On March 23, 2010, the President
signed into law H.R. 3590, the Patient Protection and Affordable
Care Act, Public Law 111-148, as amended by the Health Care and
Education Reconciliation Act of 2010, Pub. L. 111-152, collectively
referred to as "The Affordable Care Act." The Affordable Care Act
expands access to health insurance coverage through improvements to
the Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance (CHIP) programs, the
establishment of Affordable Insurance Exchanges (Exchanges), and
the assurance of coordination between Medicaid, CHIP, and
Exchanges. Through the Small Business Health Options Program
(SHOP), the new Exchanges will assist qualified small employers in
facilitating the enrollment of their employees in Qualified Health
Plans (QHPs) offered in the small group market. The Exchanges,
which will offer these QHPs, will become operational on January 1,
2014. Employers will be able to begin applying for coverage through
the SHOP October 1, 2013, for coverage beginning as early as
January 1, 2014. The employer's application for the SHOP will be a
single, streamlined form that will be used to determine employer
eligibility for the SHOP. The submission seeks OMB approval of the
data collection elements needed to support eligibility
determinations for small businesses in the SHOP.
Our burden estimates have
changed since the last package and reflect a decreased burden for
employers. Although the estimate of anticipated applicants has not
changed since publication of the last package, the amount of
information being collected from applicants has decreased
substantially which has greatly decreased the burden on employer
applicants. Applicants are now required to provide only basic
identifying information (e.g., employer name, identification
number, and contact information) on the SHOP Eligibility
Determination Form as opposed to the more extensive information
collected in the prior application, in which applicants also made
enrollment selections and provided detailed information about their
employees. The reduction of information being collected is a result
of the Federally-facilitated Small Business Health Options Program
(FF-SHOP) operating in a leaner fashion. Since publication of the
last package, updates have been made in regulation concerning what
information should be collected on the single employer application
to determine employer eligibility, as reflected in 45 CFR
§ 155.731. We previously estimated we would receive 6,000 responses
for a total burden estimate of 12,000 hours or $561,240. There are
no changes to the number of respondents. However, the number of
burden hours have been reduced from 12,000 hours to 960 hours, a
total reduction of 11,040 hours. The reduction of information being
collected from the applicant has resulted in the reduction of hours
necessary to complete the application.
$0
No
No
No
Yes
No
No
Uncollected
Jamaa Hill 301 492-4190
No
On behalf of this Federal agency, I certify that
the collection of information encompassed by this request complies
with 5 CFR 1320.9 and the related provisions of 5 CFR
1320.8(b)(3).
The following is a summary of the topics, regarding
the proposed collection of information, that the certification
covers:
(i) Why the information is being collected;
(ii) Use of information;
(iii) Burden estimate;
(iv) Nature of response (voluntary, required for a
benefit, or mandatory);
(v) Nature and extent of confidentiality; and
(vi) Need to display currently valid OMB control
number;
If you are unable to certify compliance with any of
these provisions, identify the item by leaving the box unchecked
and explain the reason in the Supporting Statement.
Form CMS-10439 SHOP - Employer
CMS-10439 - Crosswalk SHOP Application.docx
SHOP - Employer