[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 9 (Thursday, January 13, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 2416-2417]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-671]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

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 (OMB), 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: Surveys of Safety Net Providers for the Healthy 
Communities Access Program National Evaluation--New

    The Bureau of Primary Health Care, Health Resources and Services 
Administration, is conducting a national evaluation of the Healthy 
Communities Access Program (HCAP) as required by section 340(i) of the 
Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 256) Public Law 107-251, Oct. 26, 
2002.
    Surveys of Safety Net Providers and Consortium Leaders will be 
performed to provide essential information not otherwise available for 
the national evaluation. Based on consortia response rates of 70% for 
the provider survey and 75% for the consortia leader survey, it is 
estimated that 405 Safety Net Providers and 145 Consortia Leaders will 
complete the surveys.
    A preliminary review of the sampling frame for safety net providers 
indicates that the allocated sample provides adequate representation of 
all provider types of interest. Legislatively required provider members 
of HCAP consortia are included in the sample, i.e., hospitals, 
federally qualified health centers, public health departments, and 
public/private providers that serve the medically underinsured and 
underserved. The survey results will be considered along with 
information from other quantitative and qualitative data

[[Page 2417]]

sources (including national, State and local data and information from 
grantee consortia leaders and clients) in order to develop a Report to 
Congress in September 2005 and a national evaluation report by 
September 2006. The survey will collect data for key evaluation goals 
including coordination and integration of safety net services, capacity 
and access issues, health care delivery, quality of care, cost savings, 
sustainability, and provider and patient satisfaction.
    The survey of the HCAP consortia leaders, who typically are project 
directors, is a short Web-based survey of 12 questions that will be 
available through the HRSA HCAP Web site. The sample of eligible 
consortia includes all those who have received HCAP funding, with the 
exception of the most recent round of HCAP grantees. These grantees 
were excluded from the sample because they lack program experience that 
would provide the evaluation with significant information. This survey 
will be used to assess consortia leaders' perspectives on the strengths 
and limitations of using consortia to strengthen the community safety 
net. It will query leaders on the perceived efficacy of the consortia 
approach, accomplishments, strengths, weaknesses and suggestions/areas 
for future improvement of the program. The burden estimate is as 
follows:

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                     Number of     Responses per       Total         Hours per     Total burden
         Data collection            respondents     respondent       responses       response          hours
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Provider Survey.................             405               1             405             .33             134
Consortia Leaders Survey........             145               1             145             .25              36
                                 -----------------
    Totals......................             550  ..............             550  ..............             170
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Request for Comments: Written comments and recommendations 
concerning the proposed information collection should be sent within 30 
days of this notice to: Desk Officer, Health Resources and Services 
Administration, Human Resources and Housing Branch, Office of 
Management and Budget, New Executive Office Building, Room 10235, 
Washington, DC 20503.

    Dated: January 7, 2005.
Steven A. Pelovitz,
Associate Administrator for Administration and Financial Management.
[FR Doc. 05-671 Filed 1-12-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4165-15-P