Notice2023-03501
Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Request and Comment Request
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
February 21, 2023
Issuing agencies
Social Security Administration
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 88 Issue 34 (Tuesday, February 21, 2023)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 34 (Tuesday, February 21, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 10614-10616]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2023-03501]
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SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION
[Docket No: SSA-2023-0004]
Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Request and
Comment Request
The Social Security Administration (SSA) publishes a list of
information collection packages requiring clearance by the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) in compliance with Public Law 104-13, the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, effective October 1, 1995. This notice
includes revisions of OMB-approved information collections.
SSA is soliciting comments on the accuracy of the agency's burden
estimate; the need for the information; its practical utility; ways to
enhance its quality, utility, and clarity; and ways to minimize burden
on respondents, including the use of automated collection techniques or
other forms of information technology. Mail, email, or fax your
comments and recommendations on the information collection(s) to the
OMB Desk Officer and SSA Reports Clearance Officer at the following
addresses or fax numbers.
(OMB) Office of Management and Budget, Attn: Desk Officer for SSA,
Comments: <a href="https://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain">https://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain</a>. Submit your
comments online referencing Docket ID Number [SSA-2023-0004].
(SSA) Social Security Administration, OLCA, Attn: Reports Clearance
Director, 3100 West High Rise, 6401 Security Blvd., Baltimore, MD
21235, Fax: 833-410-1631, Email address: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#b5fae79be7d0c5dac7c1c69bf6d9d0d4c7d4dbd6d0f5c6c6d49bd2dac3"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="054a572b5760756a7771762b4669606477646b6660457676642b626a73">[email protected]</span></a>.
Or you may submit your comments online through <a href="https://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain">https://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain</a>, referencing Docket ID Number [SSA-2023-0004].
I. The information collection below is pending at SSA. SSA will
submit it to OMB within 60 days from the date of this notice. To be
sure we consider your comments, we must receive them no later than
April 24, 2023. Individuals can obtain copies of the collection
instrument by writing to the above email address.
Evidence From Excluded Medical Sources of Evidence--20 CFR
404.1503b and 416.903b--0960-0803. Section 812 of the Bipartisan Budget
Act of 2015 (BBA), ``Exclusion of certain medical sources of
evidence,'' mandates that the Social Security Administration (SSA)
exclude evidence in disability decisions from certain medical sources.
BBA Section 812 amended section 223(d)(5) of the Social Security Act
(Act) by adding a subsection ``C.'' Section 223(d)(5)(C)(i) of the Act,
as amended, requires SSA to exclude evidence (except for good cause)
from medical sources: (1) convicted of a felony under sections 208 or
1632 of the Act; (2) excluded from participating in any Federal health
care program under section 1128 of the Act; or (3) imposed with a civil
monetary penalty (CMP), assessment, or both, for submitting false
evidence, under section 1129 of the Act. We also implemented section
223(d)(5)(C), as amended, through regulations at 20 CFR 404.1503b and
416.903b of the Code of Federal Regulations. These regulations require
excluded medical sources to self-report their excluded status, in
writing, each time they submit evidence related to a claim for benefits
under Titles II or XVI of the Act. Excluded medical sources' duty to
self-report their excluded status applies to evidence they submit to
SSA directly, or through a representative, claimant, or other
individual or entity. As needed, SSA informs the medical sources we
suspect should be excluded of these requirements through a Fact Sheet
we send to them via mail, or which they can find on our website where
we list the regulatory requirements under BBA section 812. In addition,
along with the Fact Sheet and website, we provide sample statements as
templates the affected medical sources can use to create their own
written statements as required under our regulations. The respondents
for this collection are medical sources that: (1) meet one of the
exclusionary categories set forth in section 223(d)(5)(C)(i) of the
Act, as amended; (2) furnish evidence related to a claim for benefits
under Titles II or XVI of the Act; and (3) had failed to self-identify
as an excluded source of medical evidence as required in section
223(d(5)(C)(i).
Type of Request: Revision of an OMB-approved information
collection.
[[Page 10615]]
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Average
Average burden Estimated theoretical Total annual
Modality of completion Number of Frequency of Number of per response total annual hourly cost opportunity
respondents response responses (minutes) burden (hours) amount cost (dollars)
(dollars) * **
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404.1503b(c), 416.903b(c)........ 200 3 600 20 200 * $43.80 ** $8,760
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* We based this figure on the average Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations worker's hourly wages, as reported by Bureau of Labor
Statistics data (Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations (<a href="http://bls.gov">bls.gov</a>)).
** This figure does not represent actual costs that SSA is imposing on recipients of Social Security payments to complete this application; rather,
these are theoretical opportunity costs for the additional time respondents will spend to complete the application. There is no actual charge to
respondents to complete the application.
II. SSA submitted the information collections below to OMB for
clearance. Your comments regarding these information collections would
be most useful if OMB and SSA receive them 30 days from the date of
this publication. To be sure we consider your comments, we must receive
them no later than March 23, 2023. Individuals can obtain copies of
these OMB clearance packages by writing to
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#c48b96ea96a1b4abb6b0b7ea87a8a1a5b6a5aaa7a184b7b7a5eaa3abb2"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="84cbd6aad6e1f4ebf6f0f7aac7e8e1e5f6e5eae7e1c4f7f7e5aae3ebf2">[email protected]</span></a>.
1. Incorporation by Reference of Oral Findings of Fact and
Rationale in Wholly Favorable Written Decisions (Bench Decision
Regulation)--20 CFR 404.953 and 416.1453--0960-0694. If a judge makes a
wholly favorable oral decision, including all the findings and
rationale for the decision for a claimant of Title II or Title XVI
payments, at an administrative appeals hearing, the judge sends a
Notice of Decision (Form HA-82), as the records from the oral hearing
preclude the need for a written decision. We call this the
incorporation-by-reference process. In addition, as part of the
information we include on the HA-82, if the involved parties want a
record of the oral decision, they may submit a written request for
these records. As explained to the respondent on the HA-82, SSA
collects identifying information under the aegis of sections 20 CFR
404.953 and 416.1453 of the Code of Federal Regulations to determine
how to send interested individuals written records of a favorable
incorporation-by-reference oral decision made at an administrative
review hearing. Since SSA did not create a form for the public to use
to request a written record of the decision, the involved parties send
SSA their contact information and reference the hearing for which they
would like a record to the hearings office indicated on the HA-82. SSA
employees collect this information only once. The respondents are
applicants for Disability Insurance Benefits and Supplemental Security
Income (SSI) payments based on disability, or their representatives as
applicable, who receive a fully favorable oral decision under the
regulations cited above, and who choose to request a copy of the
records for this decision.
Type of Request: Revision of an OMB-approved information
collection.
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Average
Average burden Estimated theoretical Total annual
Modality of completion Number of Frequency of per response total annual hourly cost opportunity
respondents response (minutes) burden (hours) amount cost (dollars)
(dollars) * **
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HA-82............................................. 2,500 1 5 208 * $11.70 ** $2,434
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* We based this figure on the average DI payments based on SSA's current FY 2022 data (<a href="https://www.ssa.gov/legislation/2022factsheet.pdf">https://www.ssa.gov/legislation/2022factsheet.pdf</a>).
** This figure does not represent actual costs that SSA is imposing on recipients of Social Security payments to complete this application; rather,
these are theoretical opportunity costs for the additional time respondents will spend to complete the application. There is no actual charge to
respondents to complete the application.
2. Request for Waiver of Special Veterans Benefits (SVB)
Overpayment Recovery or Change in Repayment Rate--20 CFR 408.900-
408.950-0960-0698. Title VIII of the Social Security Act (Act) requires
SSA to pay a monthly benefit to qualified World War II veterans who
reside outside the United States. When SSA notes an overpayment in this
SVB, we inform the beneficiary. As part of the information we send, SSA
explains how the beneficiary can request a waiver of recovery of the
overpayment or a change in the repayment rate. SSA requests the
respondent to submit Form SSA-2032-BK via mail to ensure SSA obtains
the information necessary to establish whether the claimant meets the
waiver of recovery provisions of the overpayment, and to determine the
repayment rate if we do not waive repayment. Respondents are SVB
beneficiaries who have overpayments on their Title VIII record and wish
to file a claim for waiver of recovery or change in repayment rate.
Type of Request: Revision of an OMB-approved information
collection.
[[Page 10616]]
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Average
Average burden Estimated theoretical Total annual
Modality of completion Number of Frequency of per response total annual hourly cost opportunity
respondents response (minutes) burden (hours) amount cost (dollars)
(dollars) * **
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SSA-2032-BK....................................... 34 1 120 68 * $28.01 ** $1,905
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* We based this figure on the average U.S. worker's hourly wages, as reported by Bureau of Labor Statistics data (<a href="https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_nat.htm">https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_nat.htm</a>).
** This figure does not represent actual costs that SSA is imposing on recipients of Social Security payments to complete this application; rather,
these are theoretical opportunity costs for the additional time respondents will spend to complete the application. There is no actual charge to
respondents to complete the application.
3. Methods for Conducting Personal Conferences When Waiver of
Recovery of a Title II or Title XVI Overpayment Cannot Be Approved--20
CFR 404.506 & 416.557-0960-0769. SSA conducts personal conferences when
we cannot approve a waiver of recovery of a Title II or Title XVI
overpayment. The Act and our regulatory citations require SSA to give
overpaid Social Security beneficiaries and SSI recipients the right to
request a waiver of recovery and automatically schedule a personal
conference if we cannot approve their request for waiver of
overpayment. We conduct these conferences face-to-face, via telephone,
or through video teleconferences. Social Security beneficiaries and SSI
recipients or their representatives may provide documents to
demonstrate they are without fault in causing the overpayment and do
not have the ability to repay the debt. They may submit these documents
by completing Form SSA-632, Request for Waiver of Overpayment Recovery
(OMB No. 0960-0037); Form SSA-795, Statement of Claimant or Other
Person (OMB No. 0960-0045); or through a personal statement submitted
by mail, telephone, personal contact, or other suitable method, such as
fax or email. This information collection satisfies the requirements
for request for waiver of recovery of an overpayment and allows
individuals to pursue further levels of administrative appeal via
personal conference. Respondents are Social Security Title II
beneficiaries and Title XVI SSI recipients or their representatives
seeking reconsideration of an SSA waiver decision.
Type of Request: Revision of an OMB-approved information
collection.
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Average wait
Average Estimated Average time in field Total annual
Number of Frequency of burden per total annual theoretical office or for opportunity
Modality of completion respondents response response burden hourly cost teleservice cost
(minutes) (hours) amount centers (dollars) ***
(dollars) * (minutes) **
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Title II, Personal Conference, 404.506: 23,410 1 45 17,558 * $11.70 ** 21 *** $301,298
submittal of documents, additional
mitigating financial information, and
verifications for consideration at
personal conferences...................
Title XVI, Personal Conference, 416.557: 34,190 1 45 25,643 * 11.70 ** 21 *** 440,037
submittal of documents, additional
mitigating financial information, and
verifications at personal conferences..
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Totals.............................. 57,600 .............. .............. 43,201 .............. .............. *** 741,335
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* We based this figure on the average DI payments based on SSA's current FY 2022 data (<a href="https://www.ssa.gov/legislation/2022factsheet.pdf">https://www.ssa.gov/legislation/2022factsheet.pdf</a>).
** We based this figure by averaging the average FY 2023 wait times for field offices and teleservice centers, based on SSA's current management
information data.
*** This figure does not represent actual costs that SSA is imposing on recipients of Social Security payments to complete this application; rather,
these are theoretical opportunity costs for the additional time respondents will spend to complete the application. There is no actual charge to
respondents to complete the application.
Dated: February 15, 2023.
Naomi Sipple,
Reports Clearance Officer, Social Security Administration.
[FR Doc. 2023-03501 Filed 2-17-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4191-02-P
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