[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 129 (Friday, July 7, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 43357-43359]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-14336]
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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Administration for Community Living
Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission for OMB
Review; Public Comment Request; SHIP-SMP Survey of One-on-One
Assistance, (OMB Control Number 0985-0057)
AGENCY: Administration for Community Living, HHS.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The Administration for Community Living (ACL) is announcing
that the proposed collection of information listed above has been
submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and
clearance as required under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. This
30-day notice collects comments on the information collection
requirements related to the Proposed Revision and
[[Page 43358]]
solicits comments on the information collection requirements related to
the ``SHIP-SMP Survey of One-on-One Assistance''.
DATES: Comments on the collection of information must be submitted
electronically by 11:59 p.m. (EST) or postmarked by August 7, 2023.
ADDRESSES: Submit written comments and recommendations for the proposed
information collection within 30 days of publication of this notice to
www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain. Find the information collection by
selecting ``Currently under 30-day Review--Open for Public Comments''
or by using the search function. By mail to the Office of Information
and Regulatory Affairs, OMB, New Executive Office Bldg., 725 17th St.
NW, Rm. 10235, Washington, DC 20503, Attn: OMB Desk Officer for ACL.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Shefy Simon, Administration for
Community Living, Washington, DC 20201, 202-795-7572,
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction
Act, ACL has submitted the following proposed information collection to
OMB for review and clearance.
The SHIP-SMP Survey of One-on-One Assistance is a survey of
individuals who meet with team members from the State Health Insurance
Assistance Program (SHIP) or the Senior Medicare Patrol (SMP). These
services help Medicare beneficiaries understand their Medicare benefits
and options. These services also increase the ability of beneficiaries
to identify and report fraud, waste, and abuse within health care
programs generally, and Medicare/Medicaid specifically. The State
Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) was created under the
Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990. This section of the law
authorized the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to make
grants to states to establish and maintain health insurance advisory
service programs for Medicare beneficiaries. Grant funds were made
available to support information, counseling, and assistance activities
related to Medicare, Medicaid, and other health insurance options. SHIP
grantees provide free, in-depth, unbiased, one-on-one health insurance
counseling and assistance to Medicare beneficiaries, their families,
and caregivers.
The Senior Medicare Patrol (SMP) program was authorized in 1997
under titles II and IV of the Older Americans Act, the Omnibus
Consolidated Appropriation Act of 1997 and the Health Insurance
Portability and Accountability Act of 1996. The SMP mission is to
empower and assist Medicare beneficiaries, their families, and
caregivers, to prevent, detect, and report suspected healthcare fraud,
errors, and abuse through outreach, counseling, and education. SMP
grantees support ACL's goals of promoting increased choice and greater
independence among older adults and individuals with disabilities. SMP
activities also serve to enhance the financial, emotional, physical,
and mental well-being of older adults, thereby increasing their
capacity to maintain security in retirement and make better financial
and healthcare choices. SMP team members provide one-on-one assistance,
and when needed, serve as consumer advocates to resolve billing
disputes/issues.
The SHIP-SMP Survey of One-on-One Assistance will gauge
individuals' satisfaction with the services provided by SHIP and SMP
team members. This survey is an extension of a currently approved
information collection the ``National Beneficiary Survey of State
Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP)'', which received clearance
on July 31, 2020, with ICR Reference Number 201702-0985-002 and OMB
Control Number 0985-0057. That survey was conducted over a three-year
period beginning on October 1, 2020 and will conclude on June 30, 2023.
To date, this survey has generated over 2500 responses, all of which
were submitted voluntarily.
ACL conducted an evaluation of the Medicare Improvements for
Patients and Providers Act (MIPPA) in 2022-23 that invoked the need to
include collecting demographic data, including sexual orientation and
gender identity (SOGI) information, in all the work ACL's Office of
Healthcare Information and Counseling touches and not just MIPPA grant
work. The renewal of the SHIP-SMP Survey of One-on-One Assistance is
the first opportunity to do so. Including sexual orientation and gender
identity questions in this information collection will provide data on
topics such as the accessibility and utilization of services and
programs funded by ACL by lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender
populations and the health disparities that impact this community.
Understanding these disparities can and should lead to improved service
delivery for ACL's programs and populations served. Adding sexual
orientation and gender identity items to SHIP-SMP Survey of One-on-One
Assistance is part of ACL's strategy to address ``Executive Order 13988
on Preventing and Combating Discrimination on the Basis of Gender
Identity and Sexual Orientation.'' Issued in January 2021, Executive
Order 13988 called upon agencies to identify existing and new policies
to promote equal treatment under the law and ensure that all persons
can access healthcare and other essential services without being
subjected to sex discrimination. To support alignment with Executive
Order 13988, as well as Executive Orders 13985 and 14075, three items
will be added to SHIP-SMP Survey of One-on-One Assistance to collect
sexual orientation and gender identity.
The first item will ask the individual if they think of themselves
as gay/lesbian, straight, bisexual, or something else. This item has
been fielded on the NHIS since 2013, where it has been closely
monitored for comprehension and sensitivity.
The second and third items are part of a two-step series to collect
gender identity, which requires two items to accurately collect.
Respondents are first asked to report their sex assigned at birth on
their original birth certificate (male, female, don't know, prefer not
to answer). Next, respondents are asked to report their current gender
identity (male, female, transgender, I use a different term, prefer not
to answer) This two-step series aligns with recommendations from the
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine's (NASEM's)
recent report, ``Measuring Sex, Gender Identity, and Sexual
Orientation.'' These items have also been cognitively tested for
inclusion in the Medicare Current Beneficiaries Survey under the MCBS
Generic Clearance and performed well.
Estimated Program Burden: ACL estimates the burden associated with
this collection of information as follows:
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Number of Responses per Hours per Annual burden
Respondent/data collection activity respondents respondent response hours
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Survey, Stratified Random Sample.............. 800 1 6/60 80
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Total..................................... 800 1 6/60 80
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Dated: June 30, 2023.
Alison Barkoff,
Acting Administrator and Assistant Secretary for Aging.
[FR Doc. 2023-14336 Filed 7-6-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4154-01-P