[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 180 (Tuesday, September 17, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 57157-57159]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-22578]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality


Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; 
Comment Request

AGENCY: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, HHS.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: This notice announces the intention of the Agency for 
Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) to request that the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) approve the proposed information collection 
project: ``Medical Expenditure Panel Survey--Insurance Component.'' In 
accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act, 44 U.S.C. 3501-3521, AHRQ 
invites the public to comment on this proposed information collection.
    This proposed information collection was previously published in 
the Federal Register on June 28th, 2013 and allowed 60 days for public 
comment. No comments were received. The purpose of this notice is to 
allow an additional 30 days for public comment.

DATES: Comments on this notice must be received by October 17, 2013.

ADDRESSES: Written comments should be submitted to: AHRQ's OMB Desk 
Officer by fax at (202) 395-6974 (attention: AHRQ's desk officer) or by 
email at [email protected] (attention: AHRQ's desk officer).
    Copies of the proposed collection plans, data collection 
instruments, and specific details on the estimated burden can be 
obtained from the AHRQ Reports Clearance Officer.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Doris Lefkowitz, AHRQ Reports 
Clearance Officer, (301) 427-1477, or by email at 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Proposed Project

Medical Expenditure Panel Survey--Insurance Component

    Employer-sponsored health insurance is the source of coverage for 
78 million current and former workers, plus many of their family 
members, and is a cornerstone of the U.S. health care system. The 
Medical Expenditure Panel Survey--Insurance Component (MEPS-IC) 
measures the extent, cost, and coverage of employer-sponsored health 
insurance on an annual basis. These statistics are produced at the 
National, State, and sub-State (metropolitan area) level for private 
industry. Statistics are also produced for State and Local governments.
    This research has the following goals:
    (1) To provide data for Federal policymakers evaluating the effects 
of National and State health care reforms.
    (2) To provide descriptive data on the current employer-sponsored 
health insurance system and data for modeling the differential impacts 
of proposed health policy initiatives.
    (3) To supply critical State and National estimates of health 
insurance spending for the National Health Accounts and Gross Domestic 
Product.
    (4) To support evaluation of the impact on health insurance offered 
by small employers due to the implementation of Small Business Health 
Options Program (SHOP) exchanges under the Patient Protection and 
Affordable Care Act (PPACA), through the addition of a longitudinal 
component to the sample.
    This study is being conducted by AHRQ through the Bureau of the 
Census, pursuant to AHRQ's statutory authority to conduct and support 
research on healthcare and on systems for the delivery of such care, 
including activities with respect to the quality, effectiveness, 
efficiency, appropriateness and value of healthcare services and with 
respect to quality measurement and improvement. 42 U.S.C. 299a(a)(1) 
and (2).

[[Page 57158]]

Method of Collection

    To achieve the goals of this project the following data collections 
for both private sector and State and local government employers will 
be implemented:
    (1) Prescreener Questionnaire--The purpose of the Prescreener 
Questionnaire, which is collected via telephone, varies depending on 
the insurance status of the establishment contacted. (Establishment is 
defined as a single, physical location in the private sector and a 
governmental unit in state and local governments.) For establishments 
that do not offer health insurance to their employees, the prescreener 
is used to collect basic information such as number of employees. 
Collection is completed for these establishments through this telephone 
call. For establishments that do offer health insurance, contact name 
and address information is collected that is used for the mailout of 
the establishment and plan questionnaires. Obtaining this contact 
information helps ensure that the questionnaires are directed to the 
person in the establishment best equipped to complete them.
    (2) Establishment Questionnaire--The purpose of the mailed 
Establishment Questionnaire is to obtain general information from 
employers that provide health insurance to their employees. Information 
such as total active enrollment in health insurance, other employee 
benefits, demographic characteristics of employees, and retiree health 
insurance is collected through the establishment questionnaire.
    (3) Plan Questionnaire--The purpose of the mailed Plan 
Questionnaire is to collect plan-specific information on each plan (up 
to four plans) offered by establishments that provide health insurance 
to their employees. This questionnaire obtains information on total 
premiums, employer and employee contributions to the premium, and plan 
enrollment for each type of coverage offered--single, employee-plus-
one, and family--within a plan. It also asks for information on 
deductibles, copays, and other plan characteristics.
    (4) Longitudinal Sample--For 2014, an additional sample of small 
employers (those with 50 or fewer employees) will be included in the 
collection. This sample, called the Longitudinal Sample (LS), is 
designed to measure the impact on small employers of the SHOP exchanges 
that will become available that year. The LS will consist of 3,000 
small, private-sector employers that responded to the 2013 MEPS-IC 
regular survey. These employers will be surveyed again in 2014--using 
the same collection methods as the regular survey--in order to track 
changes in their health insurance offerings, characteristics, and 
costs.
    The primary objective of the MEPS-IC is to collect information on 
employer-sponsored health insurance. Such information is needed in 
order to provide the tools for Federal, State, and academic researchers 
to evaluate current and proposed health policies and to support the 
production of important statistical measures for other Federal 
agencies.

Estimated Annual Respondent Burden

    Exhibit 1 shows the estimated annualized burden hours for the 
respondent's time to provide the requested data. The Prescreener 
questionnaire will be completed by 32,675 respondents and takes about 
5\1/2\ minutes to complete. The Establishment questionnaire will be 
completed by 28,365 respondents and takes about 23 minutes to complete. 
The Plan questionnaire will be completed by 23,813 respondents and will 
require an average of 2.2 responses per respondent. Each Plan 
questionnaire takes about 11 minutes to complete. The total annualized 
burden hours are estimated to be 23,150 hours.
    Exhibit 2 shows the estimated annualized cost burden associated 
with the respondents' time to participate in this data collection. The 
annualized cost burden is estimated to be $679,221.
    The estimates of annualized burden hours and costs have increased 
slightly relative to the 60-Day Notice due to the inclusion of the 
Longitudinal Sample in the estimates.

                                  Exhibit 1--Estimated Annualized Burden Hours
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                                                                     Number of
                    Form name                        Number of     responses per     Hours per     Total burden
                                                    respondents     respondent       response          hours
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Prescreener Questionnaire.......................          32,675               1            0.09           2,941
Establishment Questionnaire.....................          28,365               1           *0.38          10,779
Plan Questionnaire..............................          23,813             2.2            0.18           9,430
                                                 ---------------------------------------------------------------
    Total.......................................          84,853              na              na          23,150
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* The burden estimate printed on the establishment questionnaire is 45 minutes which includes the burden
  estimate for completing the establishment questionnaire, an average of 2.2 plan questionnaires, plus the
  prescreener. The establishment and plan questionnaires are sent to the respondent as a package and are
  completed by the respondent at the same time.


                                   Exhibit 2--Estimated Annualized Cost Burden
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                                                                                      Average
                    Form name                        Number of     Total burden     hourly wage     Total cost
                                                    respondents        hours          rate *          burden
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Prescreener Questionnaire.......................          32,675           2,941           29.34         $86,289
Establishment Questionnaire.....................          28,365          10,779           29.34         316,256
Plan Questionnaire..............................          23,813           9,430           29.34         276,676
                                                 ---------------------------------------------------------------
    Total.......................................          84,853          23,150              na         679,221
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* Based upon the mean hourly wage for Compensation, Benefits, and Job Analysis Specialists occupation code 13-
  1141, at http://bls.gov/oes/current/oes131141.htm (U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics.)


[[Page 57159]]

Request for Comments

    In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act, comments on AHRQ's 
information collection are requested with regard to any of the 
following: (a) Whether the proposed collection of information is 
necessary for the proper performance of AHRQ health care research and 
health care information dissemination functions, including whether the 
information will have practical utility; (b) the accuracy of AHRQ's 
estimate of burden (including hours and costs) of the proposed 
collection(s) 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 upon the 
respondents, including the use of automated collection techniques or 
other forms of information technology.
    Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized 
and included in the Agency's subsequent request for OMB approval of the 
proposed information collection. All comments will become a matter of 
public record.

    Dated: September 10, 2013.
Richard Kronick,
Director.
[FR Doc. 2013-22578 Filed 9-16-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4160-90-P