[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 150 (Tuesday, August 4, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 47214-47216]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-16948]
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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, Health and Human
Services (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: ``The Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) Social and
Health Experiences Self-Administered Questionnaire and COVID-19
Changes.'' This proposed information collection was previously
published in the Federal Register on May 7, 2020 and allowed 60 days
for public comment. AHRQ received two substantive comments from members
of the public. The purpose of this notice is to allow an additional 30
days for public comment.
DATES: Comments on this notice must be received by 30 days after date
of publication of this notice.
ADDRESSES: Written comments and recommendations for the proposed
information collection should be sent within 30 days of publication of
this notice to www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain. Find this particular
information collection by selecting ``Currently under 30-day Review--
Open for Public Comments'' or by using the search function.
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
``The Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) Social and Health
Experiences Self-Administered Questionnaire and COVID-19 Changes''
The Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) consists of the
following three components and has been conducted annually since 1996:
Household Component (MEPS-HC): A sample of households
participating in the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) in the
prior calendar year are interviewed 5 times over a 2 and one-half (2.5)
year period. These 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.
Medical Provider Component: The MEPS-MPC collects
information from medical and financial records maintained by hospitals,
physicians, pharmacies and home health agencies named as sources of
care by household respondents.
[[Page 47215]]
Insurance Component: The MEPS-IC collects information on
establishment characteristics, insurance offerings and premiums from
employers. The MEPS-IC is conducted by the Census Bureau for AHRQ and
is cleared separately.
This request is for the MEPS-HC only. The OMB Control Number for
the MEPS-HC is 0935-0118, which was last approved by OMB on November 8,
2019, and will expire on November 30, 2022.
The purpose of this request is to integrate several items into the
MEPS-HC including several new questions related to COVID-19 including
telehealth/telemedicine questions into the computer assisted personal
interviewing (CAPI) questionnaire and a new self-administered
questionnaire (SAQ) entitled, ``Social and Health Experiences,'' into
the MEPS. The questions on COVID-19 capture information on any delay in
care due to COVID-19. The questions will be administered through a
Reporting Unit (RU)-level gate question with follow up questions asked
at the person level as appropriate. Telehealth/telemedicine will be
administered as its own event type with questions and probes mirroring
those used for in-person medical provider visits. This SAQ will include
questions in a dual mode (web and paper) self-administered
questionnaire about social and behavioral determinants of health
including questions about housing affordability and quality,
neighborhood characteristics, food security, transportation needs,
financial strain, smoking and physical activity, and experiences with
discrimination, social support, general well-being, personal safety,
and adverse circumstances in childhood. The information collected will
be used to examine the relationship between measures of the social
determinants of health and measures of health status, and the use and
expense of health care services. The goal of this survey is to help
understand the relationship between social determinants of health and
health care need in order to ultimately improve health care and health.
This study is being conducted by AHRQ through its contractors,
Westat and RTI International, 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 cost
and use of health care services and with respect to health statistics
and surveys. 42 U.S.C. 299a(a)(3) and (8); 42 U.S.C. 299b-2.
Method of Collection
Data collection will be for eligible adults (aged 18 and over).
AHRQ proposes a dual-mode (web and paper) collection primarily to
further protect respondents' privacy due to the sensitive nature of
some of the items. Web completion will be the main mode with paper
offered to those with barriers to internet access. In addition, due to
COVID-19, in March of 2020, MEPS moved to telephone interviewing for
all panels and rounds currently in the field with increased use of the
web to facilitate respondent reporting; for example, the use of
showcards. The current plan is resume at least some face-to-face
interviewing during the fall rounds for Panels 23, 24, and 25.
Moreover, Panels 23 and 24 are to be extended one year with the
creation of Round 6 and 7 interviews in order to contribute to the data
collected for data years 2020 and 2021. The data collected will offset
any impact on response rates due to the pandemic or changes in primary
mode for data collection.
The new CAPI questions collecting information about COVID-19,
including telehealth, will be folded into the regular processing stream
of MEPS data to produce estimates of health care utilization and
expenditures.
Estimated Annual Respondent Burden
Exhibit 1 shows the estimated annualized burden hours for
respondent's time to participate in this research. The addition of
several questions related to COVID-19 and telehealth adds minimal
burden in hours and costs to the core CAPI interview, estimated to add
1 minute per interview and a total of 222 burden hours. The SAQ will be
completed during Round 1, Panel 26, Round 3, Panel 25, and Round 5,
Panel 24 by each person in the RU that is an eligible adult, an
estimated 27,059 persons, and takes about 7 minutes to complete. The
total annualized burden for this SAQ is estimated to be 3,157 hours.
Exhibit 2 shows the estimated annualized cost burden associated
with respondents' time to participate in this research. The total cost
burden is estimated to be $82,244 annually ($5,403 for COVID-19 related
research including telemedicine questions and the $76,841 for the SAQ.
Exhibit 1--Estimated Annualized Burden Hours
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Number of
Activity Number of responses per Hours per Total burden
respondents respondent response hours
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COVID-19 and Telehealth (telemedicine) questions * 13,338 1 1/60 222
included in the MEPS questionnaire.............
Social and Health Experiences SAQ; Adult SAQ-- 27,059 1 7/60 3,157
Year 2021......................................
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Total....................................... 40,397 n/a n/a 3,379
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* While the expected number of responding units for the annual estimates is 12,804, it is necessary to adjust
for survey attrition of initial respondents by a factor of 0.96 (13.338 = 12/804/0.96).
Exhibit 2--Estimated Annualized Cost Burden
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Number of Total burden Average hourly Total cost
Activity respondents hours wage rate * burden
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COVID-19 and Telehealth (telemedicine) questions 13,338 222 $24.34 $5,403
included in the MEPS questionnaire.............
Social and Health Experiences SAQ (SDOH); Adult 27,059 3,157 24.34 76,841
SAQ--Year 2021.................................
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Total....................................... 40,397 3,379 n/a 82,244
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* Mean hourly wage for All Occupations (00-0000).
[[Page 47216]]
Occupational Employment Statistics, May 2017 National Occupational
Employment and Wage Estimates United States, U.S. Department of Labor,
Bureau of Labor Statistics.
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's 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: July 30, 2020.
Virginia L. Mackay-Smith,
Associate Director.
[FR Doc. 2020-16948 Filed 8-3-20; 8:45 am]
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