[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 4 (Friday, January 6, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 934-935]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 06-91]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality


Meeting of the Citizens' Health Care Working Group

AGENCY: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), HHS.

ACTION: Notice of public meeting.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with section 10(a) of the Federal Advisory 
Committee Act, this notice announces a meeting of the Citizens' Health 
Care Working Group (the Working Group) mandated

[[Page 935]]

by section 1014 of the Medicare Modernization Act.

DATES: The business meeting of the Working Group will be held on 
Wednesday, January 18, 2006, from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and Thursday, 
January 19, 2006 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

ADDRESSES: The meeting will take place in the conference room of the 
United Food and Commercial Workers International Union, in Washington, 
DC. The office is located at 1775 K Street NW. The main receptionist 
area is located on the 7th floor; the conference room is located on the 
11th floor.
    The meeting is open to the public.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Caroline Taplin, Citizens' Health Care 
Working Group, at (301) 443-1514 or [email protected]. If sign language 
interpretation or other reasonable accommodation for a disability is 
needed, please contact Mr. Donald L. Inniss, Director, Office of Equal 
Employment Opportunity Program, Program Support Center, on (301) 443-
1144.
    The agenda for this Working Group meeting will be available on the 
Citizens' Working Group Web site, www.citizenshealthcare.gov. Also 
available at that site is a roster of Working Group members. When 
summaries of the meeting are completed, they will also be available on 
the Web site.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 1014 of Pub. L. 108-173, (known as 
the Medicare Modernization Act) directs the Secretary of the Department 
of Health and Human Servcies (DHHS), acting through the Agency for 
Healthcare Research and Quality, to establish a Citizens' Health Care 
Working Group (Citien Group). This statutory provision, codified at 42 
U.S.C. 299 n., directs the Working Group to: (1) Identify options for 
changing our health care system so that every American has the ability 
to obtain quality, affordable health care coverage; (2) provide for a 
nationwide public debate about improving the health care system; and 
(3) submit its recommendations to the President and the Congress.
    The Citizens' Health Care Working Group is composed of 15 members: 
the Secretary of DHHS is designated as a member by statute and the 
Comptroller General of the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) 
was directed to name the remaining 14 members whose appointments were 
announced on February 28, 2005.

Working Group Meeting Agenda

    The Working Group business meeting on January 18th and 19th will be 
devoted to ongoing Working Group business. Topics to be addressed are 
expected to include: an update on community meetings; background 
information on public perceptions on health care quality and 
efficiency; discussion of data from various sources including community 
meetings, Web site questions, Web casts, the citizen survey and other 
sources of public input; and broad concepts relating to the Working 
Group's recommendation report.

Submission of Written Information

    The Working Group invites written submissions on those topics to be 
addressed at the Working Group business meetings listed above. In 
general, individuals or organizations wishing to provide written 
information for consideration by the Citizens' Health Care Working 
Group should submit information electronically to 
[email protected]. Since all electronic submissions will be 
posted on the Working Group Web site, separate submissions by topic 
will facilitate review of ideas submitted on each topic by the Working 
Group and the public.
    This notice is published less than 15 days in advance of the 
meeting due to logistical difficulties.

    Dated: December 30, 2005.
Carolyn M. Clancy,
Director.
[FR Doc. 06-91 Filed 1-5-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4160-90-M