View all text of Subjgrp 70 [§ 512.355 - § 512.390]

§ 512.390 - Notification, data sharing, and targeted review.

(a) Notification. CMS will notify each ETC Participant, in a form and manner determined by CMS, of the ETC Participant's attributed beneficiaries, MPS, and PPA for a PPA Period no later than one month before the start of the applicable PPA Period.

(b) Data sharing with ETC Participants. CMS shares certain beneficiary-identifiable data as described in paragraph (b)(1) of this section and certain aggregate data as described in paragraph (b)(2) of this section with ETC Participants regarding their attributed beneficiaries and performance under the ETC Model.

(1) Beneficiary-identifiable data. CMS shares beneficiary-identifiable data with ETC Participants as follows:

(i) CMS will make available certain beneficiary-identifiable data for retrieval by ETC Participants no later than one month before the start of each PPA Period, in a form and manner specified by CMS. ETC Participants may retrieve this data at any point during the relevant PPA Period.

(ii) This beneficiary-identifiable data includes, when available, the following information for each PPA Period:

(A) The ETC Participant's attributed beneficiaries' names, Medicare Beneficiary Identifiers, dates of birth, dual eligible status, and LIS recipient status.

(B) Data regarding the ETC Participant's performance under the ETC Model, including, for each attributed beneficiary, as applicable: the number of months the beneficiary was attributed to the ETC Participant, home dialysis months, self-dialysis months, nocturnal in-center dialysis months, transplant waitlist months, and months following a living donor transplant.

(iii) CMS shares this beneficiary-identifiable data on the condition that the ETC Participants observe all relevant statutory and regulatory provisions regarding the appropriate use of data and the confidentiality and privacy of individually identifiable health information as would apply to a covered entity under the regulations found at 45 CFR parts 160 and 164 promulgated under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), as amended, and comply with the terms of the data sharing agreement described in paragraph (b)(1)(iv) of this section.

(iv) If an ETC Participant wishes to retrieve the beneficiary-identifiable data specified in paragraph (b)(1)(ii) of this section, the ETC Participant must complete and submit, on at least an annual basis, a signed data sharing agreement, to be provided in a form and manner specified by CMS, under which the ETC Participant agrees:

(A) To comply with the requirements for use and disclosure of this beneficiary-identifiable data that are imposed on covered entities by the HIPAA regulations and the requirements of the ETC Model set forth in this part.

(B) To comply with additional privacy, security, breach notification, and data retention requirements specified by CMS in the data sharing agreement.

(C) To contractually bind each downstream recipient of the beneficiary-identifiable data that is a business associate of the ETC Participant to the same terms and conditions to which the ETC Participant is itself bound in its data sharing agreement with CMS as a condition of the business associate's receipt of the beneficiary-identifiable data retrieved by the ETC Participant under the ETC Model.

(D) That if the ETC Participant misuses or discloses the beneficiary-identifiable data in a manner that violates any applicable statutory or regulatory requirements or that is otherwise non-compliant with the provisions of the data sharing agreement, CMS may deem the ETC Participant ineligible to retrieve beneficiary-identifiable data under paragraph (b)(1)(i) of this section for any amount of time, and the ETC Participant may be subject to additional sanctions and penalties available under the law.

(2) Aggregate data. CMS shares aggregate performance data with ETC Participants as follows:

(i) CMS will make available certain aggregate data for retrieval by the ETC Participant, in a form and manner to be specified by CMS, no later than one month before each PPA Period.

(ii) This aggregate data includes, when available, the following information for each PPA Period, de-identified in accordance with 45 CFR 164.514(b):

(A) The ETC Participant's performance scores on the home dialysis rate, transplant waitlist rate, living donor transplant rate, and the Health Equity Incentive.

(B) The ETC Participant's aggregation group's scores on the home dialysis rate, transplant waitlist rate, and living donor transplant rate, and the Health Equity Incentive.

(C) Information on how the ETC Participant's and ETC Participant's aggregation group's scores relate to the achievement benchmark and improvement benchmark.

(D) The ETC Participant's MPS and PPA for the corresponding PPA Period.

(c) Targeted review process. An ETC Participant may request a targeted review of the calculation of the MPS. Requests for targeted review are limited to the calculation of the MPS, and may not be submitted in regards to: The methodology used to determine the MPS; or the establishment of the home dialysis rate methodology, transplant rate methodology, achievement and improvement benchmarks and benchmarking methodology, or PPA amounts. The process for targeted reviews is as follows:

(1) An ETC Participant has 90 days (or a later date specified by CMS) to submit a request for a targeted review, which begins on the day CMS makes available the MPS.

(2) CMS will respond to each request for targeted review timely submitted and determine whether a targeted review is warranted.

(3) The ETC Participant may include additional information in support of the request for targeted review at the time the request is submitted. If CMS requests additional information from the ETC Participant, it must be provided and received within 30 days of the request. Non-responsiveness to the request for additional information may result in the closure of the targeted review request.

(4) If, upon completion of a targeted review, CMS finds that there was an error in the calculation of the ETC Participant's MPS such that an incorrect PPA has been applied during the PPA period, CMS shall notify the ETC Participant and must resolve any resulting discrepancy in payment that arises from the application of an incorrect PPA in a time and manner determined by CMS.

(d) Review of targeted review decisions. The Administrator may review a targeted review request when administrative review is requested by an ETC Participant within 15-calendar days of a targeted review request determination made by CMS.

(1) Administrative review. Within 45 days of the date of the ETC Participant's request for administrative review, the CMS Administrator may act as follows:

(i) Decline to review a targeted review request determination made by CMS;

(ii) Render a final decision based on the CMS Administrator's review of the targeted review request determination; or

(iii) Choose to take no action on the request for administrative review.

(2) Administrative review determinations. The targeted review determination made by the CMS Administrator is final if the CMS Administrator declines an ETC Participant's request for administrative review or if the CMS Administrator does not take any action on the ETC Participant's request for administrative review by the end of the 45-day period described in paragraph (d)(1) of this section. CMS-1782-F

[85 FR 61362, Sept. 29, 2020, as amended at 86 FR 62024, Nov. 8, 2021; 88 FR 76506, Nov. 6, 2023]