[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 32 (Wednesday, February 18, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8652-8654]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-02905]


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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 changes to the 
currently approved 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.

[[Page 8653]]


DATES: Comments on this notice must be received by April 20, 2015.

ADDRESSES: Written comments should be submitted to: Doris Leflcowitz, 
Reports Clearance Officer, AHRQ, by email at 
[email protected].
    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 on an annual basis the extent, cost, and coverage of employer-
sponsored health insurance. 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. 
The MEPS-IC was last approved by OMB on November 21, 2013 and will 
expire on November 30th, 2016. The OMB control number for the MEPSIC is 
0935-0110. All of the supporting documents for the current MEPS-IC can 
be downloaded from OMB's Web site at http://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAViewDocument?ref_nbr=201310-0935-001.
    In order to ensure that the MEPS-IC is able to capture important 
changes in the employer-sponsored health insurance market due to the 
implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act 
(PPACA), AHRQ will field a longitudinal survey in 2015 to include a 
sample of 5,000 small private sector employers that responded to the 
2014 MEPS-IC. The OMB clearance that was approved on November 21, 2013 
included the 2014 longitudinal survey, a survey of 3,000 respondents to 
the 2013 MEPS-IC, but did not include the 2015 longitudinal survey 
because the sample size was not finalized. This submission is for the 
2015 longitudinal survey only; there are no other changes.
    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 PPACA, through the addition 
of a longitudinal component to the sample.
    The MEPS-IC is conducted pursuant to AHRQ' s statutory authority to 
conduct surveys to collect data on the cost, use and quality of health 
care, including the types and costs of private insurance. 42 U.S.C. 
299b-2(a).

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 (LS)--For 2015, an additional sample of 
small employers (those with 100 or fewer employees) will be included in 
the collection. The LS will consist of 5,000 small, private-sector 
employers that responded to the 2014 MEPS-IC regular survey. These 
employers will be surveyed again in 2015--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 for the 2015 
longitudinal survey. The Prescreener questionnaire will be completed by 
4,300 respondents and takes about 5 minutes to complete. The 
Establishment questionnaire will be completed by 2,054 respondents and 
takes about 23 minutes to complete. The Plan questionnaire will be 
completed by 2,054 respondents and will require an average of 1.4 
responses per respondent. Each Plan questionnaire takes about 11 
minutes to complete. The total burden hours are estimated to be 1,686 
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 $51,322.

[[Page 8654]]



                       Exhibit 1--Estimated Burden Hours for the 2015 Longitudinal Survey
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                                                           Number of
            Form name                  Number of         responses per    Hours per response  Total burden hours
                                      respondents         respondent
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Prescreener Questionnaire.......               4,300                   1                0.09                 387
Establishment Questionnaire.....               2,054                   1              * 0.38                 781
Plan Questionnaire..............               2,054                 1.4                0.18                 518
    Total.......................               8,408                  na                  na               1,686
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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 1.4 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 Cost Burden for the 2015 Longitudinal Survey
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                                       Number of                            Average hourly
            Form name                 respondents     Total burden hours      wage rate *     Total burden hours
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Prescreener Questionnaire.......               4,300                 387              $30.44             $11,780
Establishment Questionnaire.....               2,054                 781              $30.44             $23,774
Plan Questionnaire..............               2,054                 518              $30.44             $15,768
    Total.......................               8,408               1,686                  na             $51,322
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* Based upon the mean hourly wage for Compensation, Benefits, and Job Analysis Specialists occupation code 13-
  1141, at http://www.b1s.gov/oes/current/oes131141.htm (U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics).

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 
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: February 5, 2015.
Richard Kronick, Ph.D.,
AHRQ Director.
[FR Doc. 2015-02905 Filed 2-17-15; 8:45 am]
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