested that in order to protect Medicare beneficiaries from fraud, CMS not ask about unnecessary personal or financial information, such as Social Security numbers in the introductory letter sent by CMS.
Response:
CMS shares AARP’s concerns about maintaining beneficiary privacy and protecting beneficiaries from fraud. The introductory letter located in Appendix I of CMS – 10204, illustrates that there are no requests for such private information. Further, beneficiaries will not be asked to provide this type of information during the in-home interview.
| File Type | application/msword |
| File Title | Centers for Medicare & Medicaid |
| Author | CMS |
| Last Modified By | CMS |
| File Modified | 2007-01-25 |
| File Created | 2007-01-25 |