[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 205 (Wednesday, October 25, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 73345-73347]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-23563]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Administration for Community Living


Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection; 
Comment Request; State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) 
Client Contact Forms OMB Control Number 0985-0040

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 the proposed collection of 
information listed above. 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 of an existing collection of 
information, and to allow 60 days for public comment in response to the 
notice. This notice solicits comments on the proposed Revision for the 
information collection requirements related to the State Health 
Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) Client Contact Forms OMB Control 
Number 0985-0040.

DATES: Comments on the collection of information must be submitted 
electronically by 11:59 p.m. (EST) or postmarked by December 26, 2023.

ADDRESSES: Submit electronic comments on the collection of information 
to: [email protected]. Submit written comments on the 
collection of information to Administration for Community Living, 330 C 
Street SW, Washington, DC 20201, Attention: Katherine Glendening.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Katherine Glendening at 
[email protected], or (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 as and includes agency 
requests or requirements that members of the public submit reports, 
keep records, or provide information to a third party. The PRA 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. With respect to the following 
collection of information, ACL invites comments on our burden estimates 
or any other aspect of this collection of information, including:
    (1) Whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for 
the proper performance of ACL's functions, including whether the 
information will have practical utility;
    (2) Ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the 
information to be collected;
    (3) Accuracy of ACL's estimate of the burden of the proposed 
collection of information, including the validity of the methodology 
and assumptions used to determine burden estimates; and
    (4) Ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on 
respondents, including through the use of automated collection 
techniques when appropriate, and other forms of information technology.
    The purpose of this data collection is to collect performance data 
from grantees, grantee team members and partners. Congress requires 
this data collection for program monitoring and Government Performance 
Results Act (GPRA) purposes. This data collection allows ACL to 
communicate with Congress and the public on the SHIP, the SMP program, 
and the Medicare Improvements for Patients & Providers Act (MIPPA) 
program. The SHIP, SMP, and MIPPA programs are located in each of the 
50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam and the U.S. 
Virgin Islands. In order to ensure that grantees report activity 
accurately and consistently, it is imperative that these data 
collection tools remain active. The respondents for this data 
collection are grantees, grantee team members, and partners who meet 
with Medicare beneficiaries and older adults' in-group settings and in 
one-on-one sessions to educate them on Medicare enrollment, Medicare 
benefits and subsidy programs, the importance of being aware of 
Medicare fraud, error and abuse, and having the knowledge to protect 
the Medicare system.

Authorizing Legislation

    Section 4360(f) of OBRA 1990 created the State Health Insurance 
Assistance Program (SHIP) and requires the Secretary to provide a 
series of reports to the U.S. Congress on the performance of the SHIP 
program annually. The law also requires ACL to report on the program's 
impact on beneficiaries and to obtain important feedback from 
beneficiaries. This tool captures the information and data necessary 
for ACL to meet these Congressional requirements, as well as, capturing 
performance data on individual grantees providing ACL essential insight 
for monitoring and technical assistance purposes. In addition, the 
Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act (MIPPA), initially 
passed in 2008, provided targeted funding for the SHIPs, area agencies 
on aging (AAAs), and Aging and Disability Resource Centers (ADRC) to 
conduct re enrollment assistance to Medicare beneficiaries for the 
Limited Income Subsidy (LIS) and Medicare Savings Program (MSP). These 
activities, collectively known as the MIPPA Program, have been funded 
nearly annually through a series of funding or extenders bills (Pub. L. 
110-275 as amended by Pub. L. 111-148; Pub. L. 113-67; Pub. L. 113-93; 
Pub. L. 114-10; Pub. L. 115-123; and Pub. L. 116-59). Public Law 116-
136, div. A, title III, section 3803(a), Mar. 27, 2020, 134 Stat. 428, 
extended funding for MIPPA through November 30, 2020. This tool also 
collects performance and outcome data on the MIPPA Program providing 
ACL necessary information for monitoring and oversight.
    Under Public Law 104-208, the Omnibus Consolidated Appropriations 
Act of 1997, Congress established the Senior Medicare Patrol Projects 
in order to further curb losses to the Medicare program.
    The Senate Committee noted that retired professionals, with 
appropriate training, could serve as educators and resources to assist 
Medicare beneficiaries and others to detect and report errors, fraud 
and abuse.
    Among other requirements, it directed the ACL to work with the 
Office of Inspector General (OIG) and the Government Accountability 
Office (GAO) to assess the performance of the program. The ACL employs 
this tool to collect performance and outcome data on the SMP Program 
necessary information for monitoring and oversight. ACL has shared this 
data and worked with HHS/OIG to develop SMP performance measures.

[[Page 73346]]

    The HHS/OIG has collected SMP performance data and issued SMP 
performance reports since 1997. The information from the current 
collection is reported by the OIG to Congress and the public. This 
information is also used by ACL as the primary method for monitoring 
the SMP Projects.
    This data collection will also support ACL in tracking performance 
outcomes and efficiency measures with respect to annual and long-term 
performance targets established in the Government Performance Results 
Modernization Act of 2010 (GPRMA). The Performance Data for the SHIP, 
SMP, and MIPPA, data collection will continue to provide data necessary 
to determine the effectiveness of the programs.
    To support alignment with Executive Order 13985 on Advancing Racial 
Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal 
Government, Executive Order 14075 on Advancing Equality for Lesbian, 
Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, and Intersex Individuals, and 
Executive Order 13988 on Preventing and Combating Discrimination on the 
Basis of Gender Identity and Sexual Orientation, ACL is adding three 
sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) items to this information 
collection. Understanding these disparities can and should lead to 
improved service delivery for ACL's programs and populations served.
    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 respondent burden hours to prepare and complete 
all reports associated with this collection will be hours. This 
estimate is based on the current data systems ability to aggregate data 
and generate reports. By modifying several forms ACL has reduced the 
overall burden and grantees will no longer have to generate reports 
outside of the newly created data system.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                          Estimated time    Fraction of
                Form name                    in minutes       an hour
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SMP Media Outreach & Education..........               4          0.0667
SMP Group Outreach & Education..........               4          0.0667
SMP Individual Interaction..............               5          0.0833
SMP Team Member Activity................               5          0.0833
SMP Interaction.........................               5          0.0833
SMP Team Member.........................               7          0.1166
SHIP Media Outreach & Education.........               4          0.0667
SHIP Group Outreach & Education.........               4          0.0667
SHIP Team Member........................               7          0.1166
SHIP Beneficiary Contact................               5          0.0833
SHIP Training Form......................               6            0.10
SHIP Team Member Activity...............               7          0.1166
SHIP Training...........................               4          0.0667
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                                        Estimated Annualized Burden Hours
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                                                                                      Average
                                                     Number of       Number of      burden per     Total  burden
    Grantee respondent type     Form/report name    respondents    responses per   response  (in       hours
                                                                    respondent       minutes)
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SMP...........................  Media Outreach &             216              46               4           662.4
                                 Education.
SMP...........................  Group Outreach &           6,935               4               4        1,849.33
                                 Education.
SMP...........................  Individual                 6,935              41               5       23,694.58
                                 Interaction.
SMP...........................  Team Member.....             216              31               5             558
SMP...........................  SIRS Team Member             216              31               5             558
                                 Activity.
SMP...........................  SMP Interaction.           6,935               2               5        1,155.83
* SMP.........................  OIG Report......             * 0               0               0               0
* SMP.........................  Time Spent                   * 0               0               0               0
                                 Report.
SHIP/MIPPA....................  Media Outreach &           3,750              15               4           3,750
                                 Education.
SHIP/MIPPA....................  Group Outreach &           3,750              15               4           3,750
                                 Education.
SHIP/MIPPA....................  SHIP Team Member             216              75               5           1,350
SHIP/MIPPA....................  Beneficiary               15,000             233               5         291,250
                                 Contact.
* SHIP/MIPPA..................  SHIP Performance             * 0               0               0               0
                                 Report.
* SHIP/MIPPA..................  Resource Report.             * 0               0               0               0
* SHIP/MIPPA..................  MIPPA                        * 0               0               0               0
                                 Performance
                                 Report.
SHIP/MIPPA....................  SHIP Team Member             216              40               7           1,008
                                 Activity.
* SHIP/SMP/MIPPA..............  Summary Reports.             * 0               0               0               0
* SHIP/MIPPA..................  Part D                       * 0               0               0               0
                                 Enrollment
                                 Outcomes Report.
                                                 ---------------------------------------------------------------
    Totals....................  ................          49,769       4,042,681  ..............      345,646.47
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* This data collection activity is an automated task in the system and does not compute to an estimate of time
  for burden.



[[Page 73347]]

    Dated: October 19, 2023.
Alison Barkoff,
Senior official performing the duties of the Administrator and the 
Assistant Secretary for Aging.
[FR Doc. 2023-23563 Filed 10-24-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4154-01-P