Section 109(a) of the Tax Relief and Health Care Act of 2006 (TRHCA) (Pub. L. 109-432) amended section 1833(t) of the Social Security Act by adding a new subsection (17) that affects the payment rate update applicable to Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS) payments for services furnished by hospitals in outpatient settings on or after January 1, 2009. Section 1833(t)(17)(A) of the Act, which applies to hospitals as defined under section 1886(d)(1)(B) of the Act, requires that hospitals that fail to report data required for quality measures selected by the Secretary in the form and manner required by the Secretary under section 1833(t)(17)(B) of the Act will incur a reduction in their annual payment update (APU) factor to the hospital outpatient department fee schedule by 2.0 percentage points.
Hospital OQR Program payment determinations are made based on Hospital OQR Program quality measure data reported and supporting forms submitted by hospitals as specified through rulemaking. To reduce burden, a variety of different data collection mechanisms are employed, with every consideration taken to employ existing data and data collection systems.
In the CY 2019 OPPS/ASC final rule, we are finalizing the removal of the one NHSN measure (OP-27) for the CY 2020 payment determination and subsequent years. As explained above, although the burden associated with NHSN measures is accounted for under a separate PRA Package, OMB Control Number 0920-0666, the burden associated with OP-27 was included in our previous total burden estimates under this OMB Control Number. We also finalize the removal of one chart-abstracted measure (OP-5); three claims-based measures (OP-9, OP-11, and OP-14); and three web-based measures (OP-12, OP-17, and OP-30) for the CY 2021 payment determination and subsequent years.
In total, for the CY 2021 payment determination for the Hospital OQR Program, our estimates show an annual reduction in hourly burden of 833,846 hours (2,221,516 hours approved â 1,387,670 total estimated hours for CY 2021), and a financial reduction of approximately $30.5 million ($81,263,055 approved â $50,760,983 total estimated cost for CY 2021).
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.