The SHIP-SMP Survey of Group Outreach
and Education Events, formerly the “Senior Medicare Program
National Beneficiary Survey” will gauge individuals’ satisfaction
with the services they receive from the State Health Insurance
Assistance (SHIP) and Senior Medicare Patrol (SMP) Programs. The
survey will be the first of its kind to ascertain the quality and
effectiveness of the services provided by the SHIP and SMP and to
determine if beneficiaries are receiving accurate, relevant and
timely information. The survey will be conducted over a three-year
period with multiple sites in each of the 50 states and the
territories of Guam, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands being
surveyed once. The SHIP program satisfaction survey will be
conducted on a sample of beneficiaries who received
assistance/counseling during two points in the year (one week in
the spring and one week during the Annual Medicare Open Enrollment
Period). The SMP program satisfaction survey will focus on
education session presentations to determine if the target audience
is satisfied with the information they are receiving. The results
from these surveys will be used to measure satisfaction among
individuals who receive assistance/counseling or among individuals
who attend SMP education sessions, as well, as how the program can
be improved to provide better service to its target population. The
information obtained from this survey will be used by federal and
regional employees of the Administration for Community Living
(ACL), part of the Department of Health and Human Services.
Specifically, the information will be used to assess customer
satisfaction with group outreach and education events that are
conducted by the SHIP and SMP programs. The results of the survey
could lead to overall agency improvements, including the
reallocation of resources, revisions to certain agency processes
and policies, and/or development of guidance related to the
agency’s customer services. The results of the survey could also
lead to improvements for individual Medicare beneficiaries, as
improved customer service by the agency will lead to more
appropriate Medicare choices for individual citizens, leading to
monetary savings for both the individual and the SHIP/SMP program.
Ultimately, these changes should improve the services ACL provides
to the public.
US Code:
42
USC 241 Name of Law: Public Health Service Act
There is a program change
decrease of -10 annual burden hours and an adjustment decrease of
-125 annual responses. The revised survey collection focuses on an
annual, national survey of 1200 responses per year. The previous
version of this survey required each state/territory to collect a
minimum of 75 responses once every three years, resulting in an
average annual response total of 1,325 responses. This change both
reduces the annual survey burden while also allowing ACL to monitor
overall programmatic progress on an annual basis.
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.