[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 237 (Friday, December 10, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 69274-69277]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-31696]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Health Resources and Services Administration


Privacy Act of 1974; New System of Records

AGENCY: Health Resources and Services Administration, HHS.

ACTION: Notification of New System of Records.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the requirements of the Privacy Act, the 
Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) is publishing 
notice of a proposal to add a new system of records. The Ricky Ray 
Hemophilia Relief Fund Act of 1998 (``the Act'')

[[Page 69275]]

established the Ricky Ray Hemophilia Relief Program which is designed 
to compensate certain individuals with blood-clotting disorders, such 
as hemophilia, who were infected with HIV through the use of plasma 
derivatives administered between July 1, 1982 and December 31, 1987. 
The Act will also compensate certain individuals who acquired HIV 
through contact with the foregoing persons. This system of records is 
required to comply with the implementation directives of Public Law 
105-369, the Ricky Ray Hemophilia Relief Fund Act of 1998. The records 
will be used for Program planning, implementation, evaluation, 
monitoring, and documentation storage purposes.

DATES: HRSA invites interested parties to submit comments on the 
proposed New System of Records on or before January 19, 2000. HRSA has 
sent a Report of New System of Records to Congress and to the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) on November 24, 1999. The New System of 
Records will be effective 40 days from the date submitted to OMB unless 
HRSA receives comments which would result in a contrary determination.

ADDRESSES: Please address comments to Health Resources and Services 
Administration (HRSA) Privacy Act Officer, 5600 Fishers Lane, Room 14A-
20, Rockville; Maryland 20857; telephone (301) 443-3780. Comments 
received will be available for inspection at this same address from 9 
a.m. to 3 p.m., Monday through Friday. This is not a toll-free number.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Program Manager, Ricky Ray Program 
Office, Bureau of Health Professions, Room 8-05, Parklawn Building, 
5600 Fishers Lane, Rockville, Maryland 20857; telephone (301) 443-2330. 
This is not a toll-free number.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Health Resources and Services 
Administration (HRSA) proposes to establish a new system of records: 
09-15-0061: ``Ricky Ray Hemophilia Relief Fund Act of 1998, HHS/HRSA/
BHPr''. The Ricky Ray Hemophilia Relief Fund Act of 1998 (the ``Act'') 
established the Ricky Ray Hemophilia Program (the ``Program'') which is 
designed to compensate any individual who has an HIV infection where 
the individual:

    (a) Has any form of a blood clotting disorder, such as 
hemophilia, and was treated with antihemophilic factor (a plasma 
derivative) between July 1, 1982, and December 31, 1987;
    (b) Is the lawful spouse of the individual described above;
    (c) Is the former spouse of the individual described in 
paragraph (a) who was the lawful spouse of such individual between 
July 1, 1982, and December 31, 1987, and who can assert with 
reasonable medical certainty that there was a transmission of the 
HIV from the individual described in paragraph (a); or
    (d) Acquired the HIV infection through perinatal transmission 
from a parent who is an individual described in paragraphs (a), (b), 
or (c).

    Subject to the availability of appropriations, the Program will 
provide payments of $100,000 to the estimated 7,200 people suffering 
from blood clotting disorders, such as hemophilia, or survivors of such 
individuals, who were infected with the HIV virus as a result of using 
plasma derivatives between July 1982 and December 1987. This 
compensation is intended to help offset the past and future expense of 
medical treatment for HIV. The Federal Register notice, published March 
24, 1999 (64 FR 14251), announces procedures for filing Notices of 
Intent to File Petitions for payment under the law which was enacted on 
November 12, 1998. No funds have been appropriated either for the 
payment of awards to petitioners or for the administrative costs to HHS 
for operating this new program. Nevertheless, the Act states states 
that HHS shall establish procedures to implement the Act within 120 
days of its enactment. This system of records is required to comply 
with the implementation directive. It will be used for program 
planning, implementation, evaluation, monitoring, and documentation 
storage purposes. The Notice of Intent shall include (1) the name of 
the petitioner, with current address and phone number, and (2) the 
name, address, and phone number of the petitioner's attorney of record 
or other representative for the petition, if any. The Notice will be 
sent to The Ricky Ray Program Office, HRSA/BHPr, and an acknowledgment 
will be returned to the petitioner reflecting a case number assignment.
    HRSA will permit disclosure of the records to third parties 
pursuant to the following routine uses. The first routine use permits 
disclosure to a Congressional office to allow subject individuals to 
obtain assistance from their representatives in Congress, if they so 
desire. The second routine use allows disclosure to the Department of 
Justice or a court, in the event of litigation. The third routine use 
allows disclosure of records to contractors for the purposes of data 
analysis and record systems processing and refinement. The fourth 
routine use allows disclosure to contractors, medical personnel and 
others needed to review, verify and validate petitions.
    The following notice is written in the present tense, rather than 
the future tense, in order to avoid the unnecessary expenditure of 
public funds to republish the notice after the system becomes 
effective.

    Dated: November 24, 1999.
Claude Earl Fox,
Administrator.
09-15-0061

SYSTEM NAME:
    Ricky Ray Hemophilia Relief Fund Act of 1998, HHS/HRSA/BHPr

SECURITY CLASSIFICATION:
    None.

SYSTEM LOCATION:
    Ricky Ray Program Office, Bureau of Health Professions, Health 
Resources and Services Administration, Room 8-05, Parklawn Building, 
5600 Fishers Lane, Rockville, Maryland 20857.

CATEGORIES OF INDIVIDUALS COVERED BY THE SYSTEM:
    Petitioners and/or their representatives (if any) filing for 
compensation under the Ricky Ray Hemophilia Relief Fund Act of 1998.

CATEGORIES OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:
    Records consist of documents which may include general or 
Congressional correspondence, Notice of Intent to File a Petition, case 
number assignment, HHS responses, medical and legal documentation, 
payment information, and other related case processing documents.

AUTHORITY FOR MAINTENANCE OF THE SYSTEM:
    The authority for management of the system is governed by Pub. L. 
105-369, Ricky Ray Hemophilia Relief Fund Act of 1998, enacted November 
12, 1998 (42 U.S.C. 300c-22) which provides for compassionate payments 
with regard to certain individuals with blood-clotting disorders, such 
as hemophilia, who contracted human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) due to 
contaminated antihemophilic factor within specified time periods.

ROUTINE USES OF RECORDS MAINTAINED IN THE SYSTEM, INCLUDING CATEGORIES 
OF USERS AND THE PURPOSES OF SUCH USES:
    1. Disclosure may be made to a Congressional office from the record 
of an individual petitioner, in response to an inquiry from the 
Congressional office made at the request of the petitioner.
    2. In the event of litigation where the defendant is:

[[Page 69276]]

    (a) The Department, any component of the Department, or any 
employee of the Department in his or her official capacity;
    (b) The United States where the Department determines that the 
claim, if successful, is likely to directly affect the operations of 
the Department or any of its components; or
    (c) Any Department employee in his or her individual capacity where 
the Justice Department has agreed to represent such employee, for 
example in defending against a claim based upon an individual's mental 
or physical condition and alleged to have arisen because of activities 
of the Public Health Service in connection with such individual, the 
Department may disclose such records as it deems desirable or necessary 
to the Department of Justice to enable that Department to present an 
effective defense, provided that such disclosure is compatible with the 
purpose for which the records were collected.
    3. HRSA may disclose records to Department contractors and 
subcontractors for the purposes of conducting data analysis for program 
evaluations, compiling managerial and statistical reports, and record 
systems processing and refinement.
    4. HRSA may contract with expert consultants for the purpose of 
obtaining advice on petitioner's eligibility for compensation.
    Relevant records may be disclosed to such consultants. The 
consultants shall be required to maintain Privacy Act safeguards with 
respect to such records and return all records to HRSA.
    5. In the event that a system of records maintained by this agency 
to carry out its functions indicates a violation or potential violation 
of law, whether civil, criminal, or regulatory in nature, and whether 
arising by general statute or particular program statute, regulation, 
rule, or order issued pursuant thereto, the relevant records in the 
system of records may be referred to the appropriate agency, whether 
Federal, State or local, charged with the responsibility of 
investigating or prosecuting such violation, or charged with enforcing 
or implementing the statute, rule, regulation or order issued pursuant 
thereto, provided that such disclosure is compatible with the purpose 
for which records were collected.

POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR STORING, RETRIEVING, ACCESSING, RETAINING 
AND DISPOSING OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:
STORAGE:
    Records are maintained in file folders, on computer hard drives 
and/or disk packs.

RETRIEVABILITY:
    Retrievability will be by case number and/or name of petitioner.

SAFEGUARDS:
    1. Assign Responsibility for Security: Assign responsibility for 
security to a management official knowledgeable in the nature of the 
information and process supported by the application and in the 
management, personnel, operational, and technical controls used to 
protect it.
    2. Perform Risk Assessment: A risk assessment shall be conducted in 
conjunction with the development of and prior to the approval of the 
system design and shall ensure that vulnerabilities, risks, and other 
security concerns are identified and addressed in the system design and 
throughout the life cycle of the project. This shall be consistent with 
the HHS Automated Information Systems Security Program Handbook (in 
particular Chapters V and X).
    3. Develop Application Security Plan: Plan for the adequate 
security of the application, taking into account the security of all 
systems in which the application will operate. Application security 
plans shall address application rules, training on use of the system, 
personnel security, contingency planning, technical controls, 
information sharing, and public access controls.
    4. Review Application Controls: Perform an independent review or 
audit of the security control in the application at least every 3 
years.
    5. Authorize Processing: Ensure that a management official 
authorizes in writing confirming that its security plan as implemented 
adequately secures the application. The application must be authorized 
prior to operating and reauthorized at least every 3 years thereafter. 
Management authorization implies accepting the risk of each system used 
by the application.
    6. Implementation Guidelines: DHHS Chapter 45-13 and supplementary 
Chapter PHS.hf: 45-13 of the General Administration Manual; the DHHS 
Automated Information Systems Security Program Handbook; and Appendix 
III to OMB Circular No. A-130; Appendix I, ``Federal Agency 
Responsibilities for Maintaining Records About Individuals.''

RETENTION AND DISPOSAL:
    Records will be retained for 6 years after the program is closed, 
and then destroyed.

SYSTEM MANAGER(S) AND ADDRESS:
    Program Manager, Ricky Ray Program Office, Bureau of Health 
Professions, Health Resources and Services Administration, Parklawn 
Building, Room 8-05, 5600 Fishers Lane, Rockville, MD 20857.

NOTIFICATION PROCEDURE:
    Requests must be made to the System Manager.
    Requests in person: An individual who appears at the site where 
records are stored seeking access to or disclosure of records relating 
to him/her shall provide his/her name, current address, and at least 
one piece of identification such as driver's license, passport, voter 
registration card, or union card. Identification with a current 
photograph is preferred but not required. Additional identification may 
be requested when there is a request for access to records which 
contain an apparent discrepancy between information contained in the 
records and that provided by the individual requesting access to the 
records. No verification of identity shall be required where the record 
is one which is required to be disclosed under the Freedom of 
Information Act.
    Requests by mail: Requests for information and/or access to records 
received by mail must contain information providing the identity of the 
writer and a reasonable description of the record desired. Written 
requests must contain the name and address of the requester, his/her 
date of birth and his/her signature for comparison purposes.
    Requests by telephone: Since positive identification of the caller 
cannot be established, telephone requests are not honored.

RECORD ACCESS PROCEDURES:
    Same as notification procedures. Requesters should also reasonably 
specify the record contents being sought. Individuals may also request 
an accounting of disclosures that may have been made of their records, 
if any.

CONTESTING RECORDS PROCEDURES:
    Contact the System Manager at the address specified above and 
reasonably identify the record, specify the information being 
contested, and state the corrective action and the reason(s) for 
requesting the correction, along with supporting justification to show 
how the record is inaccurate, incomplete, untimely, or irrelevant.

[[Page 69277]]

RECORD SOURCE CATEGORIES:
    Petitioners and/or their representatives under the Ricky Ray 
Hemophilia Relief Fund Act of 1998.

SYSTEMS EXEMPTED FROM CERTAIN PROVISIONS OF THE ACT:
    None.

[FR Doc. 99-31696 Filed 12-9-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4160-15-P