[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 37 (Tuesday, February 25, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8450-8451]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-4633]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Health Care Financing Administration
[Document Identifier: HCFA-P-15-A]


Agency Information Collection Activities: Submission for OMB 
Review; Comment Request

AGENCY: Health Care Financing Administration, HHS.
    In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 
3501 et seq.), the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA), 
Department of Health and Human Services, has submitted to the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) the following proposals for the collection 
of information. Interested persons are invited to send comments 
regarding the burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of 
information, including any of the following subjects: (1) the necessity 
and utility of the proposed information collection for the proper 
performance of the agency's functions; (2) the accuracy of the 
estimated burden; (3) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity 
of the information to be collected; and (4) the use of automated 
collection techniques or other forms of information technology to 
minimize the information collection burden.
    1. HCFA-P-15A Type of Information Collection Request: Extension of 
currently approved collection; Title of Information Collection: 
Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey Suppliment--Round 18; Form No.: 
HCFA-P-15A; Use: The Office of the Actuary, HCFA, conducts the Medicare 
Current Beneficiary Survey (MCBS) through personal interviews of a 
random sample of Medicare beneficiaries. When sampled persons are found 
to reside in a long-term care facility, interviewers use a version of 
the questionnaire which is specially designed to obtain data about the 
beneficiary's health care from knowledgeable staff members. We are 
preparing to convert the facility interview from a hard-copy 
questionnaire to a Computer Assisted Personal Interviewing (CAPI) 
format,

[[Page 8451]]

beginning in May, 1997. CAPI, which we are currently using in the 
community interviews, increases the accuracy of the interview process 
by automating skip patterns, customizing questions, creating computed 
variables such as a time line of residence history, and automatically 
checking completeness and consistency of responses. Concurrently, we 
are modifying some of the questions we currently use in the facility 
interview to make them more comparable to those in other surveys, 
particularly the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS). These 
modifications are responsive to the President's initiative toward 
consistency and integration among surveys; Frequency: Annually; 
Affected Public:; Number of Respondents: 1,900; Total Annual Responses: 
1,900; Total Annual Hours: 1,900.
    To obtain copies of the supporting statement and any related forms, 
E-mail your request, including your address and phone number, to 
P[email protected], or call the Reports Clearance Office on (410) 786-
1326. Written comments and recommendations for the proposed information 
collections should be sent within 30 days of this notice directly to 
the OMB Desk Officer designated at the following address: OMB Human 
Resources and Housing Branch, Attention: Allison Eydt, New Executive 
Office Building, Room 10235, Washington, D.C. 20503.

    Dated: February 26, 1997.
Edwin J. Glatzel
Director, Management Analysis and Planning Staff, Office of Financial 
and Human Resources, Health Care Financing Administration.
[FR Doc. 97-4633 Filed 2-24-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4120-03-P