Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 247 / Wednesday, December 26, 2012 / Notices 76043 

Written comments will also be 

accepted in advance of the meeting and 

are especially welcome. Please address 

written comments by email to 

info@bioethics.gov, or by mail to the 

following address: Public Commentary, 

Presidential Commission for the Study 

of Bioethical Issues, 1425 New York 

Ave. NW., Suite C–100, Washington, DC 

20005. Comments will be publicly 

available, including any personally 

identifiable or confidential business 

information that they contain. Trade 

secrets should not be submitted. 

Dated: December 17, 2012. 

Lisa M. Lee, 

Executive Director, Presidential Commission 

for the Study of Bioethical Issues. 

[FR Doc. 2012–31037 Filed 12–21–12; 4:15 pm] 

BILLING CODE 4154–06–P 

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. 

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 belowaverage 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? $lll.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. 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with 
76044 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 247 / Wednesday, December 26, 2012 / Notices 

• 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 lll or Don’t know 

• What was the MAXIMUM amount 

this plan would have paid for an 

enrollee in ONE YEAR? $lll 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 

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND 

HUMAN SERVICES 

Centers for Disease Control and 

Prevention 

[30-Day-13–0612] 

Agency Forms Undergoing Paperwork 

Reduction Act Review 

The Centers for Disease Control and 

Prevention (CDC) publishes a list of 

information collection requests under 

review by the Office of Management and 

Budget (OMB) in compliance with the 

Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 

Chapter 35). To request a copy of these 

requests, call the CDC Reports Clearance 

Officer at (404) 639–7570 or send an 

email to omb@cdc.gov. Send written 

comments to CDC Desk Officer, Office of 

Management and Budget, Washington, 

DC or by fax to (202) 395–5806. Written 

comments should be received within 30 

days of this notice. 

Proposed Project 

Well-Integrated Screening and 

Evaluation for Women Across the 

Nation (WISEWOMAN) Reporting 

System (OMB #0920–0612, exp. 3/31/ 

2013)—Extension—National Center for 

Chronic Disease Prevention and Health 

Promotion (NCCDPHP), Centers for 

Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). 

Background and Brief Description 

The WISEWOMAN program (WellIntegrated Screening and Evaluation for 

Women Across the Nation), 

administered by the Centers for Disease 

Control and Prevention (CDC), was 

established to examine ways to improve 

the delivery of services for women who 

have limited access to health care and 

elevated risk factors for cardiovascular 

disease (CVD). The program focuses on 

reducing CVD risk factors and provides 

screening services for select risk factors 

such as elevated blood cholesterol, 

hypertension and abnormal blood 

glucose levels. The program also 

provides lifestyle interventions and 

medical referrals. On an annual basis, 

21 grantees funded through the 

WISEWOMAN program have provided 

services to approximately 30,000 

women who are already participating in 

the National Breast and Cervical Cancer 

Early Detection Program (NBCCEDP), 

also administered by CDC. 

CDC seeks a one-year extension of 

OMB approval to collect information 

about WISEWOMAN grantee activities 

in the final year of the five-year 

cooperative agreement. There are no 

changes to the number of respondents, 

the data items reported to CDC, the 

estimated burden per response, or the 

total estimated annualized burden. All 

information will continue to be 

collected twice per year. 

Information reported to CDC includes 

baseline and follow-up data (12 months 

post enrollment) for all women served 

through the WISEWOMAN program. 

These data, called the minimum data 

elements (MDE), include data elements 

that describe risk factors for the women 

served in each program and data 

elements that describe the number and 

type of intervention sessions attended. 

Funded grantees compile the data from 

their existing databases and report the 

MDE to CDC electronically. The 

estimated burden per response for 

Screening and Assessment MDE is 16 

hours, and the estimated burden per 

response for Lifestyle Intervention MDE 

is 8 hours. 

WISEWOMAN grantees also submit 

semi-annual progress reports that 

describe programmatic activities, public 

education and outreach, professional 

education, and the delivery of services. 

Progress reports will continue to be 

submitted to CDC in hardcopy format. 

The estimated burden per response for 

each progress report is 16 hours. 

The information collection is 

designed to support continuous program 

monitoring and improvement. CDC uses 

the MDE data to assess the effectiveness 

of the WISEWOMAN program in 


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