[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 124 (Tuesday, June 28, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 41974-41975]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-15307]



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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Administration for Community Living


Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection; 
Public Comment Request; State Health Insurance Assistance (SHIP) 
Program National Beneficiary Survey

AGENCY: Administration for Community Living, HHS.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Administration for Community Living (ACL) is announcing an 
opportunity for the public to comment on ACL's intention to collect 
information from the public related to the State Health Insurance 
Assistance (SHIP) Program. Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 
(the PRA), federal agencies are required to publish notice in the 
Federal Register concerning each proposed collection of information 
(including each proposed extension or reinstatement of an existing 
collection of information) and to allow 60 days for public comment on 
the proposed action. Interested persons are invited to send comments 
regarding our burden estimates or any other aspect of this collection 
of information, including any of the following subjects: (1) The 
necessity and utility of the proposed information collection for the 
proper performance of the agency's functions; (2) the accuracy of the 
estimated burden; (3) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity 
of the information to be collected; and (4) the use of automated 
collection techniques or other forms of information technology to 
minimize the information collection burden.

DATES: Submit written comments on the collection of information by 
August 29, 2016.

ADDRESSES: Submit electronic comments on the collection of information 
to [email protected]. Submit written comments on the 
collection of information to Katherine Glendening, U.S. Administration 
for Community Living, 330 C Street SW., Washington, DC 20024.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Katherine Glendening, 202-795-7350.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the PRA (44 U.S.C. 3501-3520), Federal 
agencies must obtain approval from the Office of Management and Budget 
(OMB) for each collection of information they conduct or sponsor. 
``Collection of information'' is defined in 44 U.S.C. 3502(3) and 5 CFR 
1320.3(c) and includes agency requests or requirements that members of 
the public submit reports, keep records, or provide information to a 
third party. Section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the PRA (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)) 
requires Federal agencies to provide a 60-day notice in the Federal 
Register concerning each proposed collection of information, including 
each proposed extension of an existing collection of information, 
before submitting the collection to OMB for approval. To comply with 
this requirement, ACL is publishing a notice of the proposed collection 
of information set forth in this document.
    Proposed Collection: Evaluation of the State Health Insurance 
Assistance Program (SHIP), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services 
(HHS), U.S. Administration for Community Living (ACL).
    Need and Use of Information Collection: The SHIP Customer 
Satisfaction Survey is a survey of individuals who meet with State 
Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) Counselors to better 
understand their Medicare options. SHIP provides free, one-on-one 
counselling to the public, and the SHIP Customer Satisfaction Survey 
will be used to measure an individual's satisfaction with his/her 
counselling experience.
    The State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) was created 
under Section 4360 of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (OBRA) of 
1990 (Pub. L. 101-508). SHIP was created to provide grant funding to 
states, who in turn provide ``. . . information, counseling, and 
assistance . . . to individuals who are eligible to receive benefits 
under title XVIII of the Social Security Act'' (Medicare). SHIP grants 
help Medicare beneficiaries and their families obtain information about 
topics such as Medicare enrollment (Parts A and B), Medicare Advantage 
plans (Part C), prescription drug coverage (Part D), Medicare Savings 
Programs (MSPs), supplemental insurance policies (Medigap), Medicaid, 
and other health benefits questions and issues. The survey will gauge 
individuals' satisfaction with the services provided by SHIP 
counselors. While the SHIP program currently tracks the number of 
contacts the program makes with individual citizens, as well as 
descriptive information about counseling sessions such as topic, 
location, and beneficiary demographics, the program does not track 
outcome measurements including customer satisfaction.
    The SHIP survey will be conducted over a three-year period 
beginning in Fiscal Year 2017 (FY17), with sites in each of the 50 
states, the District of Colombia and the territories of Guam, Puerto 
Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands being surveyed once during the three-
year period. Results from the surveys will be used to understand 
satisfaction among individuals who receive SHIP Medicare assistance/
counseling, as well, as how the program can be improved to provide 
better service to its target population. Eighteen (18) unique states 
will be surveyed in FY17, with each state expected to generate 75 
unique responses, for a total of 1,350 individual responses in Year 1. 
This process will then be replicated in Year 2 (FY18) and Year 3 
(FY19), with a different unique group of 18 states and territories 
being surveyed each year. By the end of FY19, SHIP will obtain 4,050 
completed surveys to measure satisfaction at the state and national 
levels (18 states x 75 responses per state x 3 years).
    SHIP will use the following factors to draw a representative sample 
of beneficiaries who received assistance/counseling:
     Review counseling sessions at two points each year:

    [cir] One week in the spring (outside of the annual Medicare Open 
Enrollment Period)
    [cir] One week in the fall (during the annual Medicare Open 
Enrollment Period)

     Focus only on non-redundant individuals (i.e., a random 
sample without replacement of individuals who receive SHIP counseling).
     Randomly select 18 states and territories to be surveyed 
each year, with the states stratified by data collection method* and 
the size of the Medicare-eligible population.
    * Data collection method refers to how each state collects and 
enters its records of counseling sessions. The majority of states (29 
of 54) directly enter counseling records into SHIP's NPR reporting 
system, but the remaining states upload data in batches at the end of 
each month. To ensure that the batch upload states will be able to pull 
weekly samples twice per year, we will limit these states to Years 2 
and 3 of the survey administration period, thereby allowing for 
technical assistance to these states, if necessary.
    To generate a sample with a 95% confidence level at the national 
level 400 responses will be required (n = 3,000,000 counseling sessions 
in 2015). SHIP anticipates collecting 75 completed surveys per state, 
for a total collection of 4,050 completed surveys. This larger 
collection will enable ACL to make state-to-state comparisons, which is 
an important feature of this survey. It

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will also provide each state with sufficient information to take local 
action to improve service within budgetary constraints.
    OMB approval is requested for 3 years. There are no costs to 
respondents other than their time. The average annual burden associated 
with these activities is summarized below:

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                                                                                 Average burden
                                                 Number of      Responses per      hours per      Total average
               Respondent type                  respondents       respondent        response      annual burden
                                                                                    (hours)          (hours)
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Stratified Random Sample....................           1,350                1              * 8              180
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* Minutes.


    Dated: June 21, 2016.
Kathy Greenlee,
Administrator and Assistant Secretary for Aging.
[FR Doc. 2016-15307 Filed 6-27-16; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4154-01-P