[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 54 (Wednesday, March 20, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 17210-17212]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-06217]
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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 changes to the
currently approved
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information collection project: ``Medical Expenditure Panel Survey--
Insurance Component.'' In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act,
44 U.S.C. 3501-3521, AHRQ invites the public to comment on this
proposed information collection.
This proposed information collection was previously published in
the Federal Register on December 26th, 2012 and allowed 60 days for
public comment. Two 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 April 19, 2013.
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
email at [email protected] (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 email at
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Proposed Project
Medical Expenditure Panel Survey--Insurance Component
Employer-sponsored health insurance is the source of coverage for
85 million current and former workers, plus many of their family
members, and is a cornerstone of the U.S. health care system. The
Medical Expenditure Panel Survey--Insurance Component (MEPS-IC)
measures the extent, cost, and coverage of employer-sponsored health
insurance on an annual basis. Private industry statistics are produced
at the National, State, and sub-State (metropolitan area) level and
State and local government statistics at the National and Census Region
level.
The MEPS-IC was last approved by OMB on December 12th, 2012 and
will expire on December 31st, 2014. The OMB control number for the
MEPS-IC is 0935-0110. All of the supporting documents for the current
MEPS-IC can be downloaded from OMB's Web site at http://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAViewDocument?ref_nbr=201110-0935-001.
The current MEPS-IC clearance noted the possibility of making
changes to the 2013 MEPS-IC survey in order to address data needs for
the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) and other
issues. AHRQ solicited input on possible new questions from a working
group of over 50 individuals that included multiple representatives
from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Assistant
Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE), the Center for Medicare &
Medicaid Services' (CMS) Center for Consumer Information and Insurance
Oversight, the CMS Office of the Actuary, the National Center for
Health Statistics, the President's Council of Economic Advisors, the
Office of Management and Budget, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the
Employee Benefits Security Administration, and the Bureau of the
Census.
After the working group agreed on a reasonable number of specific
questions, the Bureau of the Census, at AHRQ's direction, conducted a
pretest of these questions on a sampled set of 2012 MEPS-IC survey
respondents. A telephone pretest was conducted in the spring and summer
of 2012. The results of this pretest, conducted under the Census
Bureau's generic pretest clearance process, led to AHRQ recommending
that a subset of the tested questions be added to the survey in 2013.
To avoid increasing the overall burden on survey respondents, a
proportional number of questions have been proposed for deletion.
Questions identified for deletion were those with limited analytic
value and/or below-average response rates. The AHRQ recommendations
were accepted by the HHS Data Council in November 2012.
For all establishment-level MEPS-IC forms, AHRQ proposes to make
the following changes to questions asked of employers who offer health
insurance:
Additions
Did your organization offer health insurance to unmarried
domestic partners of the same sex? Yes/No/Don't Know
Did your organization offer health insurance to unmarried
domestic partners of the opposite sex? Yes/No/Don't Know
Deletions
For 2013, what was the TYPICAL waiting period before new
employees could be covered by health insurance? Less than 2 weeks/2
weeks to less than 1 month/Until the first day of the next month/1-3
months/More than 3 months
Did your organization place any limits or restrictions on
health insurance coverage for the spouse of an employee if the spouse
had access to coverage through another employer? Yes/No/Don't Know
For all plan-level MEPS-IC forms, AHRQ proposes to make the
following changes:
Additions
(For self-insured health plans that purchase stop-loss
coverage) What is the specific stop-loss coverage amount per employee?
$----.00
Did the premiums for this insurance plan vary by any of these
characteristics? Smoker/nonsmoker will be added to current list of Age,
Gender, Wage or Salary levels, and Other. The ``Premiums did not vary''
response checkbox will be deleted and replaced with Yes/No/Don't Know
responses for each characteristic.
Did the amount an employee contributed toward his/her own
coverage vary by any of these employee characteristics? Participation
in a fitness/weight loss program and participation in a smoking
cessation program will be added to the current list of Hours worked,
Union status, Wage or salary level, Occupation, Length of employment,
and Other. The ``Employee contribution did not vary'' response checkbox
will be deleted and replaced with Yes/No/Don't Know responses for each
characteristic.
Which of the services listed were covered by the plan? Routine
vision care for children, Routine dental care for children, Mental
health care, and Substance abuse treatment will be added Routine vision
care for adults and Routine dental care for adults will replace Routine
vision care and Routine dental care respectively Chiropractic care
remains unchanged
Is this a Grandfathered health plan as defined by the
Affordable Care Act? Yes/No/Don't know
Deletions
How many different pricing categories or tiers of prescription
drug coverage were there for this plan? Number of tiers ---- or Don't
know
What was the MAXIMUM amount this plan would have paid for an
enrollee in ONE YEAR? $---- or No annual maximum
An employer can offer a Health Reimbursement Arrangement (HRA)
by setting up an account to reimburse employees for medical expenses
not covered by health insurance. Did your organization offer an HRA
associated with this plan in 2013? HRAs are NOT Flexible Spending
Accounts
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(FSAs) or Health Savings Accounts (HSAs). Yes/No/Don't Know
The MEPS Definitions form--MEPS-20(D)--will also be updated with
new definitions for terms used in these new questions (and the deletion
of terms used only in the deleted questions).
There are no changes to the 2013 MEPS-IC survey estimates of cost
and hour burdens due to these proposed question changes. The response
rate for the MEPS-IC survey also is not expected to change due to these
proposed changes.
The MEPS-IC is conducted pursuant to AHRQ's statutory authority to
conduct surveys to collect data on the cost, use and quality of health
care, including the types and costs of private health insurance. 42
U.S.C. 299b-2(a).
Method of Collection
There are no changes to the current data collection methods.
Estimated Annual Respondent Burden
There are no changes to the current burden estimates.
Estimated Annual Costs to the Federal Government
There are no changes to the current cost estimates.
Request for Comments
In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act, 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 healthcare research and
healthcare 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: March 4, 2013.
Carolyn M. Clancy,
Director.
[FR Doc. 2013-06217 Filed 3-19-13; 8:45 am]
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