Privacy Act of 1974; systems of records--HCFA. Notice of proposed new routine uses for existing systems of records.

One of the top priorities of the Department of Health and Human Services is to assure high quality and effective health care while pursuing strategies to contain or moderate health care costs and Medicare program expenditures. One such program to limit Medicare programs expenditures was the Medicare Secondary payer (MSP) provisions (42 U.S.C. 1395y(b)). The purpose of this routine use is to enable HCFA and other "entities responsible for payment" to engage in exchanges of information concerning primary or secondary responsibility for a Medicare beneficiary's health care expenses. This notice is not the basis for a mandatory reporting requirement for "entities responsible for making payment" as required by 42 U.S.C. 1395y(b). Currently no statute mandates this type of exchange of information, therefore, these exchanges of information are strictly voluntary. The Health Care Financing Administration (HFCA) is amending systems notices for (1) Carrier Medicare Claims Records HHS/HCFA/BOP No. 09-70-0501; (2) Health Insurance Master Record HHS/HCFA/BOP No. 09-70-0502 and (3) Intermediary Medicare Claims Records HHS/HCFA/BPO No. 09-70-0503, to add a new routine use. The proposed routine use will enhance our capability for identifying Medicare Secondary payer situations where Medicare can assume a position of reduced liability due to the presence of other entities responsible for making primary payment in accordance with 42 U.S.C. 1395y(b).