SMPOutcome_PRA_SectionA_Passback3

Supporting Statement for the Senior Medicare Patrol (SMP) Program

for FY 2016 – 2018

A. Justification

1. Circumstances Making the Collection of Information Necessary

• This is a request for Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approval for the collection of performance data for the Senior Medicare Patrol (SMP) Program.

• Under Public Law 104-208, the Omnibus Consolidated Appropriations Act of 1997, Congress established the Senior Medicare Patrol Projects in order to further curb losses to the Medicare program. The Senate Committee believed that retired professionals, with appropriate training, could serve as educators and as resources to assist Medicare beneficiaries and others to detect and report error, fraud and abuse. Among other requirements, it directed the Administration for Community Living to work with the Office of Inspector General (OIG) and the General Accounting Office, now the Government Accountability Office (GAO), to assess the performance of the program. The Administration for Community Living has worked with HHS/OIG to develop project-level performance measures and the HHS/OIG has collected SMP performance data and issued SMP performance reports since 1997. The OIG changed the reporting period from twice a year to once a year in 2008 and the collection of data from twice a year to once a year in 2011.

2. Purpose and Use of Information Collection

• This information is collected by the HHS/OIG and is used as the primary method for monitoring the SMP Projects. This information collection reports the number of active volunteers, number of community outreach activities, number of beneficiaries reached by education and outreach activities, and the number of dollars recouped for the Medicare Trust Fund among other performance measures. The information from the current collection is reported by the OIG to Congress and the public.

3. Use of Improved Technology & Electronic Submission

• Grantees are required to submit data electronically. The grantees maintain records of their program activities by entering data into the SMP web-based management, tracking and reporting system, the Senior Medicare Patrol (SMP) Information and Reporting System (SIRS). The OIG obtains the data for annual performance reports via direct access to the SIRs system.

4. Efforts to Identify Duplication and Use of Similar Information

• This is the only method used for collecting data from the SMP Projects.

5. Impact on Small Businesses or Other Small Entities

• These grants are awarded to State agencies, Area Agencies on Aging, and non-profits. There will be no impact on small businesses.

6. Consequences of Less Frequent Information Collection

• If the reports were made less frequently than annually, the grantee would be less accountable to the Administration for Community Living ACL, have less opportunity to receive constructive advice from the ACL, and likely would miss opportunities for mid-course corrections.

• The data are collected once a year which allows for required performance reports for the use of the OIG in its report to the Congress for determination of recovery of funds for the Medicare Trust Fund and for the Administration for Community Living for the determination of continued funding of these projects.

7. Special Circumstances Relating to the Guidelines of 5 CFR 1320.5

• None of the listed circumstances applies to this submission.

8. Comments in Response to the Federal Register Notice/Outside Consultation

• The 60 day Federal Register notice published on March 7, 2016, Volume 81, page 11804. No comments were received. The 30-day Federal Register notice published on June, 2, 2016, Volume 81, page 35361.

9. Explanation of any Payment/Gift to Respondents – N/A

10. Assurance of Confidentiality Provided to Respondents

• Individuals are not identified in the report. Aggregate data are being collected only on the activities and funds recouped.

11. Justification for Sensitive Questions

• No information of a sensitive nature is being asked or collected.

12. Estimates of Annualized Burden Hours (Total Hours & Wages)

• The information below shows the estimated annualized burden hours and costs for grantees to enter their data.

12A. Explanation

• The burden hours are based on the number of projects (54), at an estimated time of 23 hours per month submitted annually (1).*The estimated average time needed to respond of 276 per year. Total burden hours are 14,904.

• Hourly rate estimate is from the DoL BLS and based on the mean hourly wage ($17.47) for Office and Administrative Support Occupations plus 25% for benefits and overhead. http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_nat.htm#43-0000

*Estimates calculated with SMP projects’ assistance.

12A. Estimated Annualized Burden Hours

Type of Respondent	Form Name	No. of Respondents	No. of Responses per Respondent	Average Burden per Response (in hours)	Total Burden Hours
SMP grantees	SMP Project annual Report Form	54	1	138	7,452

12B. Estimated Annualized Wages

Type of Respondent	Total Burden Hours	Hourly Wage Rate	Total Respondent Costs
SMP Grantees	14,904	$21.83 per hour	$ 325,354.32

13. Estimates of other Total Annual Cost Burden to Respondents or Recordkeepers/Capital Costs

• There should not be any additional costs to the projects beyond those already identified in Item 12 above.

14. Annualized Cost to Federal Government

• The estimated annualized cost to the Federal Government is $30,948.Saleries are based OPMs most recent Pay Chart for Federal Employees plus an additional 25% for inclusion of fringe benefits.

Staff Hours/Costs

#1 (GS15) 10 hrs. x $86.95 per hour $ 869.50

#2 (GS14) 100 hrs. x $73.91 per hour $7,391.00

#3 (GS 13) 275 hrs. x $62.55 per hour $17,201.25

#4 (GS 11) 125 hrs. at $43.89 per hour $5,486.25

Total Cost to Federal Government $30,948

15. Explanation for Program Changes or Adjustments – N/A

16. Plans for Tabulation and Publication and Project Time Schedule

• The OIG publishes an annual memorandum report providing the results of SMP performance data collection. Data collected is used for measuring and monitoring performance of the SMP Projects and providing program results to the HHS budget office, the Congress, the SMP projects, and the public. The data are used in some instances by the media in reporting the activities of the SMP Projects. No other publications are planned for this data.

17. Reason(s) Display of OMB Expiration Date is Inappropriate

• ACL will display an expiration date on the collection instrument.

18. Exceptions to Certification for Paperwork Reduction Act Submissions

• There are no exceptions to this request for certification.

B. Collection of Information Employing Statistical Methods

• These collections do not employ statistical methods.