[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 40 (Wednesday, February 28, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 7522-7525]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-4475]



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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Health Resources and Services Administration


Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection: 
Comment Request

    In compliance with the requirement of Section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the 
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 for opportunity for public comment on 
proposed data collection projects, the Health Resources and Services 
Administration (HRSA) will publish periodic summaries of proposed 
projects being developed for submission to OMB under the Paperwork 
Reduction Act of 1995. To request more information on the proposed 
project or to obtain a copy of the data collection plans and 
instruments, call the HRSA Reports Clearance Officer on (301) 443-1129.
    Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the proposed collection of 
information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of 
the agency, including 

[[Page 7523]]
whether the information shall have practical utility; (b) the accuracy 
of the agency's estimate of the burden of the proposed collection of 
information; (c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of 
the information to be collected; and (d) ways to minimize the burden of 
the collection of information on respondents, including through the use 
of automated collection techniques or other forms of information 
technology.

Proposed Projects

    1. National Health Service Corps (NHSC) Professional Training and 
Information Questions (PTIQs)--The mission of the National Health 
Service Corps (NHSC) is to provide health professionals to those 
communities and populations located in federally designated health 
professional shortage areas (HPSAs) of greatest need. Through the NHSC 
Scholarship Program, health professions students receive scholarship 
support in return for a commitment to serve in a HPSA for a specified 
period of time. The NHSC will utilize the Professional Training and 
Information Questionnaire (PTIQ) to collect information from NHSC 
scholarship recipients on individual interests, family concerns, and 
assignment preferences which will be used in matching scholars to HPSAs 
with the greatest need for providers.
    Burden estimates are as follows:

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                            Responses                   Total   
                     Type of respondent                        Number of       per       Hours per      burden  
                                                              respondents   respondent    response      hours   
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Physicians..................................................          200            1         0.50          100
Nurse Practitioners, Physician Assistants, and Certified                                                        
 Nurse Midwives.............................................           50            1         0.50           25
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Estimated Total Annual Burden: 125 hours.
    2. Annual Administrative Report for Titles I and II of the Ryan 
White Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency (CARE) Act of 1990--
Extension and Revision--The Uniform Reporting System provides for 
reports by grantees under Titles I and II of the Ryan White CARE Act of 
aggregate information about disbursal of funds, number of clients 
served and services provided, demographic information about clients 
served, and costs of provided services.
    Title I grantees include local governments that meet legislative 
criteria for disproportionate impact of AIDS. Title II grantees include 
the 50 States, the District of Columbia, and a small number of 
territories. Grantees obtain the information for the AAR from 
individual service providers. Automated reporting alternatives are 
available to grantees and to providers at the grantee's option. This 
information is used to determine whether the purposes of the Act and 
the grants made pursuant to it are being fulfilled. The information is 
also used locally for planning and priority setting. Respondents 
include state and local governments, individuals, non-profit 
institutions, businesses and other for-profit organizations, and small 
businesses and entities. HRSA proposes to make some changes in the data 
elements, to improve their value and/or reduce the burden of data 
collection and reporting. To allow adequate lead time, the changes 
would be effective for data collection by service providers beginning 
in January, 1998. In addition to minor technical changes, the proposed 
changes include:
     In all reports, deleting elements concerning total 
expenditures and expenditures by accounting categories, because of the 
difficulty these elements posed for respondents;
     In all reports, adding several age breakouts for adult 
clients (currently a single figure is reported for all adults), to 
increase the local and national usefulness of the data;
     Eliminating the Modified AAR, which was used by fewer than 
2% of providers, so that lead or fiscal agents for fee-for-service 
arrangements would instead submit a Standard AAR covering all of their 
subcontractors;
     In the Standard AAR, deleting elements concerning staffing 
levels and whether staff were added with CARE funds (useful in initial 
reports, these elements would be deleted now to reduce reporting 
burden);
     In the Standard AAR, adding elements for the number of 
clients receiving office-based health services, case management 
services, and home health care services (currently only the number of 
service encounters in these areas is reported), because of the 
importance of knowing how many people are receiving these services;
     Also in the Standard AAR, refining the list of ``Other 
Health and Social Support Services'' to add several services that have 
been cited frequently as important omissions (e.g., alternative 
therapy, medications, referrals and translation) and to delete or 
consolidate some existing categories (e.g., foster care/adoption and 
the two current categories for hospice care); and
     In the AIDS Drug Assistance Program AAR, adding some 
recently emerging drugs to the list of those to be reported on and 
deleting other drugs no longer widely used.
    HRSA invites comment on another possible change, which has been 
suggested by numerous respondents: deleting the elements in the 
Standard AAR that deal with clients' primary HIV exposure categories.
    The annual burden estimates are as follows:

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                      Annual                                    
               Type of respondent                     No. of       responses per  Hours/response   Total burden 
                                                    respondents     respondent                         hours    
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
State Grantees..................................              52               1              63           3,276
Local Grantees..................................              49               1              25           1,225
Providers.......................................           2,500               1              23          57,500
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Estimated total annual burden: 62,001 hours.
    3. Health Professions Student Loan (HPSL) Program and Nursing 
Student Loan (NSL) Program Administrative Requirements (Regulations and 
Policy) (0915-0047)--Extension, No Change--The regulations for the 
Health Professions Student Loan (HPSL) Program and Nursing Student Loan 
(NSL) Program contain a number of reporting and recordkeeping 

[[Page 7524]]
requirements for schools and loan applicants. The requirements are 
essential for assuring that borrowers are aware of their rights and 
responsibilities, that schools know the history and status of each loan 
account, that schools pursue aggressive collection efforts to reduce 
default rates, and that they maintain adequate records for audit and 
assessment purposes. Schools are free to use information technology to 
manage the information required by the regulations. The estimated 
burden is as follows:
    Recordkeeping Requirements:

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                                        Total   
                       Reg./section requirement                           Number of      Hours per      burden  
                                                                        recordkeepers      year         hours   
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
HPSL Program:                                                                                                   
    57.206(b)(2) Documentation of Cost of Attendance..................           290           1.17          339
    57.208(a) Promissory Note.........................................           290           1.25          363
    57.210(b)(1)(i) Documentation of Entrance Interview...............           290           1.25          363
    57.210(b)(1)(ii) Documentation of Exit Interview..................           313            .33          103
    57.215 (a) & (d) Program Records..................................           313          10           3,130
    57.215(b) Student Records.........................................           313          10           3,130
    57.215(c) Repayment Records.......................................           313          18.75        5,869
                                                                       -----------------------------------------
        HPSL subtotal.................................................           313          42.48       13,297
NSL Program:                                                                                                    
    57.306(b)(2)(ii) Documentation of Cost of Attendance..............           435            .3           131
    57.308(a) Promissory Note.........................................           435            .5           218
    57.310(b)(1)(i) Documentation of Entrance Interview...............           435            .5           218
    57.310(b)(1)(ii) Documentation of Exit Interview..................           909            .17          155
    57.315 (a)(1) & (a)(4) Program Records............................           909           5.0         4,545
    57.315(a)(2) Student Records......................................           909           1.0           909
    57.315(a)(3) Repayment Records....................................           909           2.5         2,273
                                                                       -----------------------------------------
        NSL subtotal..................................................           909          10.56        8,449
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    Reporting Requirements:

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                              Responses      Total                              
            Req./Sect. Requirement                No. of         Per         Annual      House Per    Total Hour
                                               Respondents   Respondent    Responses     Response       Burden  
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
HPSL Program:                                                                                                   
    57.205(a)(2) Excess Case.................                                                                   
(4) [Burden included under 0915-0044 and 0915-                                                                  
 0046]                                                                                                          
    57.206(a)(3) Student Financial Aid                                                                          
     Transcrip...............................        5,000          1           5,000         0.25         1,250
    57.208(c) Loan Information Disclosure....          290         72.41       21,000          .083        1,743
    57.210(a)(3) Deferment Eligibility.......                                                                   
(4) [Burden included under 0915-0044]                                                                           
    57.210(b)(1)(i) Entrance Interview.......          290         72.41       21,000          .167        3,507
    57.210(b)(1)(ii) Exit Interview..........          313         15.97        5,000          .483        2,415
    57.210(b)(1)(iii) Notification of                                                                           
     Repayment...............................          313         35.14       11,000          .167        1,837
    57.210(b)(1)(iv) Notification During                                                                        
     Deferment...............................          313         28.75        9,000          .083          747
    57.210(b)(1)(vi) Notification of                                                                            
     Delinquent Accounts.....................          313         15.97        5,000          .167          835
    57.210(b)(1)(x) Credit Bureau                                                                               
     Notification............................          313         12.78        4,000          .6          2,400
    57.210(b)(4)(i) Write-off of                                                                                
     Uncollectible Loans.....................           26          1.8            48          .5             24
    57.211(a) Disability Cancellation........           16          1              16          .75            12
    57.215(a) Reports........................                                                                   
(4) [Burden included under 0915-0044]                                                                           
    57.215(a)(2) Admin. Hearings.............            0          0               0         0                0
    57.216a(d) Admin. Hearings...............            0          0               0         0                0
                                              ------------------------------------------------------------------
        HPSL Subtotal........................        5,313         15.26       81,064          .182       14,770
                                              ==================================================================
NSL Program:                                                                                                    
    57.305(a)(2) Excess Cash.................                                                                   
(4) [Burden included under 0915-0044 and 0915-                                                                  
 0046]                                                                                                          
    57.306(a)(2) Student Financial Aid                                                                          
     Transcript..............................        3,000          1           3,000          .25           750
    57.310(b)(1)(i) Entrance Interview.......          435         27.59       12,000          .167        2,004
    57.310(b)(1)(ii) Exit Interview..........          909          4.4         4,000          .483        1,932
    57.310(b)(1)(iii) Notification of                                                                           
     Repayment...............................          909          7.37        6,700          .167        1,119
    57.310(b)(1)(iv) Notification During                                                                        
     Deferment...............................          909           .77          700          .083           58
    57.310(b)(1)(vi) Notification of                                                                            
     Delinquent Accounts.....................          909          5.5         5,000          .167          835
    57.310(b)(1)(x) Credit Bureau                                                                               
     Notification............................          909          9.9         9,000          .6          5,400
    57.310(b)(4)(i) Write-off of                                                                                
     Uncollectible Loans.....................           45          2.13           96          .5             48
    57.311(a) Disability Cancellation........           14          1              14          .75            11
    57.312(a)(3) Evidence of Educational                                                                        
     Loans...................................                                                                   
(4) [Inactive provision]                                                                                        
    57.315(a)(1) Reports.....................                                                                   
(4) [Burden included under 0915-0044]                                                                           
    57.315(a)(1)(ii) Admin. Hearings.........            0          0               0         0                0
    57.316a(d) Admin. Hearings...............            0          0               0         0                0
                                              ------------------------------------------------------------------
        NSL Subtotal.........................        3,909         10.36       40,510          .30        12,157
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


[[Page 7525]]


    Estimated total annual burden: 48,673 hours.
    Send comments to Patricia Royston, HRSA Reports Clearance Officer, 
Room 14-36, Parklawn Building, 5600 Fishers Lane, Rockville, MD 20857. 
Written comments should be received within 60 days of this notice.

    Dated: February 28, 1996.
J. Henry Montes,
Associate Administrator for Policy Coordination.
[FR Doc. 96-4475 Filed 2-27-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4160-15-M