[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 129 (Thursday, July 5, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 39678-39679]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-16389]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE


Census Bureau

Proposed Information Collection; Comment Request; 2013 Current 
Population Survey Annual Social and Economic Supplement Content 
Test

AGENCY: U.S. Census Bureau, Commerce.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce, as part of its continuing effort 
to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public 
and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on 
proposed and/or continuing information collections, as required by the 
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13 (44 U.S.C. 
3506(c)(2)(A)).

DATES: To ensure consideration, written comments must be submitted on 
or before September 4, 2012.

ADDRESSES: Direct all written comments to Jennifer Jessup, Departmental 
Paperwork Clearance Officer, Department of Commerce, Room 6616, 14th 
and Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20230 (or via the Internet 
at [email protected]).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information or 
copies of the information collection instrument(s) and instructions 
should be directed to Brian O'Hara, Social and Economic Housing 
Statistics Division, U.S. Census Bureau, 301-763-3196 (or via the 
Internet at [email protected]).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Abstract

    The Current Population Survey (CPS) Annual Social and Economic

[[Page 39679]]

Supplement (ASEC) is used to produce official estimates of income and 
poverty, and it serves as the most widely-cited source of estimates on 
health insurance and the uninsured. These statistics have far-ranging 
implications for policy and funding decisions. Alternative sets of 
questions on income and health insurance have been developed and are 
now slated for a large-scale field test to evaluate the questions and 
the estimates they generate.
    With regard to income, the CPS ASEC was converted to computer 
assisted interviewing (CAI) in 1994. This conversion, essentially, took 
the questions and skip patterns of the paper questionnaire, and put 
them on a computer screen. Automated data collection methods allow for 
complicated skips, respondent-specific question wording, and carry-over 
of data from one interview to the next. The computerized questionnaire 
also permits the inclusion of several built-in editing features, 
including automatic checks for internal consistency and unlikely 
responses, and verification of answers. With these built-in editing 
features, errors can be caught and corrected during the interview 
itself. It has been more than 30 years since the last major redesign of 
the income questions of this questionnaire (1980), and the need to 
modernize this survey to take advantage of CAI technologies has become 
more and more apparent.
    Regarding health insurance, the CPS ASEC health insurance questions 
have measurement error due to both the reference period and timing of 
data collection. Qualitative research has shown that some respondents 
do not focus on the calendar year reference period, but rather report 
on their current insurance status. Quantitative studies have shown that 
those with more recent coverage are more likely to report accurately 
than those with coverage in the distant past. A new set of integrated 
questions on both current and past calendar year status should produce 
more accurate estimates of past year coverage. This is because the 
current coverage status questions may serve as an anchor to elicit more 
accurate reports of past year coverage than the standard methodology.
    In addition to making improvements to the core set of questions on 
health insurance, in 2014 the Patient Protection and Affordable Care 
Act (PPACA) is set to go into effect. One of the main features of the 
PPACA is the ``Health Insurance Exchange.'' These are joint federal-
state partnerships designed to create a marketplace of private health 
insurance options for individuals and small businesses. While these 
Exchanges are still in development and states have broad flexibility in 
designing the programs, it is essential for the federal government to 
have a viable methodology in place when the PPACA goes into effect to 
measure Exchange participation, and to measure types of health coverage 
(in general) in the post-reform era.
    Lastly, the point-in-time health insurance questions lend 
themselves to additional questions concerning whether the current 
employer offered the respondent health insurance coverage. Although 
this set of questions is new to the CPS ASEC, it has been in CPS 
production in the Contingent Worker Supplement (CWS). The CWS was 
fielded in February of 1995, 1997, 1999, 2001 and 2005.
    The overarching purpose of the 2013 CPS ASEC Content Test is to 
evaluate the following:
     Customization of income questions to fit specific 
demographic groups
     Ask recipiency and amounts separately
     Use better targeted questions for certain income types 
that are currently not well reported
     Improve health insurance questions by using a new method 
of collection
     New content on a new way for people to get income-related 
subsidies for health insurance coverage
     New content on employer-provided health insurance

II. Method of Collection

    The 2013 field test is expected to be conducted using a CATI 
instrument by Census Bureau interviewers located in three telephone 
interviewing facilities (in Hagerstown, Maryland; Jeffersonville, 
Indiana; and Tucson, Arizona).

III. Data

    OMB Control Number: None.
    Form Number: None.
    Type of Review: Regular submission.
    Affected Public: Individuals or households.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 15,000 households.
    Estimated Time per Response: 40 minutes per household.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 10,000 hours.
    Estimated Total Annual Cost: Except for their time, there is no 
cost to respondents.
    Respondent Obligation: Voluntary.
    Legal Authority: Section 182 of Title 13 of the United States Code.

IV. Request for Comments

    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 
(including hours and cost) 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.
    Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized 
and/or included in the request for OMB approval of this information 
collection; they also will become a matter of public record.

    Dated: June 29, 2012.
Glenna Mickelson,
Management Analyst, Office of the Chief Information Officer.
[FR Doc. 2012-16389 Filed 7-3-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-07-P