Notice2022-14637
Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; Comment Request
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
July 11, 2022
Issuing agencies
Health and Human Services DepartmentAgency for Healthcare Research and Quality
Abstract
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 (MEPS) COVID-19 Changes."
Full Text
<html>
<head>
<title>Federal Register, Volume 87 Issue 131 (Monday, July 11, 2022)</title>
</head>
<body><pre>
[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 131 (Monday, July 11, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 41126-41127]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2022-14637]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
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 information collection
project ``Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) COVID-19 Changes.''
DATES: Comments on this notice must be received by September 9, 2022.
ADDRESSES: Written comments should be submitted to: Doris Lefkowitz,
Reports Clearance Officer, AHRQ, by email at
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#debab1acb7adf0b2bbb8b5b1a9b7aaa49e9f968c8ff0b6b6adf0b9b1a8"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="ed89829f849ec381888b86829a849997adaca5bfbcc385859ec38a829b">[email protected]</span></a>.
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
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#cbafa4b9a2b8e5a7aeada0a4bca2bfb18b8a83999ae5a3a3b8e5aca4bd"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="9afef5e8f3e9b4f6fffcf1f5edf3eee0dadbd2c8cbb4f2f2e9b4fdf5ec">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Proposed Project
``Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) COVID-19 Changes''
The Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) consists of the
following three components and has been conducted annually since 1996:
<bullet> 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 2 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.
<bullet> Medical Provider Component (MEPS-MPC): 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.
<bullet> Insurance Component (MEPS-IC): The MEPS-IC collects
information on establishment characteristics, insurance offerings and
premiums from
[[Page 41127]]
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 and MEPS-MPC is 0935-0118, which was last approved by OMB
on November 18, 2020, and will expire on November 30, 2023.
The purpose of this request is to update questions related to
COVID-19 in MEPS. New round 1 questions on COVID-19 capture information
on whether household members have ever had COVID-19 and when they most
recently had COVID-19. Follow-up questions in later rounds determine if
household members have had COVID-19 in the interview reference period.
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
The questions will be asked of all MEPS sample members with a
single household respondent reporting for the household. The first two
questions serve as gate questions and only respondents who report
having a COVID-19 diagnosis in the relevant time period will receive
follow-up questions about the timing of their most recent infection.
These questions will be administered in the existing Priority
Conditions Enumeration section of MEPS, which includes a similar series
of questions about whether household members have ever been diagnosed
with certain medical conditions.
Historically, MEPS has been conducted using Computer Assisted
Personal Interviewing (CAPI) where field interviews conduct interviews
with household respondents in person. However, MEPS is currently being
conducted via multiple modes, including face-to-face, phone, and
virtual interviewing, due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
The information collected on COVID-19 diagnoses will undergo
editing and be reviewed for data quality, including consistency with
publicly available sources of data on COVID-19 infections.
Additionally, the resulting variables will be included on the annual
MEPS full-year consolidated public use data files after being assessed
for any potential disclosure concerns.
The new CAPI questions collecting information about COVID-19 will
be folded into the regular processing stream of MEPS data to produce
estimates of health care utilization and expenditures. The information
collected on COVID-19 diagnoses will be used to compare healthcare
utilization and expenditures between those who have had confirmed
COVID-19 and those who have not. Additionally, the information
collected on the timing of recent infections can be used to either
include or exclude recent infections from calendar year or round-
specific estimates of healthcare utilization and expenditures. This
allows researchers to examine both shorter-term and longer-term impacts
of a COVID-19 diagnosis on healthcare utilization and expenditures.
Estimated Annual Respondent Burden
Exhibit 1 shows the estimated annualized burden hours for
respondents' time to participate in this research. The addition of
several questions related to COVID-19 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.
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 $6,218 annually.
Exhibit 1--Estimated Annualized Burden Hours
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Number of
Activity Number of responses per Hours per Total burden
respondents respondent response hours
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
COVID-19 questions included in the MEPS 13,338 * 1 1/60 222
questionnaire.............................
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* 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
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Number of Total burden Average hourly Total cost
Activity respondents hours wage rate * burden
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
COVID-19 questions included in the MEPS 13,338 222 $28.01 $6,218
questionnaire.............................
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* Based upon mean hourly wage, ``May 2021 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates United States,''
U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, retrieved at <a href="https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_nat.htm#00-0000">https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_nat.htm#00-0000</a>.
Request for Comments
In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act, 44 U.S.C. 3501-
3520, 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 5, 2022.
Mamatha Pancholi,
Acting Chief of Staff, Chief Data Officer.
[FR Doc. 2022-14637 Filed 7-8-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4160-90-P
</pre><script data-cfasync="false" src="/cdn-cgi/scripts/5c5dd728/cloudflare-static/email-decode.min.js"></script></body>
</html>Indexed from Federal Register on July 11, 2022.
This is legal information, not legal advice. Laws vary by jurisdiction and change frequently. Always verify current law with official sources and consult a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction for advice on your specific situation.