FOIA Costs and Contact Information

Freedom of Information Act Overview and Contact Information

FOIA requests refer to:

• Records in the executive branch of government.
• Records are available upon request.
• Requestors need not show need or purpose for the records.

We are required to release records unless one of the nine exemptions apply.

• Classified information.
• Internal personnel rules and practices.
• Records protected from release by other statutes.
• Trade secrets, commercial or financial information that is privileged or confidential.
• Inter or intra agency memoranda which would not be available by law to a party in litigation with the agency.
• Personal Privacy of Individuals.
• Information compiled for law enforcement purposes.
• Bank examining data used by those supervising financial institutions.
• Geological or geophysical information on maps concerning wells.

In order for a request to be considered a valid FOIA request it must contain all of the following:

• A formal request for information under the Freedom of Information Act naming United Government Services as the agency you are requesting records be released from.
• Specify the record(s), information, or types(s) of information which may be disclosed (must specify Medicare or Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, (cannot be generic).
• Specify the individual, organizational unit, class of individuals or organizational units, that the information may be disclosed to (the name of your organization).
• A beneficiary consent form must be included in order to release beneficiary records. The consent must be signed and dated (date can't be more than 60 days old).
• Indicate whether the consent in a one-time or an on-going release of records. We will not honor a blanket consent.

Note: Subpoenas are considered FOIA requests by CMS.

Costs for filling FOIA requests

Requests are broken into three categories and fees are applied based on the category.

1. Commercial - Law firms, physicians offices, or any for-profit entity.
2. Media/educational/scientific research - Newspapers, universities, or research firms.
3. Other - Private citizens, public interest groups, non-profit entities, state, county and local governments or agencies.

*These lists are meant as an example only and are not all inclusive. Each request is reviewed and assigned a category.*

*Central office, Freedom of Information Act Group is the only CMS office that can charge review fees.

NOTE: Charges start from $19.00 per hour and go up to $69.00 per hour, depending upon the salary level of the person completing the request. Fees are assessed in 1/4 hour increments.

FOIA for NGS can be contacted at:

National Government Services
Freedom of Information
P.O. Box 50454
Indianapolis, IN 46250-0454