[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 236 (Friday, December 8, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 71190-71191]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-20912]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Employee Benefits Security Administration


Proposed Information Collection; Request for Public Comment 
Health Disclosure and Claims Issues Project Survey

ACTION: Notice

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SUMMARY: The Department of Labor (the Department), in accordance with 
the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA) (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)), 
provides the general public and Federal agencies with an opportunity to 
comment on proposed and continuing collections of information. This 
program helps the Department assess the impact of its information 
collection requirements and minimize the reporting burden on the public 
and helps the public understand the Department's information collection 
requirements and provide the requested data in the desired format. 
Currently, the Employee Benefits Security Administration is soliciting 
comments on a proposed new information collection entitled the Health 
Disclosure and Claims Issues Project Survey. A copy of the information 
collection request (ICR) can be obtained without charge by contacting 
the office listed below in the Addresses section of this notice.

DATES: Written comments must be submitted on or before February 6, 
2007.

ADDRESSES: Direct all written comments to Susan G. Lahne, Office of 
Policy and Research, Employee Benefits Security Administration, U.S. 
Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW., Room N-5716, 
Washington, DC 20210. Telephone: (202) 693-8410; Fax: (202) 219-4745. 
These are not toll-free numbers. Comments may also be submitted 
electronically to the following Internet e-mail address: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    In 1999, the Department conducted a pilot project under which 
approximately 200 group health plans were investigated for compliance 
with

[[Page 71191]]

Part 7 of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). 
In 2001, the Department initiated the Health Disclosure and Claims 
Issues: Fiscal Year 2001 Compliance Project (HDCI), which sought to 
increase compliance through investigations and improve the Department's 
ability to provide effective compliance assistance by assessing more 
comprehensively the extent and nature of compliance with Part 7 of 
ERISA among group health plans. As a result of that project, the 
Department broadened its compliance assistance efforts through a 
combination of publications, outreach, self-audit materials, and other 
compliance tools. As a follow-up to the Fiscal Year 2001 Compliance 
Project, the Department proposes to conduct a second project, HDCI 2, 
which is intended to measure changes in compliance with Part 7 of ERISA 
and to improve the effectiveness of future compliance assistance 
efforts. As part of HDCI 2, the Department proposes to conduct a narrow 
scope telephone survey for the sole purpose of identifying an 
appropriate sample of ERISA-covered single-employer group health plans 
in two categories: (1) Plans sponsored by firms with 3-99 employees, 
and (2) plans sponsored by firms with 100 or more employees. The survey 
is necessary because the Department has no available information from 
which to identify an appropriate sample of ERISA-covered single-
employer group health plans. Group health plans that are identified 
through the telephone survey will be subject to investigation for 
compliance with the requirements of the health coverage provisions of 
Part 7 of ERISA. The investigations will be conducted under the 
investigative authority of the Department and are not part of the 
Health Disclosure and Claims Issues Project Survey. The Department has 
determined that conducting a telephone survey is the simplest, least 
burdensome method of obtaining the information necessary to identify 
ERISA-covered single-employer plans for this purpose.
    The telephone survey will be limited in scope and designed to 
elicit only enough information to determine whether the firm that has 
been contacted sponsors or is part of a controlled group of firms that 
sponsors a group health plan subject to the provisions of Part 7. 
Respondents will be asked by telephone if they provide health benefits 
to their employees and, if so, the number of employees they have (to 
determine whether the plan is subject to Part 7 of ERISA or if a small 
plan exemption applies), and questions to determine whether the firm is 
a subsidiary that is part of a controlled group of employers and, 
therefore, whether the plan is sponsored by a parent that will need to 
be contacted. A respondent's participation in the call will be 
voluntary. The Department estimates that it will need to contact up to 
5,000 firms in order to derive an adequate sample of ERISA-covered 
single-employer group health plans in each of the two categories 
described above. The goals of HDCI 2 are to identify and correct 
violations of Part 7 of ERISA, calculate compliance rates, provide 
compliance assistance regarding these provisions, and shape the 
Department's future compliance assistance and investigative resources 
strategies more efficiently and effectively.

II. Current Actions

    This notice requests public comment pertaining to Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) approval of the information collection 
contained in the telephone survey described above, which is necessary 
for purposes of the Health Disclosure and Claims Issues Project Survey. 
The Department intends, following the receipt of comments pursuant to 
this notice, to submit an ICR to OMB requesting its approval of this 
information collection. An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a 
person is not required to respond to, an information collection unless 
it displays a valid OMB control number. A summary of the ICR and the 
current burden estimates follows:
    Type of Review: New collection.
    Agency: Employee Benefits Security Administration.
    Title: Health Disclosure and Claims Issues Project Survey.
    OMB Number: 1210-NEW.
    Affected Public: Business or other for-profit; not-for-profit 
organizations.
    Total Respondents: 5000.
    Total Responses: 5000.
    Frequency: Once.
    Average Time per Response: 5 minutes.
    Estimated Total Annual Hour Burden: 417 hours.
    Estimated Total Annual Cost Burden: $0.

III. Desired Focus of Comments

    The Department is particularly interested in comments that:
     Evaluate whether the proposed collection of information is 
necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, 
including whether the information will have practical utility;
     Evaluate the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the 
burden of the proposed collection of information, including the 
validity of the methodology and assumptions used;
     Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the 
information to be collected; and
     Minimize the burden of the collection of information on 
those who respond, including through the use of appropriate automated, 
electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or 
other forms of information technology, e.g., by permitting electronic 
submission of responses.
    Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized 
and/or included in the ICR submitted for OMB approval. They will also 
become a matter of public record.

Joseph A. Piacentini,
Director, Office of Policy and Research, Employee Benefits Security 
Administration.
[FR Doc. E6-20912 Filed 12-7-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-29-P