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[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 247 (Wednesday, December 26, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 76043-76044]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-30631]

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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 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.

DATES: Comments on this notice must be received by February 22, 2013.

ADDRESSES: Written comments should be submitted to: Doris Lefkowitz, 
Reports Clearance Officer, AHRQ, by email at 
doris.lefkowitz@AHRQ.hhs.gov.
    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 
doris.lefkowitz@AHRQ.hhs.gov.

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. Statistics are also produced for State and Local governments. 
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 
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/non-smoker 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.

[[Page 76044]]

     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 (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: December 13, 2012.
Carolyn M. Clancy,
Director.
[FR Doc. 2012-30631 Filed 12-21-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4160-90-M
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