[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 125 (Wednesday, June 29, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 42360-42362]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-15304]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Administration for Community Living


Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection; 
Public Comment Request; Senior Medicare Patrol (SMP) Program National 
Beneficiary Survey

AGENCY: Administration for Community Living, HHS.

ACTION: Notice.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

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 Senior Medicare Patrol (SMP) 
Program. Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (the PRA), federal 
agencies are required to publish a 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

[[Page 42361]]

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 by on the collection of information by 
July 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, 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 Senior Medicare Patrol (SMP) 
program, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), 
Administration for Community Living (ACL).
    Need and Use of Information Collection: The SMP Customer 
Satisfaction Survey is a survey of individuals who attend Senior 
Medicare Patrol (SMP) presentations to understand the potential for 
fraud, waste, and abuse within health care programs generally, and 
Medicare/Medicaid specifically.
    The Senior Medicare Patrol Program (SMP) was created under Titles 
II and IV of the Older Americans Act, (42 U.S.C. 3032), the amendments 
of 2006 (Pub. L. 109-365) and the Health Insurance Portability and 
Accountability Act of 1996 (Pub. L. 104-191). The mission of the SMP 
program is to empower and assist Medicare beneficiaries, their 
families, and caregivers to prevent, detect, and report health care 
fraud, errors, and abuse through outreach, counseling, and education. 
The SMP program empowers Medicare beneficiaries through increased 
awareness and understanding of healthcare programs and helps them 
protect themselves from the economic and health-related consequences of 
Medicare fraud, waste, and abuse. The SMP program provides services 
through a national network of SMP grantees that are located in every 
state, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and Guam. In 2014, SMPs 
conducted more than 14,000 education session presentations, with a 
total audience of 450,000 individuals.
    The SMP Customer Satisfaction Survey will focus on education 
session presentations and the individuals who attend them, to determine 
if the target audience is satisfied with the information they are 
receiving. While the SMP program currently tracks output and outcome 
measures such as number of SMP Team members, group outreach and 
education events, individual interactions and savings, customer 
satisfaction is not one of them. As a result, there is no current 
understanding of the link between the quality of the information 
received and the likelihood to avoid healthcare fraud, errors, and 
abuse.
    The SMP 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 Columbia and the territories of Guam and Puerto Rico being 
surveyed once during the three-year period. Results from the surveys 
will be used to understand satisfaction among individuals who attend 
SMP education sessions, 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 group of 18 states 
and territories being surveyed each year. By the end of FY19, SMP 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). SMP 
will use the following factors to draw a representative sample of 
education session attendees:
     Randomly select 18 states and territories to be surveyed 
each year, with the states stratified by the average number of 
education session attendees per month.
     Survey a specific site no more than once.
     Sample from at least five presenters in each state.
     Survey no fewer than five events and no more than 20 
events in each state.
     Survey no more than two events per month in each state.
    To generate a sample with a 95% confidence level at the national 
level, a minimum of 400 responses will be required, which is based on 
over 450,000 education session attendees in 2014. SMP 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 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:

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                                  Total average
         Respondent type              Number of      Responses per    Average burden hours per    annual burden
                                     respondents       respondent         response (hours)           (hours)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Stratified Random Sample.........           1,350                1   5 minutes.................           112.5
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------



[[Page 42362]]

    Dated: June 21, 2016.
Kathy Greenlee,
Administrator and Assistant Secretary for Aging.
[FR Doc. 2016-15304 Filed 6-28-16; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4151-01-P