[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 122 (Wednesday, June 24, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 37949-37951]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-13578]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Administration for Community Living


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission for OMB 
Review; Public Comment Request; National Beneficiary Survey of State 
Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) OMB# 0985-0057

AGENCY: Administration for Community Living, Department of Health and 
Human Services (HHS).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Administration for Community Living (ACL) is announcing 
that the proposed collection of information listed above has been 
submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and 
clearance as required under the

[[Page 37950]]

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. This 30-Day notice collects comments 
on the information collection requirements related to the Proposed 
Revision and solicits comments on the information collection 
requirements related to the National Beneficiary Survey of State Health 
Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) OMB# 0985-0057.

DATES: Submit written comments on the collection of information by July 
24, 2020.

ADDRESSES: Submit electronic comments on the collection of information 
by:
    (a) Email to: [email protected], Attn: OMB Desk Officer 
for ACL;
    (b) fax to 202.395.5806, Attn: OMB Desk Officer for ACL; or
    (c) by mail to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, 
OMB, New Executive Office Bldg., 725 17th St. NW, Rm. 10235, 
Washington, DC 20503, Attn: OMB Desk Officer for ACL.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sara Vogler, Administration for 
Community Living, Washington, DC 20201, 202-795-7461, 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction 
Act, ACL has submitted the following proposed information collection to 
OMB for review and clearance. The SHIP-SMP Survey of One-on-One 
Assistance is a survey of individuals who meet with team members from 
the State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) or the Senior 
Medicare Patrol (SMP). These services help Medicare beneficiaries 
understand their Medicare benefits and options. These services also 
increase the ability of beneficiaries to identify and report fraud, 
waste, and abuse within health care programs generally, and Medicare/
Medicaid specifically.
    The State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) was created 
under the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990. This section of 
the law authorized the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to 
make grants to states to establish and maintain health insurance 
advisory service programs for Medicare beneficiaries. Grant funds were 
made available to support information, counseling, and assistance 
activities related to Medicare, Medicaid, and other health insurance 
options. SHIP grantees provide free, in-depth, unbiased, one-on-one 
health insurance counseling and assistance to Medicare beneficiaries, 
their families, and caregivers. The Senior Medicare Patrol (SMP) 
program was authorized in 1997 under Titles II and IV of the Older 
Americans Act, the Omnibus Consolidated Appropriation Act of 1997 and 
the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996. The 
SMP mission is to empower and assist Medicare beneficiaries, their 
families, and caregivers, to prevent, detect, and report suspected 
healthcare fraud, errors, and abuse through outreach, counseling, and 
education.
    SMP grantees support ACL's goals of promoting increased choice and 
greater independence among older adults and individuals with 
disabilities. SMP activities also serve to enhance the financial, 
emotional, physical, and mental well-being of older adults, thereby 
increasing their capacity to maintain security in retirement and make 
better financial and healthcare choices.
    SMP team members provide one-on-one assistance, and when needed, 
serve as consumer advocates to resolve billing disputes/issues.
    The SHIP-SMP Survey of One-on-One Assistance will gauge 
individuals' satisfaction with the services provided by SHIP and SMP 
team members.
    This survey is a renewal of the existing ``National Beneficiary 
Survey of State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP)'', which 
received clearance on August 28, 2017, with ICR Reference Number 
201702-0985-002 and OMB Control Number 0985-0057. That survey was 
conducted over a three-year period beginning on October 1, 2017, and 
concluded on March 30, 2020. To date, this survey has generated over 
2500 responses, all of which were submitted voluntarily.
    ACL requests renewal of the survey to continue the collection 
performed in Fiscal Years 2018, 2019, and 2020. Reports developed for 
FY18 and FY19 participants have provided an overall measure of 
satisfaction with SHIP's one-on-one assistance services and have 
provided insight into the relationship between inputs (information 
provided, time between initial contact and services received) and 
overall satisfaction. The renewed collection will survey recipients of 
both SHIP and SMP one-on-one assistance but will not increase the 
number of surveys collected.
    The renewed survey will provide an annual collection at the 
national level, with an estimated collection of 800 responses per year. 
To generate a sample with a 95% confidence level at the national level 
400 responses will be required from each program (n=2,000,000 SHIP one-
on-one assistance sessions in 2018; n=275,000 SMP one-on-one assistance 
sessions in 2018).
    ACL will draw a representative sample of customers who received 
assistance from each program by focusing only on non-redundant 
individuals (i.e., a random sample without replacement of individuals 
who receive SHIP and/or SMP one-on-one assistance).
    The proposed data collection tools may be found on the ACL website 
for review at https://www.acl.gov/about-acl/public-input.
    Estimated Program Burden: ACL estimates the burden associated with 
this collection of information as follows:

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                                                    Number of     Responses  per     Hours per     Annual burden
      Respondent/data collection activity          respondents      respondent       response          hours
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Survey, Stratified Random Sample...............             800                1            6/60              80
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    Total:.....................................             800                1            6/60              80
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[[Page 37951]]

    Dated: June 17, 2020.
Mary Lazare,
Principal Deputy Administrator.
[FR Doc. 2020-13578 Filed 6-23-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4154-01-P