Focus Groups - Supporting Information

ID Number: CMS-10615
OMB Control Number: 0938-1300
Expiration Date: September 30, 2016
Urban Institute’s Supporting Materials for OMB Package
for Indiana HIP 2.0 Evaluation Focus Groups
1. Draft Moderator’s Guide
Attached.
2. Draft Contact (Recruitment) Script
Attached.
3. Draft Consent Form
Attached.
4. Purpose
The focus groups are part of the qualitative component of the evaluation and are designed to collect rich
information from the perspective of HIP 2.0 enrollees on the demonstration, including their understanding
of various aspects of HIP 2.0 as well as their experiences with enrollment, cost-sharing, POWER
accounts, seeking and obtaining care under their HIP 2.0 health plan, and overall satisfaction with their
plan. Focus group findings will complement other data collection and analysis efforts in the evaluation
but they will be the only data source providing in-depth, qualitative information from the HIP 2.0 enrollee
perspective.
5. Description of Participant List and specs for selecting participants
The Urban Institute will request from the State of Indiana two randomly drawn lists of current HIP 2.0
enrollees from the state’s HIP 2.0 enrollment files. These two lists will serve as the sampling frame for
the focus groups. One list will be 300 individuals currently enrolled in HIP Plus; the second will be 300
individuals currently enrolled in HIP basic. Apart from being currently enrolled in either HIP Plus or
Basic, individuals will also meet the following criteria:
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Adult enrollees (ages 18-64)
Enrolled in HIP 2.0 (Basic or Plus) for at least four (4) months at the point in time when the lists are
drawn
Home address is in a zip code within the Interstate 465 highway that circles the city of Indianapolis
Primary language is English

For each sample person, we would request the following information from HIP 2.0 enrollment files be
provided: name, contact information (street address, phone number and, if available email address), age,
gender, race/ethnicity, and income level (ideally, as expressed as a percentage of the federal poverty
level). This information will enable us to put together focus groups that are generally representative of the
demographic and economic characteristics of the overall HIP 2.0 population. Our attached recruitment
script reflects having this information available when we contact prospective focus group participants.

ID Number: CMS-10615
OMB Control Number: 0938-1300
Expiration Date: September 30, 2016
6. Approximate number of participants
There will be a total of 4 focus groups – two groups each with HIP Plus and HIP Basic enrollees. Each
focus group will include approximately 8-10 participants. In our experience, however, there are often
several people who sign up for the focus group but do not show up. So to ensure we meet our target
number of participants (8-10 participants) we will recruit a total of 12-13 participants for each of the four
focus groups.
All focus groups will be conducted in English and be held in Indianapolis, Indiana. Given the small
number of focus groups, conducting them all in English and in Indianapolis will be the most efficient way
to collect valid and reliable qualitative information from individuals who represent a relatively large
subset of HIP 2.0 enrollees. Because a single focus group is susceptible to bias, it is better to have
multiple focus groups with individuals sharing similar characteristics to allow better interpretation of the
information collected.
7. Recruitment description
Briljent will establish a secure FTP site for the state of Indiana to upload the two focus group lists. Urban
Institute researchers will provide guidance to Briljent on the targeted demographic composition of focus
groups based on information available in the state of Indiana’s quarterly reports submitted to CMS on
HIP 2.0. For example, Briljent would be instructed to target recruitment so that the proportion of HIP
Basic focus group participants under 50% of the federal poverty level approximately reflects the
proportion in the HIP Basic population at that income level. An experienced Briljent recruiter will invite
individuals from the list using a pre-written recruitment script (included in this package). They will recruit
by phone and email if available until the targeted number of participants is obtained for each group.
Close to the day of the focus group, a trained Briljent recruiter will make follow-up calls and send followup reminders to individuals who agreed to participant in the focus groups, reminding them of the date,
time and place, and confirming their participation. Throughout the process, Briljent will update the Urban
Institute on recruitment numbers.
8. Proposed venue
Briljent will secure a focus group venue(s) in the city of Indianapolis, inside Interstate 465, where the
focus groups will be held. The space will be easily accessible by public transportation and have adequate
privacy so a candid discussion can be conducted and recorded without background noise. The venue will
include a table, enough chairs for the focus group participants, facilitator and note taker, and access to a
restroom. Examples of possible meeting space include the Briljent Indianapolis office, a conference room
at a Federally Qualified Health Center, local library or a community organization meeting hall. Briljent
will also purchase and set up a light meal and drinks in the focus group venue(s) prior to each group.

ID Number: CMS-10615
OMB Control Number: 0938-1300
Expiration Date: September 30, 2016
9. Plans for recording/transcription
An experienced, senior Urban Institute researcher will facilitate each of the four focus groups. A junior
Urban Institute researcher will take written notes on an encrypted password protected laptop during the
sessions. In addition, if focus group participants agree (see attached consent form), we will use a digital
audio recorder to create an audio recording of each focus group. Urban Institute will not transcribe the
audio files verbatim, but rather use the recordings as back-up, to confirm the notes for accuracy and to
clarify any areas where written notes may be unclear. All audio recordings and focus group notes will be
uploaded directly onto a dedicated, segregated, password-protected partition on the Urban Institute secure
server, with access limited to only those project staff with a need to use these data.
10. Participation Payment
Participants will each receive a $60 payment to a vendor such as Amazon or Target to defray expected
costs such as transportation or childcare. Briljent will purchase the participant payments and give them to
Urban Institute researchers conducting the focus groups. Urban Institute staff will collect signed receipts
from each focus group participant receiving a payment.
11. Plans for Human Subjects Protection and Data Security, Storage, and Analysis
Briljent will store the focus group recruitment lists on a password protected computer only accessible to
trained Briljent staff involved in recruitment, and will destroy these lists once the focus groups are
completed. Urban Institute researchers will implement a number of safeguards to ensure the
confidentiality of all communications between researchers and focus group participants. They will obtain
written informed consent from focus group participants after: explaining to them the purpose of our study;
informing them that focus groups are confidential to the extent permitted by law, voluntary, and can be
stopped at any time; requesting their permission to take notes and audio record the focus group; and
soliciting and answering any questions they may have. A copy of the informed consent statement that
participants will be asked to sign at the start of all focus groups is included with this package.
The project will adhere to fundamental principles of research ethics and take the following measures to
ensure that the security of the data collected is protected and maintained:
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Data identifiable to an individual will not be revealed to anyone outside of the research team,
including to other study participants, the study’s funder, or to State of Indiana officials.
The identities of interviewees and focus group participants will not be identified to anyone outside of
the study team, including to other study participants, the study’s funder, or to State of Indiana
officials.
Access to data will be restricted to those research team members who require access for analysis
purposes.
Project findings and reports prepared for dissemination will not contain information that could readily
be used to identify an individual participant.

Urban Institute staff will save electronic audio recordings and focus group notes on a dedicated,
segregated, password-protected partition on the Urban Institute secure server, which staff will access
through PGP-encrypted computers. Access to these files will be restricted to researchers who have signed
a staff pledge of confidentiality and have a need to access the data. All identifiers will be redacted in
interview and focus group notes, and not mentioned in reports we write as part of this study. Recordings
will be expunged once all focus group notes are cleaned and reviewed by research team members.

ID Number: CMS-10615
OMB Control Number: 0938-1300
Expiration Date: September 30, 2016
With regard to analysis, findings will be presented in aggregate form only in the form of memorandums,
presentations and reports summarizing evaluation findings. Results will be presented within the context of
findings from other portions of the evaluation. No data will be presented in such a way that individuals
can be identified. No personal identifiers will be printed in the conduct of analysis. Any statistical
summaries of focus group participant characteristics will be sufficiently aggregated to protect individuals
from identification.
After completion of project work or in the event of the early termination of the project, all project data
sets holding micro-data will be purged from the server partitions on the Urban Institute secure servers,
secure workstation drives, backup media, and the hard drive holding the originally delivered data.
12. Focus group length and participant burden of hours
Each focus group will last approximately 90 minutes. We estimate each participant may spend up to 3
hours in total for participating in the recruitment call, receiving reminders, in commute to and from the
focus group, and in the focus group itself. With 4 focus groups of up to 10 participants each, this results in
4 groups x 10 participants x 3 hours = 120 total burden hours involved with the focus groups.