[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 187 (Thursday, September 25, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 55515-55516]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-22594]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

[60-Day-08-0691]


Proposed Data Collections Submitted for Public Comment and 
Recommendations

    In compliance with the requirement of Section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the 
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 for opportunity for public comment on 
proposed data collection projects, the Centers for Disease Control and 
Prevention (CDC) will publish periodic summaries of proposed projects. 
To request more information on the proposed projects or to obtain a 
copy of the data collection plans and instruments, call 404-639-5960 or 
send comments to Maryam Daneshvar, CDC Acting Reports Clearance 
Officer, 1600 Clifton Road, MS-D74, Atlanta, GA 30333 or send an e-mail 
to [email protected].
    Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the proposed collection of 
information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of 
the agency, including whether the information shall have practical 
utility; (b) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the 
proposed collection of information; (c) ways to enhance the quality, 
utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (d) ways 
to minimize the burden of the collection of information on respondents, 
including through the use of automated collection techniques or other 
forms of information technology. Written comments should be received 
within 60 days of this notice.

Proposed Project

    State Medicaid Tobacco Coverage Survey (OMB No. 0920-0691)--
Reinstatement--National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and 
Control (NCCDPHP), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Background and Brief Description

    Tobacco use remains the leading preventable cause of death in the 
United States despite the availability of evidence-based treatments for 
tobacco dependence, which include counseling and FDA-approved 
pharmacotherapies. To increase both the use of treatment by smokers 
attempting to quit and the number of smokers who quit successfully, the 
Guide to Community Preventive Services recommends reducing the out-of-
pocket cost of effective tobacco-dependence treatments, and the Public 
Health Service (PHS) Clinical Practice Guideline supports expanded 
insurance coverage for tobacco-dependence treatment.
    Medicaid recipients have approximately 50% greater smoking 
prevalence than the overall U.S. adult population, and they are 
disproportionately affected by tobacco-related disease and disability. 
In 2000, approximately 32 million low-income persons in the United 
States received their health insurance coverage through federally 
funded State Medicaid programs, and approximately 11.5 million (36%) of 
these persons smoked. Substantial action to improve coverage of 
tobacco-dependence treatments through Medicaid will be needed if the 
United States is to achieve the 2010 National Health Objective of 12% 
smoking prevalence among adults.
    The amount and type of coverage for tobacco-dependence treatment 
offered by Medicaid has been collected for 1998, 2000, 2001, 2002, 
2003, 2005, 2006, and 2007. Surveys have been funded by the Robert Wood 
Johnson Foundation (RWJF) (1998, 2000-2003) and the Centers for Disease 
Control and Prevention (CDC) (2005-2007) (OMB No. 0920-0691, expiration 
date 8/31/2008). The most recent analysis of these information 
collections demonstrated that in 2006, 39 states provided coverage for 
some FDA-approved medications for the general Medicaid population; 
however, only 17 states provided some form of coverage for counseling 
and only seven states covered all FDA-approved medications and at least 
one form of counseling for all enrollees. Some progress has been made 
in that the number of states offering no benefits decreased from 15 in 
2002 to eight in 2006.
    CDC plans to request reinstatement of OMB approval to collect 
similar information about Medicaid coverage of tobacco-dependence 
treatments during the years 2008-2010. Respondents will be Medicaid 
directors in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. To minimize 
burden, each respondent will receive an electronic copy of the survey 
pre-filled with the previous year's results. Respondents will only be 
asked to record changes that occurred since the time of the previous 
submission. In addition, respondents will be asked to answer new 
questions pertaining to the recommendations made in the updated PHS 
clinical practice guideline issued in May of 2008 regarding coverage 
for combination therapies, smokeless tobacco use, and their familiarity 
with and use of the 2000 PHS guideline. The minor changes to be 
incorporated in the revised survey instrument are not expected to have 
a significant impact on the overall burden estimate. As in previous 
years, each respondent will also attach a copy of the state's Medicaid 
coverage plan to their completed survey, in order to assist the 
research team with the interpretation of responses.
    The information to be collected will allow CDC to continue 
monitoring compliance with the most recent PHS recommendations and the 
progress of State Medicaid Programs toward the 2010 National Health 
Objectives and Healthy People 2010 goals.
    There are no costs to respondents except the time to complete the 
survey.

[[Page 55516]]



                                        Estimated Annualized Burden Hours
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                                                                    No. of      Average  burden
                 Respondents                       No. of       responses per    per  response     Total burden
                                                respondents       respondent       (in hours)       (in hours)
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State Medicaid Programs.....................              51                1              0.5               26
                                             -------------------------------------------------------------------
    Total...................................  ...............  ...............  ...............              26
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    Dated: September 16, 2008.
Maryam I. Daneshvar,
Acting Reports Clearance Officer, Centers for Disease Control and 
Prevention.
[FR Doc. E8-22594 Filed 9-24-08; 8:45 am]
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