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AGENCY:

Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, HHS.

In compliance with the requirement of section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) (formerly known as the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA)), Department of Health and Human Services, is publishing the following summary of proposed collections for public comment. Interested persons are invited to send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including any of the following subjects: (1) The necessity and utility of the proposed information collection for the proper performance of the agency's functions; (2) the accuracy of the estimated burden; (3) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (4) the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology to minimize the information collection burden.

Type of Information Collection Request: Revision of a currently approved collection; Title of Information Collection: External Quality Review of Medicaid MCOs and Supporting Regulations in 42 CFR 438.352,438.360, 438.362, and 438.36; Form No.: CMS-R-305 (OMB# 0938-0786); Use: The results of Medicare reviews, Medicare accreditation surveys, and Medicaid external quality reviews will be used by States in assessing the quality of care provided to Medicaid beneficiaries provided by managed care organizations or to provide information on the quality of the care provided to the general public upon request. Three of the protocol activities are mandatory and six are optional; Frequency: Annually; Affected Public: Business or other for-profit, State, local or tribal govt.; Number of Respondents: 542; Total Annual Responses: 16,237; Total Annual Hours: 638,324.

To obtain copies of the supporting statement and any related forms for the proposed paperwork collections referenced above, access CMS's Web Site address at http://www.hcfa.gov/​regs/​prdact95.htm, or E-mail your request, including your address, phone number, OMB number, and HCFA document identifier, to Paperwork@hcfa.gov, or call the Reports Clearance Office on (410) 786-1326. Written comments and recommendations for the proposed information collections must be mailed within 60 days of this notice directly to the CMS Paperwork Clearance Officer designated at the following address: CMS, Office of Information Services, Security and Standards Group, Division of CMS Enterprise Standards, Attention: Julie Brown, CMS-R-305, Room N2-14-26, 7500 Security Boulevard, Baltimore, Maryland 21244-1850.

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