[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 180 (Tuesday, September 17, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 57157-57159]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-22578]
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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: ``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 June 28th, 2013 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 October 17, 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
78 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. These statistics are produced at the
National, State, and sub-State (metropolitan area) level for private
industry. Statistics are also produced for State and Local governments.
This research has the following goals:
(1) To provide data for Federal policymakers evaluating the effects
of National and State health care reforms.
(2) To provide descriptive data on the current employer-sponsored
health insurance system and data for modeling the differential impacts
of proposed health policy initiatives.
(3) To supply critical State and National estimates of health
insurance spending for the National Health Accounts and Gross Domestic
Product.
(4) To support evaluation of the impact on health insurance offered
by small employers due to the implementation of Small Business Health
Options Program (SHOP) exchanges under the Patient Protection and
Affordable Care Act (PPACA), through the addition of a longitudinal
component to the sample.
This study is being conducted by AHRQ through the Bureau of the
Census, pursuant to AHRQ's statutory authority to conduct and support
research on healthcare and on systems for the delivery of such care,
including activities with respect to the quality, effectiveness,
efficiency, appropriateness and value of healthcare services and with
respect to quality measurement and improvement. 42 U.S.C. 299a(a)(1)
and (2).
[[Page 57158]]
Method of Collection
To achieve the goals of this project the following data collections
for both private sector and State and local government employers will
be implemented:
(1) Prescreener Questionnaire--The purpose of the Prescreener
Questionnaire, which is collected via telephone, varies depending on
the insurance status of the establishment contacted. (Establishment is
defined as a single, physical location in the private sector and a
governmental unit in state and local governments.) For establishments
that do not offer health insurance to their employees, the prescreener
is used to collect basic information such as number of employees.
Collection is completed for these establishments through this telephone
call. For establishments that do offer health insurance, contact name
and address information is collected that is used for the mailout of
the establishment and plan questionnaires. Obtaining this contact
information helps ensure that the questionnaires are directed to the
person in the establishment best equipped to complete them.
(2) Establishment Questionnaire--The purpose of the mailed
Establishment Questionnaire is to obtain general information from
employers that provide health insurance to their employees. Information
such as total active enrollment in health insurance, other employee
benefits, demographic characteristics of employees, and retiree health
insurance is collected through the establishment questionnaire.
(3) Plan Questionnaire--The purpose of the mailed Plan
Questionnaire is to collect plan-specific information on each plan (up
to four plans) offered by establishments that provide health insurance
to their employees. This questionnaire obtains information on total
premiums, employer and employee contributions to the premium, and plan
enrollment for each type of coverage offered--single, employee-plus-
one, and family--within a plan. It also asks for information on
deductibles, copays, and other plan characteristics.
(4) Longitudinal Sample--For 2014, an additional sample of small
employers (those with 50 or fewer employees) will be included in the
collection. This sample, called the Longitudinal Sample (LS), is
designed to measure the impact on small employers of the SHOP exchanges
that will become available that year. The LS will consist of 3,000
small, private-sector employers that responded to the 2013 MEPS-IC
regular survey. These employers will be surveyed again in 2014--using
the same collection methods as the regular survey--in order to track
changes in their health insurance offerings, characteristics, and
costs.
The primary objective of the MEPS-IC is to collect information on
employer-sponsored health insurance. Such information is needed in
order to provide the tools for Federal, State, and academic researchers
to evaluate current and proposed health policies and to support the
production of important statistical measures for other Federal
agencies.
Estimated Annual Respondent Burden
Exhibit 1 shows the estimated annualized burden hours for the
respondent's time to provide the requested data. The Prescreener
questionnaire will be completed by 32,675 respondents and takes about
5\1/2\ minutes to complete. The Establishment questionnaire will be
completed by 28,365 respondents and takes about 23 minutes to complete.
The Plan questionnaire will be completed by 23,813 respondents and will
require an average of 2.2 responses per respondent. Each Plan
questionnaire takes about 11 minutes to complete. The total annualized
burden hours are estimated to be 23,150 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 $679,221.
The estimates of annualized burden hours and costs have increased
slightly relative to the 60-Day Notice due to the inclusion of the
Longitudinal Sample in the estimates.
Exhibit 1--Estimated Annualized Burden Hours
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Number of
Form name Number of responses per Hours per Total burden
respondents respondent response hours
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Prescreener Questionnaire....................... 32,675 1 0.09 2,941
Establishment Questionnaire..................... 28,365 1 *0.38 10,779
Plan Questionnaire.............................. 23,813 2.2 0.18 9,430
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Total....................................... 84,853 na na 23,150
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* The burden estimate printed on the establishment questionnaire is 45 minutes which includes the burden
estimate for completing the establishment questionnaire, an average of 2.2 plan questionnaires, plus the
prescreener. The establishment and plan questionnaires are sent to the respondent as a package and are
completed by the respondent at the same time.
Exhibit 2--Estimated Annualized Cost Burden
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Average
Form name Number of Total burden hourly wage Total cost
respondents hours rate * burden
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Prescreener Questionnaire....................... 32,675 2,941 29.34 $86,289
Establishment Questionnaire..................... 28,365 10,779 29.34 316,256
Plan Questionnaire.............................. 23,813 9,430 29.34 276,676
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Total....................................... 84,853 23,150 na 679,221
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* Based upon the mean hourly wage for Compensation, Benefits, and Job Analysis Specialists occupation code 13-
1141, at http://bls.gov/oes/current/oes131141.htm (U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics.)
[[Page 57159]]
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 health care research and
health care 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: September 10, 2013.
Richard Kronick,
Director.
[FR Doc. 2013-22578 Filed 9-16-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4160-90-P