[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 39 (Friday, February 27, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 10028-10029]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-5051]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Health Resources and Services Administration


Agency Information Collection Activities: Submission for OMB 
Review; Comment Request

    Periodically, the Health Resources and Services Administration 
(HRSA) publishes abstracts of information collection requests under 
review by the Office of Management and Budget, in compliance with the 
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35). To request a 
copy of the clearance requests submitted to OMB for review, call the 
HRSA Reports Clearance Office on (301)-443-1129.
    The following request has been submitted to the Office of 
Management and Budget for review under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 
1995:
    Proposed Project: The Health Education Assistance Loan (HEAL)
    Program: Physicians's Certification of Borrower's Total and 
Permanent Disability Form (OMB No. 0915-0204)

[[Page 10029]]

--Extension and Revision--The Health Education Assistance Loan (HEAL) 
program provides federally-insured loans to students in schools of 
allopathic medicine, osteopathic medicine, dentistry, veterinary 
medicine, optometry, podiatric medicine, pharmacy, public health, 
allied health, or chiropractic, and graduate students in health 
administration or clinical psychology. Eligible lenders, such as banks, 
savings and loan associations, credit unions, pension funds, State 
agencies, HEAL schools, and insurance companies, make HEAL loans which 
are insured by the Federal Government against loss due to borrower's 
death, disability, bankruptcy, and default. The basic purpose of the 
program is to assure the availability of funds for loans to eligible 
students who need to borrow money to pay for their educational loans.
    The HEAL borrower, the borrower's physician, and the holder of the 
loan completes the Physician's Certification form to certify that the 
HEAL borrower meets the total and permanent disability provisions.
    The HEAL program is being phased out and no new loans will be made 
after September 30, 1998 unless reauthorization is enacted. We are, 
however, requesting a 3-year extension of the OMB approval of the HEAL 
Physician's Certification of Borrower's Total and Permanent Disability 
Form, HRSA-539 because this form will be used throughout the repayment 
period for existing loans. The Department uses this form to obtain 
information about disability claims which includes the following: (1) 
the borrower's consent to release medical records to the Department of 
Health and Human Services and to the holder of the borrower's HEAL 
loans, (2) pertinent information supplied by the certifying physician, 
(3) the physician's certification that the borrower is unable to engage 
in any substantial gainful activity because of a medically determinable 
impairment that is expected to continue for a long and indefinite 
period of time or to result in death, and (4) information from the 
lender on the unpaid balance. Failure to submit the required 
documentation will result in disapproval of a disability claim. The 
form is being revised to make submission of medical documentation 
mandatory rather than optional.
    The estimate of burden for the Physician's Certification form is as 
follows:

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                                                     Responses                                          Total   
         Type of respondent            Number of        per       Number of     Hours per response      burden  
                                      respondents   respondent    responses                             hours   
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Borrower............................          100           1            100  5 minutes............            8
Physician...........................          100           1            100  90 minutes...........          150
Loan Holder.........................           32           3.1          100  10 minutes...........           17
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      Total.........................          232  ............          300  .....................          175
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    Written comments and recommendations concerning the proposed 
information collection should be sent on or before March 30, 1998 to: 
Laura Oliven, Human Resources and Housing Branch, Office of Management 
and Budget, New Executive Office Building, Room 10235, Washington, D.C. 
20503.

    Dated: February 24, 1998.
Jane Harrison,
Acting Director, Division of Policy Review and Coordination.
[FR Doc. 98-5051 Filed 2-26-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4160-15-P