Notice2022-21624
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
October 5, 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." This proposed information collection was previously published in the Federal Register on July 11, 2022 and allowed 60 days for public comment. AHRQ received one comment from The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) in strong support of the questions for this proposed data collection. The purpose of this notice is to allow an additional 30 days for public comment.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 87 Issue 192 (Wednesday, October 5, 2022)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 192 (Wednesday, October 5, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 60402-60403]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2022-21624]
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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 information collection
project ``Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) COVID-19 Changes.''
This proposed information collection was previously published in the
Federal Register on July 11, 2022 and allowed 60 days for public
comment. AHRQ received one comment from The Bureau of Economic Analysis
(BEA) in strong support of the questions for this proposed data
collection. The purpose of this notice is to allow an additional 30
days for public comment.
DATES: Comments on this notice must be received by November 4, 2022.
ADDRESSES: Written comments and recommendations for the proposed
information collection should be sent within 30 days of publication of
this notice to <a href="http://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain">www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain</a>. 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
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#0a6e6578637924666f6c61657d637e704a4b42585b24626279246d657c"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="6e0a011c071d40020b08050119071a142e2f263c3f4006061d40090118">[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 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
[[Page 60403]]
research. The total cost burden is estimated to be $6,218 annually.
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 questions included in the MEPS 13,338 * 1 1/60 222
questionnaire..............................
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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 questions included in the MEPS 13,338 222 $28.01 $6,218
questionnaire..............................
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* 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: September 29, 2022.
Marquita Cullom,
Associate Director.
[FR Doc. 2022-21624 Filed 10-4-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4160-90-P
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