Federal Register: August 20, 2009 (Volume 74, Number 160)
DOCID: fr20au09-41 FR Doc E9-20021
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
NOTICE: NOTICES
DOCID: fr20au09-41
DOCUMENT ACTION: Notice.
SUBJECT CATEGORY:
Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; Comment Request
DATES: Comments on this notice must be received by September 21, 2009.
DOCUMENT 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: ``20102011 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.
SUMMARY:
Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposals, Submissions, and Approvals
SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION
Proposed Project
20102011 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey Insurance Component
AHRQ seeks to renew the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey Insurance Component (MEPSIC) for calendar years 2010 and 2011. The MEPSIC, an annual survey of the characteristics of employersponsored 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 MEPSIC pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 299b2.
Employmentbased 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 MEPSIC measures the extent, cost, and coverage of employmentbased health
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insurance. Statistics are produced at the National, State, and sub State (metropolitan area) level.
The MEPSIC 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 employmentbased health insurance system and data for modeling the differential impacts of proposed health policy initiatives. The MEPSIC 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 MEPSIC 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 MEPSIC only.
Method of Collection
Data collection for the MEPSIC takes place in three phases at each sample establishment: prescreening interview, questionnaire mailout, and nonresponse followup. 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 MEPSIC 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 formsone requests establishmentlevel information (e.g., total number of employees) and the other requests planlevel 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 MEPSIC mail questionnaire are mailed a nonresponse followup package. Those establishments which fail to respond to the second mailing are contacted for a telephone followup using computerassisted 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 1Estimated Annualized Burden Hours
Number of
Form name Number of responses per Hours per Total burden
respondents response response hours
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
Total....................................... 78,408 na na 20,471
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 2Estimated Annualized Cost Burden
Number of Total burden Average hourly Total cost
Form name respondents hours wage rate* burden
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.
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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 $10.3 million.
Exhibit 3Estimated Total and Annualized Cost
[$ thousands]
Annualized
Cost component Total cost cost
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
Total..................................... $20,658 $10,329
Note: Components may not sum to Total due to rounding. Request for Comments
In accordance with the abovecited 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. E920021 Filed 81909; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 416090M
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT
Doris Lefkowitz, AHRQ Reports Clearance Officer, (301) 4271477, or by email at
doris.lefkowitz@ahrq.hhs.gov.