FEHB_IVR_OMBSuppStmt_2017

OMB SUPPORTING STATEMENT

Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) Open Season Express

Interactive Voice Response System (IVR) and Open Season Website

A. Justification

1. Title 5, U.S. Code, Chapter 89, sections 8905 and 8905A specify the opportunities and conditions under which a retiree, survivor annuitant, or former spouse of a retiree is eligible to enroll or to change enrollment in the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP). The FEHB Open Season Express IVR is used by retirees and survivors; it collects information for changing FEHB enrollments, requesting plan brochures, requesting a change of address, requesting cancellation or suspension of FEHB benefits, requesting to pay premiums directly when the FEHB premium is greater than the monthly amount, or requesting a copy of the FEHB Plan Accreditation and Customer Satisfaction Survey results.

2. Retirement Services, OPM, determines whether all conditions permitting change in enrollment are met and implements the enrollment change. OPM also informs the health benefits carriers of the action. If this information were not collected, OPM could not comply with the provisions of title 5, U.S. Code, Chapter 89. Any change of address indicated is recorded in our data base. We have made editorial text changes to this information collection request (ICR). The Public Burden Statement meets the requirement of 5 CFR 1320.8(b)(3).

3. In 1997, we implemented the Interactive Voice Response (IVR) system.

This technology has improved our response to customers. This IVR system is a computer-based telephone system available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Annuitants will respond to OPM by using this system and their Personal Identification Number. This system gives the annuitants the ability to change their address, make a health benefits enrollment change, request plan brochures, request information on paying premiums directly to OPM, request satisfaction survey results, and request information on canceling or suspending their enrollment. No other information will be collected. The information collected can only be obtained from the respondents. The initial open season package contains a personalized cover letter, an Open Season Health Benefits Guide, and instructions on how to use the IVR system. Additionally, in 1998 we implemented an interactive web site where annuitants can do the same transactions available through the IVR system.

If an annuitant requests additional open season information, such as plan brochures, we will provide the information needed along with a shorter version of the personalized cover letter and the same materials we provided in the initial package.

4. This information is not available elsewhere. Duplication is minimized.

5. This information collection does not involve small businesses.

6. This information is collected annually during the health benefits open season at the discretion of the respondent. The opportunity to change FEHBP enrollment at open season is a provision of title 5, U.S. Code, Chapter 89.

7. This information collection is consistent with the guidelines in 5 CFR 1320.6, except that the respondent must reply by the end of open season in order to effect the change at the beginning of the calendar year. Changes requested after open season ends cannot be implemented unless OPM has agreed to the delay.

8. A notice of proposed information collection was published in the Federal Register on May 17, 2017, giving persons outside the agency an opportunity to comment on the form. No comments were received.

9. No payment or gift is provided to these respondents.

10. The information collection is protected by the Privacy Act of 1974 and OPM regulations (5 CFR 831.106). The routine uses of disclosure appear in the Federal Register for OPM/Central-l (73 FR 15013, et seq., March 20, 2008).

11. This information collection does not include questions of a sensitive nature, such as sexual behavior and attitudes, religious beliefs, and other matters that are commonly considered private.

12. We estimate we will receive 350,100 responses per year to the IVR and web system. The frequency of response is on occasion. Each response takes approximately 10 minutes to complete. The annual burden is 58,350 hours. The burden estimate is based on the combined number of responses through the IVR and web.

13. There is no cost to the respondents.
    
    

14. The estimated cost to the Federal government is $268,500. This cost includes employee salary hours devoted to the program, forms cost, and overhead.

13. There are no changes to the respondent burden.

16. The results of this information collection are not published.

17. It is not cost-effective to reprint the whole supply of forms to change the OMB clearance expiration date. Therefore, we seek approval not to display the OMB expiration date on this information collection request (ICR).

18. There are no exceptions to the certification statement.