Attachment A -- Federal Register Notice

Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 246 / Thursday, December 22, 2016 / Notices
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
information collection project:
‘‘Consumer Assessment of Healthcare
Providers and Systems (CAHPS) Health
Plan Survey Comparative Database.’’
DATES: Comments on this notice must be
received by February 21, 2017.
ADDRESSES: Written comments should
be submitted to: Doris Lefkowitz,
Reports Clearance Officer, AHRQ, by
email at [email protected].
Copies of the proposed collection
plans, data collection instruments, and
specific details on the estimated burden
can be obtained from the AHRQ Reports
Clearance Officer.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Doris Lefkowitz, AHRQ Reports
Clearance Officer, (301) 427–1477, or by
email at [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In
accordance with the Paperwork
Reduction Act, 44 U.S.C. 3501–3521,
AHRQ invites the public to comment on
this proposed information collection.
SUMMARY:

Proposed Project

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Consumer Assessment of Healthcare
Providers and Systems (CAHPS) Health
Plan Survey Comparative Database
The Agency for Healthcare Research
and Quality (AHRQ) requests that the
Office of Management and Budget
(OMB) reapprove, under the Paperwork
Reduction Act of 1995, AHRQ’s
collection of information for the AHRQ
Consumer Assessment of Healthcare
Providers and Systems (CAHPS)
Database for Health Plans: OMB Control
number 0935–0165, expiration May 31,
2017. The CAHPS Health Plan Database
consists of data from the AHRQ CAHPS
Health Plan Survey. Health plans in the
U.S. are asked to voluntarily submit
data from the survey to AHRQ, through
its contractor, Westat. The CAHPS
Database was developed by AHRQ in
1998 in response to requests from health
plans, purchasers, the Centers for
Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS)

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to provide comparative data to support
public reporting of health plan ratings,
health plan accreditation and quality
improvement.
This research has the following goals:
(1) To maintain the CAHPS Health
Plan database using data from AHRQ’s
standardized CAHPS Health Plan survey
to provide comparative results to health
care purchasers, consumers, regulators
and policy makers across the country.
(2) To offer several products and
services, including comparative
benchmark results presented through an
Online Reporting System, summary
chartbooks, custom analyses, and data
for research purposes.
(3) To provide data for AHRQ’s
annual National Healthcare Quality and
Disparities Report.
This study is being conducted by
AHRQ through its contractor, Westat,
pursuant to AHRQ’s statutory authority
to conduct and support research on
health care and on systems for the
delivery of such care, including
activities with respect to the quality,
effectiveness, efficiency,
appropriateness and value of health care
services; quality measurement and
development, and database
development. 42 U.S.C. 299a(a)(1), (2)
and 8.
Method of Collection
To achieve the goals of this project the
following data collections will be
implemented:
(1) Health Plan Registration Form—
The point of contact (POC), often the
sponsor from Medicaid agencies and
health plans, completes a number of
data submission steps and forms,
beginning with the completion of the
online registration form. The purpose of
this form is to collect basic contact
information about the organization and
initiate the registration process.
(2) Data Use Agreement (DUA)—The
purpose of the data use agreement,
completed by the participating sponsor
organization, is to state how data
submitted by health plans will be used
and provides confidentiality assurances.
(3) Health Plan Information Form—
The purpose of this form, completed by
the participating organization, is to
collect background characteristics of the
health plan.
(4) Data Files Submission—POCs
upload their data file using the Health
Plan data file specifications, which are
designed to ensure that users submit
standardized and consistent data in the
way variables are named, coded, and
formatted.
Survey data from the CAHPS Health
Plan Database is used to produce four
types of products: (1) an annual

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chartbook available to the public on the
CAHPS Database Web site (https://
www.cahpsdatabase.ahrq.gov/
CAHPSIDB/Public/Chartbook.aspx); (2)
individual participant comparative
reports that are confidential and
customized for each participating
organization (e.g., health plan, Medicaid
agency) that submits their data; (3) a
research database available to
researchers wanting to conduct
additional analyses; and (4) data tables
provided to AHRQ for inclusion in the
National Healthcare Quality and
Disparities Report.
Estimated Annual Respondent Burden
Exhibit 1 shows the estimated burden
hours for the respondent to participate
in the database. The burden hours
pertain only to the collection of
Medicaid data from State Medicaid
agencies and individual Medicaid
health plans because those are the only
entities that submit data through the
data submission process (other data are
obtained from CMS). The 85 POCs in
Exhibit 1 are a combination of an
estimated 75 State Medicaid agencies
and individual health plans, and 10
vendor organizations.
Each State Medicaid agency, health
plan or vendor will register online for
submission. The online Registration
form will require about 5 minutes to
complete. Each submitter will also
complete a Health Plan information
form of information about each Health
Plan such as the name of the plan, the
product type (e.g., HMO, PPO), the
population surveyed (e.g., adult
Medicaid or child Medicaid). Each year,
the prior year’s plan data are preloaded
in the plan table to lessen burden on the
Sponsor. The Sponsor is responsible for
updating the plan table to reflect the
current year’s plan information. The
online Health Plan Information form
takes on average 30 minutes to complete
per health plan with each POC
completing the form for 4 plans on
average.
The data use agreement will be
completed by the 75 participating State
Medicaid agencies or individual health
plans. Vendors do not sign or submit
DUAs. The DUA requires about 3
minutes to sign and return by fax or
mail. Submitters will provide a copy of
their questionnaires and the survey data
file in the required file format. Survey
data files must conform to the data file
layout specifications provide by the
CAHPS Database.
Since the unit of analysis is at the
health plan level, submitters will
upload one data file per health plan.
Once a data file is uploaded the file will
be automatically checked to ensure it

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Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 246 / Thursday, December 22, 2016 / Notices

conforms to the specifications and a
data file status report will be produced
and made available to the submitter.
Submitters will review each report and

will be expected to fix any errors in
their data file and resubmit if necessary.
It will take about one hour to submit the
data for each plan, and each POC will

submit data for 4 plans on average. The
total burden is estimated to be 501
hours annually.

EXHIBIT 1—ESTIMATED ANNUALIZED BURDEN HOURS
Number of
respondents/
POCs

Form name

Number of
responses
per POC

Hours per
response

Total burden
hours

Registration Form ............................................................................................
Health Plan Information Form .........................................................................
Data Use Agreement .......................................................................................
Data Files Submission .....................................................................................

85
75
75
85

1
4
1
4

5/60
30/60
3/60
1

7
150
4
340

Total ..........................................................................................................

320

NA

NA

501

Exhibit 2 shows the estimated
annualized cost burden based on the
respondents’ time to complete one

submission process. The cost burden is
estimated to be $22,153 annually.

EXHIBIT 2—ESTIMATED ANNUALIZED COST BURDEN
Number of
respondents

Form name

Total burden
hours

Average hourly wage rate *

Total cost
burden

Registration Form ............................................................................................
Health Plan Information Form .........................................................................
Data Use Agreement .......................................................................................
Data Files Submission .....................................................................................

85
75
75
85

7
150
4
340

a 50.99

c 40.56

$357
7,649
357
13,790

Total ..........................................................................................................

320

501

NA

22,153

a 50.99
b 89.35

* National Compensation Survey: Occupational wages in the United States May 2015, ‘‘U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics.’’
a) Based on the mean hourly wage for Medical and Health Services Managers (11–9111).
b) Based on the mean hourly wage for Chief Executives (11–1011).
c) Based on the mean hourly wages for Computer Programmer (15–1131).

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Request for Comments
In accordance with the Paperwork
Reduction Act, 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 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

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comments will become a matter of
public record.
Sharon B. Arnold,
Deputy Director.
[FR Doc. 2016–30773 Filed 12–21–16; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4160–90–P

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND
HUMAN SERVICES
Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention
[30Day–17–16AXB]

Agency Forms Undergoing Paperwork
Reduction Act Review
The Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC) has submitted the
following information collection request
to the Office of Management and Budget
(OMB) for review and approval in
accordance with the Paperwork
Reduction Act of 1995. The notice for
the proposed information collection is
published to obtain comments from the
public and affected agencies.
Written comments and suggestions
from the public and affected agencies
concerning the proposed collection of

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information are encouraged. Your
comments should address any of the
following: (a) Evaluate whether the
proposed collection of information is
necessary for the proper performance of
the functions of the agency, including
whether the information will have
practical utility; (b) Evaluate the
accuracy of the agencies estimate of the
burden of the proposed collection of
information, including the validity of
the methodology and assumptions used;
(c) Enhance the quality, utility, and
clarity of the information to be
collected; (d) Minimize the burden of
the collection of information on those
who are to respond, including through
the use of appropriate automated,
electronic, mechanical, or other
technological collection techniques or
other forms of information technology,
e.g., permitting electronic submission of
responses; and (e) Assess information
collection costs.
To request additional information on
the proposed project or to obtain a copy
of the information collection plan and
instruments, call (404) 639–7570 or
send an email to [email protected]. Written
comments and/or suggestions regarding
the items contained in this notice

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