[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 129 (Friday, July 7, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 43357-43359]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-14336]


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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; SHIP-SMP Survey of One-on-One 
Assistance, (OMB Control Number 0985-0057)

AGENCY: Administration for Community Living, 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 Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. This 
30-day notice collects comments on the information collection 
requirements related to the Proposed Revision and

[[Page 43358]]

solicits comments on the information collection requirements related to 
the ``SHIP-SMP Survey of One-on-One Assistance''.

DATES: Comments on the collection of information must be submitted 
electronically by 11:59 p.m. (EST) or postmarked by August 7, 2023.

ADDRESSES: Submit written comments and recommendations for the proposed 
information collection within 30 days of publication of this notice to 
www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain. Find the information collection by 
selecting ``Currently under 30-day Review--Open for Public Comments'' 
or by using the search function. 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: Shefy Simon, Administration for 
Community Living, Washington, DC 20201, 202-795-7572, 
[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 an extension of a currently approved 
information collection the ``National Beneficiary Survey of State 
Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP)'', which received clearance 
on July 31, 2020, 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, 2020 and will conclude on June 30, 2023. 
To date, this survey has generated over 2500 responses, all of which 
were submitted voluntarily.
    ACL conducted an evaluation of the Medicare Improvements for 
Patients and Providers Act (MIPPA) in 2022-23 that invoked the need to 
include collecting demographic data, including sexual orientation and 
gender identity (SOGI) information, in all the work ACL's Office of 
Healthcare Information and Counseling touches and not just MIPPA grant 
work. The renewal of the SHIP-SMP Survey of One-on-One Assistance is 
the first opportunity to do so. Including sexual orientation and gender 
identity questions in this information collection will provide data on 
topics such as the accessibility and utilization of services and 
programs funded by ACL by lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender 
populations and the health disparities that impact this community. 
Understanding these disparities can and should lead to improved service 
delivery for ACL's programs and populations served. Adding sexual 
orientation and gender identity items to SHIP-SMP Survey of One-on-One 
Assistance is part of ACL's strategy to address ``Executive Order 13988 
on Preventing and Combating Discrimination on the Basis of Gender 
Identity and Sexual Orientation.'' Issued in January 2021, Executive 
Order 13988 called upon agencies to identify existing and new policies 
to promote equal treatment under the law and ensure that all persons 
can access healthcare and other essential services without being 
subjected to sex discrimination. To support alignment with Executive 
Order 13988, as well as Executive Orders 13985 and 14075, three items 
will be added to SHIP-SMP Survey of One-on-One Assistance to collect 
sexual orientation and gender identity.
    The first item will ask the individual if they think of themselves 
as gay/lesbian, straight, bisexual, or something else. This item has 
been fielded on the NHIS since 2013, where it has been closely 
monitored for comprehension and sensitivity.
    The second and third items are part of a two-step series to collect 
gender identity, which requires two items to accurately collect. 
Respondents are first asked to report their sex assigned at birth on 
their original birth certificate (male, female, don't know, prefer not 
to answer). Next, respondents are asked to report their current gender 
identity (male, female, transgender, I use a different term, prefer not 
to answer) This two-step series aligns with recommendations from the 
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine's (NASEM's) 
recent report, ``Measuring Sex, Gender Identity, and Sexual 
Orientation.'' These items have also been cognitively tested for 
inclusion in the Medicare Current Beneficiaries Survey under the MCBS 
Generic Clearance and performed well.
    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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    Dated: June 30, 2023.
Alison Barkoff,
Acting Administrator and Assistant Secretary for Aging.
[FR Doc. 2023-14336 Filed 7-6-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4154-01-P