# Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request; National Medical Support Notice—Part B
**ACTION:**
Notice of availability; request for comments.
**SUMMARY:**
The Department of Labor (DOL) is submitting this Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA)-sponsored information collection request (ICR) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA). Public comments on the ICR are invited.
**DATES:**
The OMB will consider all written comments that the agency receives on or before December 26, 2025.
**ADDRESSES:**
Written comments and recommendations for the proposed information collection should be sent within 30 days of publication of this notice to *www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain.* Find this particular information collection by selecting “Currently under 30-day Review—Open for Public Comments” or by using the search function.
**FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:**
Michael Howell by telephone at 202-693-6782, or by email at *[email protected].*
**SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:**
Pursuant to section 401(a) of the CSPIA, the Department of Labor (the Department) and HHS jointly promulgated the National Medical Support Notice Final Rule on December 27, 2000 (65 FR 82128) (NMSN Regulation). The NMSN Regulation simplifies the issuance and processing of medical child support orders; standardizes communication between State agencies, employers, and Plan Administrators; and creates a uniform and streamlined process for enforcement of medical child support to ensure that all eligible children receive the health care coverage to which they are entitled.
The NMSN Regulation, codified at 29 CFR 2590.609-2, includes a model National Medical Support Notice (NMSN) that is comprised of two parts: part A is a notice from the State agency to the employer, entitled: “Notice to Withhold for Health Care Coverage;” and part B is a notice from the employer to the Plan Administrator, entitled: “Medical Support Notice to Plan Administrator.” Both parts have detailed instructions informing the recipient to whom responses are due depending on varying circumstances. This ICR addresses the Plan Administrator's responsibilities under NMSN Regulation to complete part B of the NMSN, the “Plan Administrator Response,” pursuant to the CSPIA and section 609(a)(5)(C) of title I of ERISA.
The “Plan Administrator Response” in part B of the NMSN requires the Plan Administrator to provide information verifying whether the child is or will be receiving health care coverage from the group health plan. If enrollment has already occurred or can begin immediately, the Plan Administrator's response in part B serves as notice to the State agency, the participant (parent), the child, their non-participant parent or guardian and the employer that the child is or will begin receiving dependent health care coverage pursuant to the group health plan. When the child is eligible for more than one coverage option, the Administrator must first send the part B response to the State agency so that the agency may choose one option. The Plan Administrator must also use the part B response to notify all of the above-affected persons of any waiting period before enrollment of the child can occur. For additional substantive information about this ICR, see the related notice published in the *Federal Register* on January 6, 2025 (90 FR 671).
*Comments are invited on:* (1) whether the collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the Department, including whether the information will have practical utility; (2) the accuracy of the agency's estimates of the burden and cost of the collection of information, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions used; (3) ways to enhance the quality, utility and clarity of the information collection; and (4) ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on those who are to respond, including the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology.
This information collection is subject to the PRA. A Federal agency generally cannot conduct or sponsor a collection of information, and the public is generally not required to respond to an information collection, unless the OMB approves it and displays a currently valid OMB Control Number. In addition, notwithstanding any other provisions of law, no person shall generally be subject to penalty for failing to comply with a collection of information that does not display a valid OMB Control Number. *See* 5 CFR 1320.5(a) and 1320.6.
DOL seeks PRA authorization for this information collection for three (3) years. OMB authorization for an ICR cannot be for more than three (3) years without renewal. The DOL notes that information collection requirements submitted to the OMB for existing ICRs receive a month-to-month extension while they undergo review.
*Agency:* DOL-EBSA.
*Title of Collection:* National Medical Support Notice—Part B.
*OMB Control Number:* 1210-0113.
*Affected Public:* Private sector.
*Total Estimated Number of Respondents:* 399,269.
*Total Estimated Number of Responses:* 10,753,708.
*Total Estimated Annual Time Burden:* 896,142 hours.
*Total Estimated Annual Other Costs Burden:* $5,927,982.
(Authority: 44 U.S.C. 3507(a)(1)(D))
Michael Howell,
Senior Paperwork Reduction Act Analyst.