Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; Comment Request, 51565-51567 [2014-20423]
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Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 168 / Friday, August 29, 2014 / Notices
FEDERAL MARITIME COMMISSION
Ocean Transportation Intermediary
License Revocations and Terminations
The Commission gives notice that the
following Ocean Transportation
Intermediary licenses have been
revoked or terminated for the reason
indicated pursuant to section 19 of the
Shipping Act of 1984 (46 U.S.C. 40101)
effective on the date shown.
License No.: 004264F.
Name: Trans Freight Services, Inc.
Address: 420 Doughty Blvd., 2nd
Floor, Inwood, NY 11096.
Date Revoked: August 8, 2014.
Reason: Failed to maintain a valid
bond.
License No.: 017342N.
Name: Trans Circle Inc.
Address: 1927 West 139th Street,
Gardena, CA 90249.
Date Revoked: August 13, 2014.
Reason: Failed to maintain a valid
bond.
License No.: 022610NF.
Name: Ascend Logistics, LLC.
Address: 75 Windsor Pond Road,
West Windsor, NJ 08550.
Date Surrendered: August 6, 2014.
Reason: Voluntary surrender of
license.
License No.: 023371N.
Name: PME Logistics Inc.
Address: 19401 S. Main Street, Suite
102, Gardena, CA 90248.
Date Revoked: August 10, 2014.
Reason: Failed to maintain a valid
bond.
License No.: 024464N.
Name: Seahorse Forwarding Ltd.
Address: One Euclid Road, Fort Lee,
NJ 07024.
Date Surrendered: August 11, 2014.
Reason: Voluntary surrender of
license.
Sandra L. Kusumoto,
Director, Bureau of Certification and
Licensing.
[FR Doc. 2014–20570 Filed 8–28–14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6730–01–P
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND
HUMAN SERVICES
wreier-aviles on DSK5TPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
National Institutes of Health
Notice of Diabetes Mellitus Interagency
Coordinating Committee Meeting
The Diabetes Mellitus
Interagency Coordinating Committee
(DMICC) will hold a meeting on
September 29, 2014. The topic for this
meeting will be ‘‘Implementing the
Department of Health and Human
SUMMARY:
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15:25 Aug 28, 2014
Jkt 232001
Services National Action Plan for
Hypoglycemic Safety.’’ The meeting is
open to the public.
DATES: The meeting will be held on
September 29, 2014 from 8:15 a.m. to
4:00 p.m. Individuals wanting to present
oral comments must notify the contact
person at least 10 days before the
meeting date.
ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held in
Building 31 Conference Room 6C6, on
the NIH Campus in Bethesda, MD.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For
further information concerning this
meeting, see the DMICC Web site,
www.diabetescommittee.gov, or contact
Dr. B. Tibor Roberts, Executive
Secretary of the Diabetes Mellitus
Interagency Coordinating Committee,
National Institute of Diabetes and
Digestive and Kidney Diseases, 31
Center Drive, Building 31A, Room
9A19, MSC 2560, Bethesda, MD 20892–
2560, telephone: 301–496–6623; FAX:
301–480–6741; email: dmicc@
mail.nih.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The
DMICC, chaired by the National
Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and
Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) comprising
members of the Department of Health
and Human Services and other federal
agencies that support diabetes-related
activities, facilitates cooperation,
communication, and collaboration on
diabetes among government entities.
DMICC meetings, held several times a
year, provide an opportunity for
Committee members to learn about and
discuss current and future diabetes
programs in DMICC member
organizations and to identify
opportunities for collaboration. The
September 29, 2014 DMICC meeting
will focus on ‘‘Implementing the
Department of Health and Human
Services National Action Plan for
Hypoglycemic Safety.’’
Any member of the public interested
in presenting oral comments to the
Committee should notify the contact
person listed on this notice at least 10
days in advance of the meeting.
Interested individuals and
representatives or organizations should
submit a letter of intent, a brief
description of the organization
represented, and a written copy of their
oral presentation in advance of the
meeting. Only one representative of an
organization will be allowed to present;
oral comments and presentations will be
limited to a maximum of 5 minutes.
Printed and electronic copies are
requested for the record. In addition,
any interested person may file written
comments with the Committee by
forwarding their statement to the
PO 00000
Frm 00040
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
51565
contact person listed on this notice. The
statement should include the name,
address, telephone number and when
applicable, the business or professional
affiliation of the interested person.
Because of time constraints for the
meeting, oral comments will be allowed
on a first-come, first-serve basis.
Members of the public who would
like to receive email notification about
future DMICC meetings should register
for the listserv available on the DMICC
Web site, www.diabetescommittee.gov.
Date: August 22, 2014.
B. Tibor Roberts,
Executive Secretary, DMICC, Office of
Scientific Program and Policy Analysis,
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive
and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of
Health.
[FR Doc. 2014–20620 Filed 8–28–14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4140–01–P
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND
HUMAN SERVICES
Agency for Healthcare Research and
Quality
Agency Information Collection
Activities: Proposed Collection;
Comment Request
Agency for Healthcare Research
and Quality, HHS.
ACTION: Notice.
AGENCY:
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 (MEPS)
Household 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 October 28, 2014.
ADDRESSES: Written comments should
be submitted to: AHRQ’s OMB Desk
Officer by fax at (202) 395–6974
(attention: AHRQ’s desk officer) or by
email at OIRA_submission@
omb.eop.gov (attention: AHRQ’s desk
officer). Copies of the proposed changes
to questions asked of household
respondents, data collection
instruments, collection plans, and
specific details on the estimated burden
can be obtained from the AHRQ Reports
Clearance Officer.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Doris Lefkowitz, AHRQ Reports
SUMMARY:
E:\FR\FM\29AUN1.SGM
29AUN1
51566
Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 168 / Friday, August 29, 2014 / Notices
Clearance Officer, (301) 427–1477, or by
email at doris.lefkowitzAHRQ.hhs.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Proposed Project
wreier-aviles on DSK5TPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
Medical Expenditure Panel Survey
(MEPS) Household Component
For over thirty years, results from the
MEPS and its predecessor surveys (the
1977 National Medical Care
Expenditure Survey, the 1980 National
Medical Care Utilization and
Expenditure Survey and the 1987
National Medical Expenditure Survey)
have been used by OMB, DHHS,
Congress and a wide number of health
services researchers to analyze health
care use, expenses and health policy.
Major changes continue to take place
in the health care delivery system. The
MEPS is needed to provide information
about the current state of the health care
system as well as to track changes over
time. The MEPS permits annual
estimates of use of health care and
expenditures and sources of payment
for that health care. It also permits
tracking individual change in
employment, income, health insurance
and health status over two years. The
use of the National Health Interview
Survey (NHIS) as a sampling frame
expands the MEPS analytic capacity by
providing another data point for
comparisons over time.
Households selected for participation
in the MEPS–HC are interviewed five
times in person. These rounds of
interviewing are spaced about 5 months
apart. The interview will take place
with a family respondent who will
report for him/herself and for other
family members.
The MEPS–HC has the following goal:
• To provide nationally
representative estimates for the U.S.
civilian noninstitutionalized population
for health care use, expenditures,
sources of payment and health
insurance coverage.
This study is being conducted by
AHRQ through its contractor, Westat,
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
To achieve the goals of the MEPS–HC
the following data collections are
implemented:
I. Household Component Core
Instrument. The core instrument
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15:25 Aug 28, 2014
Jkt 232001
collects data about persons in sample
households. Topical areas asked in each
round of interviewing include condition
enumeration, health status, health care
utilization including prescribed
medicines, expense and payment,
employment, and health insurance.
Other topical areas that are asked only
once a year include access to care,
income, assets, satisfaction with health
plans and providers, children’s health,
and adult preventive care. While many
of the questions are asked about the
entire reporting unit (RU), which is
typically a family, only one person
normally provides this information.
2. Adult Self Administered
Questionnaire. A brief self-administered
questionnaire (SAQ) will be used to
collect self-reported (rather than
through household proxy) information
on health status, health opinions and
satisfaction with health care for adults
18 and older. The satisfaction with
health care items are a subset of items
from the Consumer Assessment of
Healthcare Providers and Systems
(CAHPS). The health status items are
from the Short Form 12 Version 2 (SF–
12 version 2), which has been widely
used as a measure of self-reported
health status in the United States, the
Kessler Index (K6) of non-specific
psychological distress, and the Patient
Health Questionnaire (PHQ–2).
3. Diabetes Care SAQ. A brief self
administered paper-and-pencil
questionnaire on the quality of diabetes
care is administered once a year (during
rounds 3 and 5) to persons identified-as
having diabetes. Included are questions
about the number of times the
respondent reported having a
hemoglobin A1c blood test, whether the
respondent reported having his or her
feet checked for sores or irritations,
whether the respondent reported having
an eye exam in which the pupils were
dilated, the last time the respondent had
his or her blood cholesterol checked and
whether the diabetes has caused kidney
or eye problems. Respondents are also
asked if their diabetes is being treated
with diet, oral medications or insulin.
4. Permission forms for the MEPS–
MPC Provider and Pharmacy Survey. As
in previous panels of the MEPS, we will
ask respondents for permission to obtain
supplemental information from their
medical providers (hospitals,
physicians, home health agencies and
institutions) and pharmacies.
The MEPS–HC was last approved by
OMB on December 20th, 2012 and will
expire on December 31st, 2015. The
OMB control number for the MEPS–HC
is 0935–0118. All of the supporting
documents for the current MEPS–HC
can be downloaded from OMB’s Web
PO 00000
Frm 00041
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
site at. https://www.reginfo.gov/public/
do/PRAViewDocument?ref_nbr=2012090935-001
The MEPS is a multi-purpose survey.
In addition to collecting data to yield
annual estimates for a variety of
measures related to health care use and
expenditures, the MEPS also provides
estimates of measures related to health
status, consumer assessment of health
care, health insurance coverage,
demographic characteristics,
employment and access to health care
indicators. Estimates can be provided
for individuals, families and population
subgroups of interest. Data from the
MEPS–HC are intended for a number of
annual reports required to be produced
by the Agency, including the National
Health Care Quality Report and the
National Health Care Disparities Report.
AHRQ proposes to make the following
changes to questions asked of
respondents:
Additions:
Closing—questions pertaining to
respondent email;
Reenumeration—addition of
questions pertaining to educational
level attainment and the determination
of institutional status;
Provider Probes—determination if
healthcare was received in an overnight
facility; and
Health Insurance—questions were
added regarding interaction with the
health insurance marketplace,
enrollment through state health
insurance exchanges, the extent of
subsidized health insurance, monthly
premiums, health insurance metal plan
names, and medical debt.
Preventive Care—a field test will be
conducted to assess response loss
through self-administration.
Deletions:
Questions were removed from the
following sections: Access to Care;
Closing; Medical Conditions; Charge
Payment; Child Preventive Health;
Disability Days; Employment, Health
Status; Health Insurance; and Income.
Questions were removed to reduce
burden and redundancy, additional
questions were removed due to
difficulty in respondent interpretation,
low frequency in response or minimal
variation, and limited ability of
respondent to respond accurately.
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
E:\FR\FM\29AUN1.SGM
29AUN1
Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 168 / Friday, August 29, 2014 / Notices
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: August 20, 2014.
Richard Kronick,
Director.
[FR Doc. 2014–20423 Filed 8–28–14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4160–90–M
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND
HUMAN SERVICES
Agency for Healthcare Research and
Quality
Patient Safety Organizations:
Voluntary Relinquishment From
Patient Safety Services, LLC
Agency for Healthcare Research
and Quality (AHRQ), Department of
Health and Human Services (HHS).
ACTION: Notice of Delisting.
AGENCY:
The Patient Safety and
Quality Improvement Act of 2005, 42
U.S.C. 299b–21 to b–26, (Patient Safety
Act) and the related Patient Safety and
Quality Improvement Final Rule, 42
CFR Part 3 (Patient Safety Rule),
published in the Federal Register on
November 21, 2008, 73 FR 70732–
70814, provide for the formation of
Patient Safety Organizations (PSOs),
which collect, aggregate, and analyze
confidential information regarding the
quality and safety of health care
delivery. The Patient Safety Rule
authorizes AHRQ, on behalf of the
Secretary of NHS, to list as a PSO an
entity that attests that it meets the
statutory and regulatory requirements
for listing. A PSO can be ‘‘delisted’’ by
the Secretary if it is found to no longer
meet the requirements of the Patient
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SUMMARY:
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15:25 Aug 28, 2014
Jkt 232001
Safety Act and Patient Safety Rule,
when a PSO chooses to voluntarily
relinquish its status as a PSO for any
reason, or when a PSO’s listing expires.
AHRQ has accepted a notification of
voluntary relinquishment from Patient
Safety Services, LLC of its status as a
PSO, and has delisted the PSO
accordingly.
DATES: The directories for both listed
and delisted PSOs are ongoing and
reviewed weekly by AHRQ. The
delisting was effective at 12:00 Midnight
ET (2400) on July 30, 2014.
ADDRESSES: Both directories can be
accessed electronically at the following
HHS Web site: https://
www.pso.AHRQ.gov/listed.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Eileen Hogan, Center for Quality
Improvement and Patient Safety, AHRQ,
540 Gaither Road, Rockville, MD 20850;
Telephone (toll free): (866) 403–3697;
Telephone (local): (301) 427–1111; TTY
(toll free): (866) 438–7231; TTY (local):
(301) 427–1130; Email: pso@
AHRQ.hhs.qov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The Patient Safety Act authorizes the
listing of PSOs, which are entities or
component organizations whose
mission and primary activity are to
conduct activities to improve patient
safety and the quality of health care
delivery.
HHS issued the Patient Safety Rule to
implement the Patient Safety Act.
AHRQ administers the provisions of the
Patient Safety Act and Patient Safety
Rule relating to the listing and operation
of PSOs. The Patient Safety Rule
authorizes AHRQ to list as a PSO an
entity that attests that it meets the
statutory and regulatory requirements
for listing. A PSO can be ‘‘delisted’’ if
it is found to no longer meet the
requirements of the Patient Safety Act
and Patient Safety Rule, when a PSO
chooses to voluntarily relinquish its
status as a PSO for any reason, or when
the PSO’s listing expires. Section
3.108(d) of the Patient Safety Rule
requires AHRQ to provide public notice
when it removes an organization from
the list of federally approved PSOs.
AHRQ has accepted a notification
from Patient Safety Services, LLC, PSO
number P0129, to voluntarily relinquish
its status as a PSO. Accordingly, Patient
Safety Services, LLC was delisted
effective at 12:00 Midnight ET (2400) on
July 30, 2014.
More information on PSOs can be
obtained through AHRQ’s PSO Web site
at https://www.pso.AHRQ.gov/
index.html.
PO 00000
Frm 00042
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
51567
Dated: August 20, 2014.
Richard Kronick,
AHRQ Director.
[FR Doc. 2014–20424 Filed 8–28–14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4160–90–M
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND
HUMAN SERVICES
Agency for Healthcare Research and
Quality
Scientific Information Request on
Health Information Exchange
Agency for Healthcare Research
and Quality (AHRQ), HHS.
ACTION: Request for Scientific
Information Submissions.
AGENCY:
The Agency for Healthcare
Research and Quality (AHRQ) is seeking
scientific information submissions from
the public. Scientific information is
being solicited to inform our review of
Health Information Exchange, which is
currently being conducted by the
Evidence-based Practice Centers for the
AHRQ Effective Health Care Program.
Access to published and unpublished
pertinent scientific information will
improve the quality of this review.
AHRQ is conducting this systematic
review pursuant to Section 1013 of the
Medicare Prescription Drug,
Improvement, and Modernization Act of
2003, Public Law 108–173, and Section
902(a) of the Public Health Service Act,
42 U.S.C. 299a(a).
DATES: Submission Deadline on or
before September 29, 2014.
ADDRESSES: Online submissions: https://
effectivehealthcare.AHRQ.gov/
index.cfm/submit-scientificinformation-packets/. Please select the
study for which you are submitting
information from the list to upload your
documents. Email submissions: SIPS@
epc-src.org.
SUMMARY:
Print Submissions
Mailing Address: Portland VA
Research Foundation, Scientific
Resource Center, ATTN: Scientific
Information Packet Coordinator, P.O.
Box 69539, Portland, OR 97239.
Shipping Address (FedEx, UPS, etc.):
Portland VA Research Foundation,
Scientific Resource Center, ATTN:
Scientific Information Packet
Coordinator, 3710 SW U.S. Veterans
Hospital Road, Mail Code: R&D 71,
Portland, OR 97239.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Ryan McKenna, Telephone: 503–220–
8262 ext. 58653 or Email: SIPS@epcsrc.org.
E:\FR\FM\29AUN1.SGM
29AUN1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 168 (Friday, August 29, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 51565-51567]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-20423]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
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 (MEPS) Household 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 October 28, 2014.
ADDRESSES: Written comments should be submitted to: AHRQ's OMB Desk
Officer by fax at (202) 395-6974 (attention: AHRQ's desk officer) or by
email at OIRAsubmission@omb.eop.gov (attention: AHRQ's desk
officer). Copies of the proposed changes to questions asked of
household respondents, data collection instruments, collection plans,
and specific details on the estimated burden can be obtained from the
AHRQ Reports Clearance Officer.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Doris Lefkowitz, AHRQ Reports
[[Page 51566]]
Clearance Officer, (301) 427-1477, or by email at
doris.lefkowitzAHRQ.hhs.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Proposed Project
Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) Household Component
For over thirty years, results from the MEPS and its predecessor
surveys (the 1977 National Medical Care Expenditure Survey, the 1980
National Medical Care Utilization and Expenditure Survey and the 1987
National Medical Expenditure Survey) have been used by OMB, DHHS,
Congress and a wide number of health services researchers to analyze
health care use, expenses and health policy.
Major changes continue to take place in the health care delivery
system. The MEPS is needed to provide information about the current
state of the health care system as well as to track changes over time.
The MEPS permits annual estimates of use of health care and
expenditures and sources of payment for that health care. It also
permits tracking individual change in employment, income, health
insurance and health status over two years. The use of the National
Health Interview Survey (NHIS) as a sampling frame expands the MEPS
analytic capacity by providing another data point for comparisons over
time.
Households selected for participation in the MEPS-HC are
interviewed five times in person. These rounds of interviewing are
spaced about 5 months apart. The interview will take place with a
family respondent who will report for him/herself and for other family
members.
The MEPS-HC has the following goal:
To provide nationally representative estimates for the
U.S. civilian noninstitutionalized population for health care use,
expenditures, sources of payment and health insurance coverage.
This study is being conducted by AHRQ through its contractor,
Westat, 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
To achieve the goals of the MEPS-HC the following data collections
are implemented:
I. Household Component Core Instrument. The core instrument
collects data about persons in sample households. Topical areas asked
in each round of interviewing include condition enumeration, health
status, health care utilization including prescribed medicines, expense
and payment, employment, and health insurance. Other topical areas that
are asked only once a year include access to care, income, assets,
satisfaction with health plans and providers, children's health, and
adult preventive care. While many of the questions are asked about the
entire reporting unit (RU), which is typically a family, only one
person normally provides this information.
2. Adult Self Administered Questionnaire. A brief self-administered
questionnaire (SAQ) will be used to collect self-reported (rather than
through household proxy) information on health status, health opinions
and satisfaction with health care for adults 18 and older. The
satisfaction with health care items are a subset of items from the
Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS). The
health status items are from the Short Form 12 Version 2 (SF-12 version
2), which has been widely used as a measure of self-reported health
status in the United States, the Kessler Index (K6) of non-specific
psychological distress, and the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-2).
3. Diabetes Care SAQ. A brief self administered paper-and-pencil
questionnaire on the quality of diabetes care is administered once a
year (during rounds 3 and 5) to persons identified-as having diabetes.
Included are questions about the number of times the respondent
reported having a hemoglobin A1c blood test, whether the respondent
reported having his or her feet checked for sores or irritations,
whether the respondent reported having an eye exam in which the pupils
were dilated, the last time the respondent had his or her blood
cholesterol checked and whether the diabetes has caused kidney or eye
problems. Respondents are also asked if their diabetes is being treated
with diet, oral medications or insulin.
4. Permission forms for the MEPS-MPC Provider and Pharmacy Survey.
As in previous panels of the MEPS, we will ask respondents for
permission to obtain supplemental information from their medical
providers (hospitals, physicians, home health agencies and
institutions) and pharmacies.
The MEPS-HC was last approved by OMB on December 20th, 2012 and
will expire on December 31st, 2015. The OMB control number for the
MEPS-HC is 0935-0118. All of the supporting documents for the current
MEPS-HC can be downloaded from OMB's Web site at. https://
www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAViewDocument?refnbr=201209-0935-
001
The MEPS is a multi-purpose survey. In addition to collecting data
to yield annual estimates for a variety of measures related to health
care use and expenditures, the MEPS also provides estimates of measures
related to health status, consumer assessment of health care, health
insurance coverage, demographic characteristics, employment and access
to health care indicators. Estimates can be provided for individuals,
families and population subgroups of interest. Data from the MEPS-HC
are intended for a number of annual reports required to be produced by
the Agency, including the National Health Care Quality Report and the
National Health Care Disparities Report.
AHRQ proposes to make the following changes to questions asked of
respondents:
Additions:
Closing--questions pertaining to respondent email;
Reenumeration--addition of questions pertaining to educational
level attainment and the determination of institutional status;
Provider Probes--determination if healthcare was received in an
overnight facility; and
Health Insurance--questions were added regarding interaction with
the health insurance marketplace, enrollment through state health
insurance exchanges, the extent of subsidized health insurance, monthly
premiums, health insurance metal plan names, and medical debt.
Preventive Care--a field test will be conducted to assess response
loss through self-administration.
Deletions:
Questions were removed from the following sections: Access to Care;
Closing; Medical Conditions; Charge Payment; Child Preventive Health;
Disability Days; Employment, Health Status; Health Insurance; and
Income.
Questions were removed to reduce burden and redundancy, additional
questions were removed due to difficulty in respondent interpretation,
low frequency in response or minimal variation, and limited ability of
respondent to respond accurately.
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
[[Page 51567]]
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: August 20, 2014.
Richard Kronick,
Director.
[FR Doc. 2014-20423 Filed 8-28-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4160-90-M
