Home health agencies (HHAs) are
required to provide written notice to original Medicare
beneficiaries under various circumstances involving the initiation,
reduction, or termination of services consistent with Home Health
Agencies Conditions of Participation (COPs) as set forth in section
1891 of the Social Security Act (the Act) and subsequent to the
decision of the US Court of Appeals (2nd Circuit) in Lutwin v.
Thompson. The notice used to fulfill these requirements is the
HHCCN.
US Code:
42
USC 1395bbb Name of Law: CONDITIONS OF PARTICIPATION FOR HOME
HEALTH AGENCIES; HOME HEALTH QUALITY
US Code: 42 USC 1395bbb Name of Law:
CONDITIONS OF PARTICIPATION FOR HOME HEALTH AGENCIES; HOME HEALTH
QUALITY
The HHCCN has been minimally
changed with this submission to include language informing
beneficiaries of their rights under Section 504 of the
Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Section 504) by alerting the
beneficiary to CMS’s nondiscrimination practices and the
availability of alternate forms of this notice if needed. There are
no substantive changes to this form. There are minor changes to the
form instructions. The number of HHCCNs delivered annually is
estimated to be 13,764,434. The number of HHCCNs delivered annually
in the 2013 submission for this collection was 14,126,428, which
decreased by 361,994 HHCCNs. The annual hour burden associated with
this collection is estimated to be 916,711 hours. The annual hour
burden associated in the 2013 submission for this collection was
941,385 hours which decreases the annual hour burden by 24,674. The
176,755 decrease in the burden estimates is likely due to a
decrease in the annual number of home health episodes (from
6,897,670 to 6,720,915) which would cause a decrease in the number
of HHCCNs issued annually per respondent.
On behalf of this Federal agency, I certify that
the collection of information encompassed by this request complies
with 5 CFR 1320.9 and the related provisions of 5 CFR
1320.8(b)(3).
The following is a summary of the topics, regarding
the proposed collection of information, that the certification
covers:
(i) Why the information is being collected;
(ii) Use of information;
(iii) Burden estimate;
(iv) Nature of response (voluntary, required for a
benefit, or mandatory);
(v) Nature and extent of confidentiality; and
(vi) Need to display currently valid OMB control
number;
If you are unable to certify compliance with any of
these provisions, identify the item by leaving the box unchecked
and explain the reason in the Supporting Statement.