Notice2026-01005
Agency Information Collection Activities: Submission for OMB Review; 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
January 21, 2026
Issuing agencies
Health and Human Services DepartmentCenters for Medicare & Medicaid Services
Abstract
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is announcing an opportunity for the public to comment on CMS' intention to collect information from the public. Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), federal agencies are required to publish notice in the Federal Register concerning each proposed collection of information, including each proposed extension or reinstatement of an existing collection of information, and to allow a second opportunity for public comment on the notice. Interested persons are invited to send comments regarding the burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including the necessity and utility of the proposed information collection for the proper performance of the agency's functions, the accuracy of the estimated burden, ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected, and the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology to minimize the information collection burden.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 13 (Wednesday, January 21, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 13 (Wednesday, January 21, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 2534-2536]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-01005]
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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
[Document Identifier: CMS-10666, CMS-319, and CMS-10653]
Agency Information Collection Activities: Submission for OMB
Review; Comment Request
AGENCY: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Health and Human
Services (HHS).
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is
announcing an opportunity for the public to comment on CMS' intention
to collect information from the public. Under the Paperwork Reduction
Act of 1995 (PRA), federal agencies are required to publish notice in
the Federal Register concerning each proposed collection of
information, including each proposed extension or reinstatement of an
existing collection of information, and to allow a second opportunity
for public comment on the notice. Interested persons are invited to
send comments regarding the burden estimate or any other aspect of this
collection of information, including the necessity and utility of the
proposed information collection for the proper performance of the
agency's functions, the accuracy of the estimated burden, ways to
enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be
collected, and the use of automated collection techniques or other
forms of information technology to minimize the information collection
burden.
DATES: Comments on the collection(s) of information must be received by
the OMB desk officer by February 20, 2026.
ADDRESSES: Written comments and recommendations for the proposed
information collection should be sent within 30 days of publication of
this notice to <a href="http://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain">www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain</a>. Find this particular
information collection by selecting ``Currently under 30-day Review--
Open for Public Comments'' or by using the search function.
To obtain copies of a supporting statement and any related forms
for the proposed collection(s) summarized in this notice, please access
the CMS PRA website by copying and pasting the following web address
into your web browser: <a href="https://www.cms.gov/Regulations-and-Guidance/Legislation/PaperworkReductionActof1995/PRA-Listing">https://www.cms.gov/Regulations-and-Guidance/Legislation/PaperworkReductionActof1995/PRA-Listing</a>.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: William Parham at (410) 786-4669.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995
(PRA) (44 U.S.C. 3501-3520), federal agencies must obtain approval from
the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for each collection of
information they conduct or sponsor. The term ``collection of
information'' is defined in 44 U.S.C. 3502(3) and 5 CFR 1320.3(c) and
includes agency requests or requirements that members of the public
submit reports, keep records, or provide information to a third party.
Section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the PRA (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)) requires
federal agencies to publish a 30-day notice in the Federal Register
concerning each proposed collection of information,
[[Page 2535]]
including each proposed extension or reinstatement of an existing
collection of information, before submitting the collection to OMB for
approval. To comply with this requirement, CMS is publishing this
notice that summarizes the following proposed collection(s) of
information for public comment.
1. Type of Information Collection Request: Reinstatement with
change of a previously approved collection; Title of Information
Collection: Non-Exchange Entities; Use: The original information
collection request (ICR) that provided the authority for HHS to collect
the information necessary for these requests to deviate was titled Non-
Exchange Entities (0938-1329) and was approved on 5/23/2017. The
original ICR was discontinued on 3/4/2020 due to the concurrent
discontinuation of standardized options in the HHS Notice of Benefit
and Payment Parameters for 2019; Final Rule (2019 Payment Notice).
The ICR that provided HHS the authority to collect the necessary
information to enable web-brokers and issuers using the Classic DE and
EDE pathways to submit a request to deviate from the manner in which
standardized plan options are differentially displayed on
<a href="http://HealthCare.gov">HealthCare.gov</a> was reinstated concurrently with the reintroduction of
standardized plan option requirements in the HHS Notice of Benefit and
Payment Parameters for 2023 Final Rule (2023 Payment Notice). The
standardized plan options that were differentially displayed on
<a href="http://HealthCare.gov">HealthCare.gov</a> and that web-brokers or issuers utilizing the Classic DE
and EDE pathways were required to differentially display were updated
in the HHS Notice of Benefit and Payment Parameters for 2024 Final Rule
(2024 Payment Notice) and HHS Notice of Benefit and Payment Parameters
for 2025 Final Rule (2025 Payment Notice). This ICR serves as a formal
request to reinstate the data collection with change. Form Number: CMS-
10666 (OMB control number: 0938-1329); Frequency: Annually; Affected
Public: Private Sector--Business or other for-profits; Number of
Respondents: 115; Number of Responses: 115; Total Annual Hours: 215.
(For questions regarding this collection, contact Nikolas Berkobien at
(667) 290-9903).
2. Type of Information Collection Request: Reinstatement without
change of a previously approved collection; Title: State Medicaid
Eligibility Quality Control Sample Selection Lists and Supporting
Regulations; Use: Title XIX and title XXI State agencies are required
to submit the MEQC pilot planning document in accordance with Sec.
431.814(b), and the MEQC case level and CAP reports based on pilot
findings in accordance with Sec. Sec. 431.816 and 431.820,
respectively. The primary users of this information are State Medicaid
(and where applicable CHIP) agencies and CMS. State agencies are
expected to use the information collected for continuous quality
improvement purposes. They will identify patterns of error in their
eligibility processing operations and systems and take corrective
actions to address issues and improve the eligibility determination
process. CMS will use the data collected to identify and help those
States that are most in need of technical assistance. CMS will also use
the data set to identify potential weaknesses in Federal regulations.
It will propose regulatory modifications designed to ensure that there
are more effective quality controls in the eligibility determination
process.; Form Number: CMS-319 (OMB control number: 0938-0147);
Frequency: Occasionally; Affected Public: State, Local, or Tribal
Governments; Number of Respondents: 35; Number of Responses: 647; Total
Annual Hours: 9,840. (For policy questions regarding this collection
contact Camiel Rowe at 410-786-0069.
3. Type of Information Collection Request: Reinstatement without
change of a previously approved information collection; Title of
Information Collection: Coverage of Certain Preventive Services Under
the Affordable Care Act; Use: Section 2713 of the PHS Act requires non-
grandfathered group health plans and health insurance issuers offering
non-grandfathered group or individual health insurance coverage to
provide benefits for certain preventive services without cost sharing,
including benefits for certain women's preventive health services as
provided for in comprehensive guidelines supported by the Health
Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). The 2018 final
regulations titled ``Religious Exemptions and Accommodations for
Coverage of Certain Preventive Services Under the Affordable Care Act''
(83 FR 57536) and ``Moral Exemptions and Accommodations for Coverage of
Certain Preventive Services Under the Affordable Care Act'' (83 FR
57592) finalized interim final rules that expanded exemptions for
religious beliefs and established an exemption for moral convictions
for certain entities or individuals whose health plans may otherwise be
subject to the mandate of contraceptive coverage. The final regulations
extended the exemption to health insurance issuers that hold religious
or moral objections in certain circumstances, as well as to additional
categories of group health plan sponsors.
The 2018 final regulations also left in place, from previous
rulemaking, an accommodation process for objecting entities who wish to
use it to avoid contracting, arranging, paying, or referring for
contraceptive coverage, but made use of the accommodation optional for
such entities. An organization seeking to be treated as an eligible
organization may self-certify (by using EBSA Form 700), prior to the
beginning of the first plan year to which an accommodation is to apply,
that it meets the definition of an eligible organization. The eligible
organization must provide a copy of its self-certification to each
health insurance issuer that would otherwise provide such coverage in
connection with the health plan (for insured group health plans or
student health insurance coverage). The issuer that receives the self-
certification must provide separate payments for contraceptive services
for plan participants and beneficiaries (or students and dependents).
For a self-insured group health plan, the self-certification must be
provided to its third party administrator, which must provide or
arrange separate payments for contraceptive services. An eligible
organization may submit a notification to the Department of Health and
Human Services (HHS) as an alternative to submitting EBSA Form 700 to
the eligible organization's health insurance issuer or third party
administrator. A health insurance issuer or third party administrator
providing or arranging payments for contraceptive services for
participants and beneficiaries in plans (or student enrollees and
covered dependents in student health insurance coverage) of eligible
organizations must provide a written notice to such plan participants
and beneficiaries (or such student enrollees and covered dependents)
informing them of the availability of such payments.
Under the 2018 final regulations, eligible organizations can revoke
the accommodation process if participants and beneficiaries (or student
enrollees and covered dependents) receive written notice of such
revocation from the issuer or third party administrator, and such
revocation will be effective on the first day of the first plan year
that begins on or after thirty days after the date of revocation. The
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is requesting to reinstatement
OMB approval for the data collections included in this information
collection request. HHS will only implement the information collections
to the extent
[[Page 2536]]
they are consistent with regulations that are currently in effect. Form
Number: CMS-10653 (OMB control number: 0938-1344); Frequency:
Occasionally; Affected Public: Private Sector; Number of Respondents:
60; Total Annual Responses: 595,312; Total Annual Hours: 72. (For
policy questions regarding this collection contact Russell Tipps at
301-869-3502).
William N. Parham, III,
Director, Division of Information Collections and Regulatory Impacts,
Office of Strategic Operations and Regulatory Affairs.
[FR Doc. 2026-01005 Filed 1-20-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4120-01-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on January 21, 2026.
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