[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 39 (Monday, February 28, 2011)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 10825]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-4388]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

42 CFR Part 5


Negotiated Rulemaking Committee on Designation of Medically 
Underserved Populations and Health Professional Shortage Areas; Notice 
of Meeting

AGENCY: Health Resources and Services Administration, HHS.

ACTION: Negotiated Rulemaking Committee meeting.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with section 10(a)(2) of the Federal Advisory 
Committee Act (Pub. L. 92-463), notice is hereby given of the following 
meeting of the Negotiated Rulemaking Committee on Designation of 
Medically Underserved Populations and Health Professional Shortage 
Areas.

DATES: Meetings will be held on March 8, 2011, 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.; 
March 9, 2011, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.; and March 10, 2011, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

ADDRESSES: Meetings will be held at the Radisson Hotel Reagan National 
Airport, 2020 Jefferson Davis Highway, Arlington, Virginia 22202, (703) 
920-8600.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For more information, please contact 
Nicole Patterson, Office of Shortage Designation, Bureau of Health 
Professions, Health Resources and Services Administration, Room 9A-18, 
Parklawn Building, 5600 Fishers Lane, Rockville, Maryland 20857, 
Telephone (301) 443-9027, E-mail: [email protected] or visit http://www.hrsa.gov/advisorycommittees/shortage/.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Status: The meeting will be open to the 
public.
    Purpose: The purpose of the Negotiated Rulemaking Committee on 
Designation of Medically Underserved Populations and Health 
Professional Shortage Areas (Committee) is to establish criteria and a 
comprehensive methodology for Designation of Medically Underserved 
Populations and Primary Care Health Professional Shortage Areas, using 
a Negotiated Rulemaking (NR) process. It is hoped that use of the NR 
process will yield consensus among technical experts and stakeholders 
on a new rule for designation of medically underserved populations and 
primary care health professions shortage areas, which would be 
published as an Interim Final Rule in accordance with Section 5602 the 
Affordable Care Act, Public Law 111-148.
    Agenda: The meeting will be held on Tuesday, March 8; Wednesday, 
March 9; and Thursday, March 10. It will include a discussion of 
various components of a possible methodology for identifying areas of 
shortage and underservice, based on the recommendations of the 
Committee in the previous meeting. The Thursday meeting will also 
include development of the agenda for the next meeting. Members of the 
public will have the opportunity to provide comments during the meeting 
on Thursday afternoon, March 10.
    Requests from the public to make oral comments or to provide 
written comments to the Committee should be sent to Nicole Patterson at 
the contact address above at least 10 days prior to the first day of 
the meeting, Wednesday, March 8. The meeting will be open to the public 
as indicated above, with attendance limited to space available. 
Individuals who plan to attend and need special assistance, such as 
sign language interpretation or other reasonable accommodations, should 
notify the contact person listed above at least 10 days prior to the 
meeting.
    The Committee is working to meet the requirement in the Affordable 
Care Act under tight timeframes. As work has progressed, it has been 
determined that more time will be needed to complete the assignment due 
to its complexity, resulting in the Committee's decision to extend 
planned meetings. As a result, the logistical challenges encountered 
with extending planned meetings and scheduling additional meetings 
hindered an earlier publishing of the meeting notice.

    Dated: February 23, 2011.
Reva Harris,
Acting Director, Division of Policy and Information Coordination.
[FR Doc. 2011-4388 Filed 2-25-11; 8:45 am]
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