SUPPORTING STATEMENT - PART A
TRICARE Select Enrollment, Disenrollment, and Change Form – OMB Control Number 0720-0061
1. Need for the Information Collection
The information collection requirement is necessary to obtain non-active duty TRICARE beneficiary’s personal information needed to: (1) complete his/her enrollment into the “new” TRICARE Select health plan option as created by SEC. 701. TRICARE SELECT AND OTHER TRICARE REFORM of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year (FY) 2017, (2) dis-enroll a beneficiary, or (3) change the beneficiary’s enrollment (e.g., address, add a dependent, report other health insurance. This information is required to ensure the beneficiary’s benefits and claims are administered based on their plan of choice. Without the DD Form 3043 enrollment form, each non-active duty TRICARE beneficiary is automatically defaulted into direct care only, limiting their health care options to military hospitals and clinics. These beneficiaries would have no TRICARE coverage when using the TRICARE network of providers for services not available at their local military hospital or clinic.
The TRICARE Select health plan replaced the TRICARE Standard and Extra plan option on January 1, 2018. The Code of Federal Regulations and TRICARE policy manuals are being updated to reflect this new plan option as required by the NDAA FY2017. All non-active duty TRICARE beneficiaries, not eligible for Medicare, have the option of enrolling into TRICARE Select by using the DD-3043, the online Beneficiary Web Enrollment (BWE) portal, or by calling their Managed Care Support Contractor (Regional Contractor). Although the online BWE portal and telephonic enrollment/change options are available, some beneficiaries will prefer using the form to document their enrollment date and preferences.
2. Use of the Information
Each respondent (any non-active duty TRICARE beneficiary not eligible for Medicare) has the option of using the DD-3043,there are three versions of the form depending on what region the respondent resides (DD3043-1 (East)), DD3043-2 (West)) and (DD3043-3 (Overseas)), Beneficiary Web Enrollment (BWE) or a telephone call to their Regional Contractor to enroll, dis-enroll or change their enrollment. The large majority of all transactions are initiated by the beneficiary calling their Regional Contractor. They prefer this method since the action requested is immediately updated, with confirmation of completion provided by the Customer Service Representative taking the call. It also gives the beneficiary an opportunity to ask any questions they may have regarding their TRICARE Select benefits.
The other option available for beneficiaries to request enrollment, disenrollment or a change is to use the BWE portal. BWE is accessible to all TRICARE beneficiaries, with links to the BWE portal available on www.tricare.mil and the Regional Contractors’ websites. The portal is an application that validates the eligibility of the beneficiary using each beneficiary’s PII stored in the Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System (DEERS). PII is not collected and stored by the BWE application, only validated with DEERS and then used to notify the appropriate Regional Contractor of the action requested. The BWE pages mirror the DD-3043 to ensure the information needed is available to the Regional Contractor. The information is validated by DEERS which stores all PII. The Regional Contractor has six days to approve and process the requested action or to request additional information. Approximately 70,000 enrollment, disenrollment or enrollment changes are initiated through BWE today from the TRICARE Prime enrollees and we expect a similar number from the future TRICARE Select enrollees. Periodic articles are published reminding beneficiaries of the BWE portal at
https://www.military.com/benefits/tricare/tricare-beneficiary-web-enrollment.html. (The BWE site is password protected/requires login. Please use the following link for OMB review/access: https://www.tricare.mil/bwe).
If respondents choose to use the DD-3043, they must complete the form and mail the form to their appropriate Regional Contractor. No other form is required to enroll, dis-enroll or change an enrollment. If the respondent chooses to use the DD-3043, they must complete the appropriate page(s) of the form and mail the form to their Regional Contractor. Respondents can download a copy of the form from the TRICARE.mil website or their Regional Contractor’s website or obtain a copy from their local military hospital or clinic. The mailing address and toll-free customer service number for the appropriate Regional Contractor are included on the DD-3043. If using either website option, the respondent can type in the information on the form prior to printing it or handwrite the information after printing the blank form.
The respondents can use the form to enroll or change the enrollment of all non-active duty family members or just to enroll, dis-enroll or change the enrollment of a single family member. With few exceptions, all respondents eligible for TRICARE must enroll in the TRICARE plan option best for themselves and any family members starting January 1, 2018: TRICARE Prime or TRICARE Select. If a beneficiary does not enroll in either plan option, they would have no TRICARE coverage when using the TRICARE network of providers for services not available at their local military hospital or clinic. The information is used only by the Regional Contractor to formally enroll, dis-enroll or change an enrollment for the beneficiary(ies) listed on the form. The contractor is responsible for completing the requested action. The form is not provided to any other party, although when the requested action is updated, it is electronically shared with other TRICARE contractors as appropriate, i.e., the pharmacy contractor, to ensure benefits and claims are correctly administered. The action is also stored in the government’s Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System (DEERS). DEERS is a computerized database of military sponsors, families and others worldwide who are entitled under the law to TRICARE benefits. Active-duty and retired service members are automatically registered in DEERS, but a beneficiary must take action to register their family members and make sure all the information is correct to ensure TRICARE coverage. Home addresses stored in DEERS are used for TRICARE Program information mail outs. Additionally, retail network pharmacies check TRICARE eligibility through DEERS.
The information collected ensures the beneficiary is eligible for TRICARE and his/her TRICARE Select enrollment is correctly updated to reflect their TRICARE plan of choice, address, etc. If the form, BWE, or telephone call is not made by the beneficiary to enroll in the TRICARE Select plan option, the TRICARE beneficiary is defaulted into direct care only, limiting their health care options to only military hospitals and clinics.
3. Use of Information Technology
None of the forms (0%) can be completed and electronically submitted to the Regional Contractor via email or by uploading them. The forms are manually completed and must be signed and mailed to the Regional Contractor as described in section 2 above. Forms are required to be signed and mailed to the Regional Contractors for the foreseeable future to ensure eligibility verification is processed correctly.
4. Non-duplication
The information obtained through this collection is unique and is not already available for use or adaptation from another cleared source.
5. Burden on Small Businesses
This information collection does not impose a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small businesses or entities.
6. Less Frequent Collection
Collection is on an as required basis. The non-active duty TRICARE beneficiary submits the DD Form 3043 only when initially enrolling in TRICARE Select, dis-enrolling or changing their enrollment. The form is not used for any other purpose.
7. Paperwork Reduction Act Guidelines
This collection of information does not require collection to be conducted in a manner inconsistent with the guidelines delineated in 5 CFR 1320.5(d)(2).
8. Consultation and Public Comments
Part A: PUBLIC NOTICE
A 60-Day Federal Register Notice (FRN) for the collection published on Friday, June 25, 2021. The 60-Day FRN citation is 86 FRN 33692-33693.
No comments were received during the 60-Day Comment Period.
A 30-Day Federal Register Notice for the collection published on Monday, August 9, 2021. The 30-Day FRN citation is 86 FRN 43530.
Part B: CONSULTATION
No additional consultation apart from soliciting public comments through the Federal Register was conducted for this submission.
9. Gifts or Payment
No payments or gifts are being offered to respondents as an incentive to participate in the collection.
10. Confidentiality
A Privacy Act Statement is required for this collection and provided on the form because we are requesting individuals to furnish personal information for a system of records.
The applicable System of Record Notice (SORN) is DHA-07, Military Health Information System, located at: https://dpcld.defense.gov/Portals/49/Documents/Privacy/SORNs/DHA/EDHA-07.pdf.
The Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) the Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System (DEERS) can be accessed using the following URL: https://dwp.dmdc.osd.mil/dwp/app/about/documents.
Records Retention and Disposition Schedule:
Records will be maintained in accordance with the following approved schedule:
FILE NUMBER: 911-01
DISPOSITION: Temporary. Cut off at end of the calendar year in which received. Destroy 10 years after cutoff.
AUTHORITY: DAA-0330-2014-0014-0001
11. Sensitive Questions
The form requests the applicant provide a personal identifier number, which may be either the individual’s social security number (SSN) or their DoD Benefit Number (DBN). The DBN has yet to be widely used and known by beneficiaries or the providers for healthcare transactions. Additionally, the main data source to find the DBN is the Uniformed Services identification card (ID card). Since some applicants are former dependent children who never obtained a new ID Card with the DBN included or they no longer have access to their DBN when they turned in their ID card after aging out of military benefits, the SSN can still be used. Still other beneficiaries may not have requested a new ID Card, so only their sponsor’s SSN is on their current card. For these reasons, DHA has justified the continued use of the SSN until such time the DBN is readily known by beneficiaries through repeated use and through means of knowing the DBN from documents other than the ID card. An SSN Justification Memo has been included as part of the information collection package submission.
12. Respondent Burden and its Labor Costs
Part A: ESTIMATION OF RESPONDENT BURDEN
DD-3043
Number of Respondents: 99,300
Number of Responses Per Respondent: 1
Number of Total Annual Responses: 99,300
Response Time: 15 minutes
Respondent Burden Hours: 24,825 hours
Total Submission Burden
Total Number of Respondents: 99,300
Total Number of Annual Responses: 99,300
Total Respondent Burden Hours: 24,825 hours
Part B: LABOR COST OF RESPONDENT BURDEN
DD-3043
Number of Total Annual Responses: 99,300
Response Time: 15 minutes
Respondent Hourly Wage: $7.25
Labor Burden per Response: $1.81
Total Labor Burden: $179,981.25
Overall Labor Burden
Total Number of Annual Responses: 99,300
Total Labor Burden: $179,981.25
The Respondent hourly wage was determined by using the Department of Labor Wage Website ([http://www.dol.gov/dol/topic/wages/index.htm]).
13. Respondent Costs Other Than Burden Hour Costs
We estimate 99,300 respondents will annually complete the form and mail it to their Regional Contractor for processing. Based on the 2021 Postage Rate of $0.55 per first class letter, the total costs for the mailings is $54,615.00.
14. Cost to the Federal Government
Part A: LABOR COST TO THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
DD-3043
Number of Total Annual Responses: 99,300
Processing Time per Response: .25 hours
Hourly Wage of Worker(s) Processing Responses: $7.25
Cost to Process Each Response: $1.8125
Total Cost to Process Responses: $179,981.25
Overall Labor Burden to the Federal Government
Total Number of Annual Responses: 99,300
Total Labor Burden: $179,981.25
Part B: OPERATIONAL AND MAINTENANCE COSTS
Cost Categories
Equipment: $0.00
Printing: $0.00
Postage: $0.00
Software Purchases: $0.00
Licensing Costs: $0.00
Other: $0.00
Total Operational and Maintenance Cost: $0.00
Part C: TOTAL COST TO THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
Total Labor Cost to the Federal Government: $179,981.25
Total Operational and Maintenance Costs: $0.00
Total Cost to the Federal Government: $179,981.25
15. Reasons for Change in Burden
There has been no change in burden since the last approval.
16. Publication of Results
The results of this information collection will not be published.
17. Non-Display of OMB Expiration Date
We are not seeking approval to omit the display of the expiration date of the OMB approval on the collection instrument.
18. Exceptions to “Certification for Paperwork Reduction Submissions”
We are not requesting any exemptions to the provisions stated in 5 CFR 1320.9.
| File Type | application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.document |
| Author | Kaitlin Chiarelli |
| File Modified | 0000-00-00 |
| File Created | 2021-08-13 |