Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request; Summary of Benefits and Coverage and Uniform Glossary Required Under the Affordable Care Act

AGENCY:

Office of the Secretary, DOL

ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY:

The Department of Labor (DOL) is submitting the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) sponsored information collection request (ICR) revision titled, “Summary of Benefits and Coverage and Uniform Glossary Required Under the Affordable Care Act,” to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq. Public comments on the ICR are invited.

DATES:

The OMB will consider all written comments that agency receives on or before March 28, 2016.

ADDRESSES:

A copy of this ICR with applicable supporting documentation; including a description of the likely respondents, proposed frequency of response, and estimated total burden may be obtained free of charge from the RegInfo.gov Web site at http://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAViewICR?ref_nbr=201602-1210-002 (this link will only become active on the day following publication of this notice) or by contacting Michel Smyth by telephone at 202-693-4129, TTY 202-693-8064, (these are not toll-free numbers) or by email at DOL_PRA_PUBLIC@dol.gov.

Submit comments about this request by mail or courier to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Attn: OMB Desk Officer for DOL-EBSA, Office of Management and Budget, Room 10235, 725 17th Street NW., Washington, DC 20503; by Fax: 202-395-5806 (this is not a toll-free number); or by email: OIRA_submission@omb.eop.gov. Commenters are encouraged, but not required, to send a courtesy copy of any comments by mail or courier to the U.S. Department of Labor-OASAM, Office of the Chief Information Officer, Attn: Departmental Information Compliance Management Program, Room N1301, 200 Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20210; or by email: DOL_PRA_PUBLIC@dol.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Contact Michel Smyth by telephone at 202-693-4129, TTY 202-693-8064, (these are not toll-free numbers) or by email at DOL_PRA_PUBLIC@dol.gov.

Authority: 44 U.S.C. 3507(a)(1)(D).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

This ICR seeks OMB approval of a revision to the Summary of Benefits and Coverage and Uniform Glossary (SBC) ICR codified in regulations 29 CFR 715-2715. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, Pub. L. 111-148, was signed into law on March 23, 2010, and the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010, Pub. L. 111-152, was signed into law on March 30, 2010 (collectively known as the “Affordable Care Act”). The Affordable Care Act amends the Public Health Service Act (PHS Act) by adding section 2715 “Development and Utilization of Uniform Explanation of Coverage Documents and Standardized Definitions.” This section directs the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the DOL, and the Department of the Treasury (collectively, the Departments), in consultation with the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) and a working group comprised of stakeholders to develop standards for use by a group health plan and a health insurance issuer in compiling and providing to applicants, enrollees, policyholders, and certificate holders a SBC explanation that accurately describes the benefits and coverage under the applicable plan or coverage.

A notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) was published on August 22, 2011 (76 FR 52442) with an accompanying document (76 FR 52475) containing the templates, instructions, and related materials for implementing the disclosure provisions under PHS Act 2715. The NPRM proposed 29 CFR 2590.715-2715. A final rule was published on February 14, 2012. A second notice of proposed rulemaking was published on December 30, 2014 (79 FR 78577) to propose revisions to the regulation as well as the templates, instructions, and related materials. On March 30, 2015, the Departments released an FAQ stating that the Departments intend to finalize changes to the regulations in the near future but intend to utilize consumer testing and offer an opportunity for the public, including the NAIC, to provide further input before finalizing revisions to the SBC template and associated documents. A final rule, without final revisions to the SBC template and associated documents, was published on June 16, 2015 (80 FR 34292).

As required by section 2715, the Departments consulted the NAIC to provide further input before finalizing revisions to the SBC template and associated documents. The Departments now are finalizing the templates and glossary and requesting a three-year approval from the Office of Management and Budget for the revised information collection, so that plans and issuers may begin using the revised forms for making the disclosures under PHS Act section 2715 and the implementing regulations.

This information collection is subject to the PRA. A Federal agency generally cannot conduct or sponsor a collection of information, and the public is generally not required to respond to an information collection, unless it is approved by the OMB under the PRA and displays a currently valid OMB Control Number. In addition, notwithstanding any other provisions of law, no person shall generally be subject to penalty for failing to comply with a collection of information that does not display a valid Control Number. See 5 CFR 1320.5(a) and 1320.6. The DOL obtains OMB approval for this information collection under Control Number 1210-0147.

Interested parties are encouraged to send comments to the OMB, Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs at the address shown in the ADDRESSES section within thirty (30) days of publication of this notice in the Federal Register. In order to help ensure appropriate consideration, comments should mention OMB Control Number 1210-0147. The OMB is particularly interested in comments that:

• 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;
• Evaluate the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the proposed collection of information, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions used;
• Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and
• 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.

Agency: DOL-EBSA.

Title of Collection: Summary of Benefits and Coverage and Uniform Glossary Required Under the Affordable Care Act.

OMB Control Number: 1210-0147.

Affected Public: Private Sector—businesses or other for-profits and not-for-profit institutions.

Total Estimated Number of Respondents: 2,299,742.

Total Estimated Number of Responses: 71,252,326.

Total Estimated Annual Time Burden: 431,552 hours.

Total Estimated Annual Other Costs Burden: $9,273,266.