[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 160 (Thursday, August 20, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 42077-42079]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-20021]
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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection;
Comment Request
AGENCY: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, HHS.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: This notice announces the intention of the Agency for
Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) to request that the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) approve the proposed information collection
project: ``2010-2011 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey Insurance
Component.'' In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 44
U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A), AHRQ invites the public to comment on this
proposed information collection.
This proposed information collection was previously published in
the Federal Register on June 16th, 2009 and allowed 60 days for public
comment. No comments were received. The purpose of this notice is to
allow an additional 30 days for public comment.
DATES: Comments on this notice must be received by September 21, 2009.
ADDRESSES: Written comments should be submitted to: AHRQ's OMB Desk
Officer by fax at (202) 395-6974 (attention: AHRQ's desk officer) or by
e-mail at OIRA_submission@omb.eop.gov (attention: AHRQ's desk
officer).
Copies of the proposed collection plans, data collection
instruments, and specific details on the estimated burden can be
obtained from the AHRQ Reports Clearance Officer.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Doris Lefkowitz, AHRQ Reports
Clearance Officer, (301) 427-1477, or by e-mail at
doris.lefkowitz@ahrq.hhs.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Proposed Project
2010-2011 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey Insurance Component
AHRQ seeks to renew the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey Insurance
Component (MEPS-IC) for calendar years 2010 and 2011. The MEPS-IC, an
annual survey of the characteristics of employer-sponsored health
insurance, was first conducted by AHRQ in 1997 for the calendar year
1996. The survey has since been conducted annually for calendar years
1996 through 2009, except for 2007. A change from prior year collection
to calendar year collection in 2008 meant that no data were collected
for the 2007 calendar year, but the change has allowed for much earlier
release of the survey results for the 2008 calendar year forward. AHRQ
is authorized to conduct the MEPS-IC pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 299b-2.
Employment-based health insurance is the source of coverage for
over 90 million workers and their family members, and is a cornerstone
of the current U.S. health care system. The MEPS-IC measures the
extent, cost, and coverage of employment-based health
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insurance. Statistics are produced at the National, State, and sub-
State (metropolitan area) level.
The MEPS-IC is designed to provide data for Federal policymakers
evaluating the effects of National and State health care reforms. It
also provides descriptive data on the current employment-based health
insurance system and data for modeling the differential impacts of
proposed health policy initiatives. The MEPS-IC also supplies critical
State and National estimates of health insurance spending for the
National Health Accounts and Gross Domestic Product. Data to be
collected from each employer will include a description of the
organization (e.g., size, industry) and descriptions of health
insurance plans available, plan enrollments, total plan costs and costs
to employees. This survey will be conducted for AHRQ by the Bureau of
the Census using an annual sample of employers selected from Census
Bureau lists of private sector employers and governments.
The MEPS-IC is one of three components of the MEPS. The others are
the Household and Medical Provider Components:
MEPS Household Component is a sample of households participating in
the National Health Interview Survey in the prior calendar year. These
households are interviewed 5 times over a 2\1/2\ year period for MEPS.
The 5 interviews yield two years of information on use of and
expenditures for health care, sources of payment for that health care,
insurance status, employment, health status and health care quality.
MEPS Medical Provider Component collects information from medical
and financial records maintained by hospitals, physicians, pharmacies,
health care institutions, and home health agencies named as sources of
care by household respondents.
This clearance request is for the MEPS-IC only.
Method of Collection
Data collection for the MEPS-IC takes place in three phases at each
sample establishment: prescreening interview, questionnaire mailout,
and nonresponse follow-up. An establishment is a single location of a
private sector or State and local government employer.
First, a prescreening interview is conducted by telephone. For
those establishments that offer health insurance, its goal is to obtain
the name and title of an appropriate person in each establishment to
whom a MEPS-IC questionnaire will be mailed. For establishments which
do not offer health insurance, a brief set of questions about
establishment characteristics is administered at the end of the
prescreening interview to close out the case. This step minimizes
burden for many small establishments that do not offer health
insurance.
The next phase, questionnaire mailout, makes use of two forms--one
requests establishment-level information (e.g., total number of
employees) and the other requests plan-level information (e.g., the
plan premium for single coverage) for each plan (up to four) offered by
the establishment.
In the final phase, establishments which do not respond to the
initial MEPS-IC mail questionnaire are mailed a nonresponse follow-up
package. Those establishments which fail to respond to the second
mailing are contacted for a telephone follow-up using computer-assisted
interviewing.
Data collection for the largest private sector and government
units, which have high survey response burdens, may differ somewhat
from the above pattern.
Estimated Annual Respondent Burden
Exhibit I shows the estimated annualized burden hours for the
respondents' time to provide the requested data. The Prescreener
questionnaire will be completed by 32,006 respondents and takes about
5\1/2\ minutes to complete. The Establishment questionnaire will be
completed by 24,965 respondents and takes about 23 minutes to complete.
The Plan questionnaire will be completed by 21,437 respondents and will
require an average of 2.1 responses per respondent. Each Plan
questionnaire takes about 11 minutes to complete. The total annualized
burden hours are estimated to be 20,471 hours.
Exhibit 2 shows the estimated annualized cost burden associated
with the respondents' time to participate in this data collection. The
annualized cost burden is estimated to be $546,576.
Exhibit 1--Estimated Annualized Burden Hours
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Number of
Form name Number of responses per Hours per Total burden
respondents response response hours
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Prescreener Questionnaire....................... 32,006 1 0.09 2,881
Establishment Questionnaire..................... 24,965 1 0.38 9,487
Plan Questionnaire.............................. 21,437 2.1 0.18 8,103
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Total....................................... 78,408 na na 20,471
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Note: The total number of respondents increased from previous
clearances not due to any increase in sample size, but due to a
change in the way the number of respondents is reported. While now
total respondents are the sum of respondents per form, previously
they were reported as the number of unique establishments completing
at least one form.
Exhibit 2--Estimated Annualized Cost Burden
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Number of Total burden Average hourly Total cost
Form name respondents hours wage rate* burden
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Prescreener Questionnaire....................... 32,006 2,881 26.70 $76,923
Establishment Questionnaire..................... 24,965 9,487 26.70 253,303
Plan Questionnaire.............................. 21,437 8,103 26.70 216,350
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*Based upon the mean wage for Compensation, benefits, and job analysis specialists, civilian workers, National
Compensation Survey: Occupational Earnings in the United States, 2007, U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of
Labor Statistics.
[[Page 42079]]
Estimated Annual Costs to the Federal Government
Exhibit 3 shows the estimated total and annualized cost for this
two year project. The annual cost to the Federal Government is
estimated to be $10.3 million.
Exhibit 3--Estimated Total and Annualized Cost
[$ thousands]
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Annualized
Cost component Total cost cost
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Project Development........................... $3,099 $1,550
Data Collection Activities.................... 7,230 3,615
Data Processing and Analysis.................. 7,230 3,615
Project Management............................ 2,066 1,033
Overhead...................................... 1,033 517
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Total..................................... $20,658 $10,329
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Note: Components may not sum to Total due to rounding.
Request for Comments
In accordance with the above-cited Paperwork Reduction Act
legislation, comments on AHRQ's information collection are requested
with regard to any of the following: (a) Whether the proposed
collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of
AHRQ health care research, quality improvement and information
dissemination functions, including whether the information will have
practical utility; (b) the accuracy of AHRQ's estimate of burden
(including hours and costs) of the proposed collection(s) of
information; (c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of
the information to be collected; and (d) ways to minimize the burden of
the collection of information upon the respondents, including the use
of automated collection techniques or other forms of information
technology.
Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized
and included in the Agency's subsequent request for OMB approval of the
proposed information collection. All comments will become a matter of
public record.
Dated: August 13, 2009.
Carolyn M. Clancy,
Director.
[FR Doc. E9-20021 Filed 8-19-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4160-90-M