[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 81 (Friday, April 26, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 24755-24756]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-09946]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Health Resources and Services Administration


Agency Information Collection Activities: Submission to OMB for 
Review and Approval; Public Comment Request

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In compliance with Section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the Paperwork 
Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35), the Health Resources and 
Services Administration (HRSA) will submit an Information Collection 
Request (ICR) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Comments 
submitted during the first public review of this ICR will be provided 
to OMB. OMB will accept further comments from the public during the 
review and approval period. To request a copy of the clearance requests 
submitted to OMB for review, email [email protected] or call the HRSA 
Reports Clearance Office at (301) 443-1984.

Information Collection Request Title: Medicare Rural Hospital 
Flexibility Grant Program Performance Measure Determination (OMB No. 
0915-xxxx)--New

    Abstract: The purpose of the Medicare Rural Hospital Flexibility 
Program (Flex), authorized by Section 4201 of the Balanced Budget Act 
of 1997 (BBA), Public Law 105-33 and reauthorized by Section 121 of the 
Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act of 2008, Public 
Law 110-275, is to support improvements in the quality of health care 
provided in communities served by Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs); to 
support efforts to improve the financial and operational performance of 
the CAHs; and to support communities in developing collaborative 
regional and local delivery systems. Additionally, the Flex program 
assists in the conversion of qualified small rural hospitals to CAH 
status. The provision and delivery of quality health care to rural 
America is a priority of the Department of Health and Human Services 
(HHS). The Flex program provides funding for states to support 
technical assistance activities in hospitals related to: improving 
health care quality, patient safety, hospital financial and operational 
efficiency, and care coordination; and ensuring adequate training and 
support within rural Emergency Medical Services systems. Measures and 
goals identified in the Flex program take into consideration existing 
measures and priorities HHS has set for hospitals, to avoid both 
conflict and duplication of efforts.
    For this program, performance measures were drafted to provide data 
useful to the Flex program and to enable HRSA to provide aggregate 
program data required by Congress under the Government Performance and 
Results Act (GPRA) of 1993 (Pub. L. 103-62). These measures cover 
principal topic areas of interest to the Office of Rural Health Policy, 
including: (a) Quality reporting; (b) quality improvement 
interventions; (c) financial and operational improvement initiatives; 
and (d) multi-hospital patient safety initiatives. Several measures 
will be used for this program and will inform the Office's progress 
toward meeting the goals set in GPRA.
    This notice is the second of two Federal Register Notices issued 
regarding the intent to collect program performance measures, and the 
Office of Rural Health Policy received one set of comments for the 
original 60-day notice published on December 31, 2012 (Vol. 77, No. 
250, pp. 77079-77080). The Office of Rural Policy responded to the 
comments and adjusted the burden estimate based on new calculations.
    Burden Statement: Burden in this context means the time expended by 
persons to generate, maintain, retain, disclose or provide the 
information requested. This includes the time needed to review 
instructions, to develop, acquire, install and utilize technology and 
systems for the purpose of collecting, validating and verifying 
information, processing and maintaining information, and disclosing and 
providing information, to train personnel and to be able to respond to 
a collection of information, to search data sources, to complete and 
review the collection of information, and to transmit or otherwise 
disclose the information. The total annual burden hours estimated for 
this ICR are summarized in the table below.

[[Page 24756]]

    The annual estimate of burden is as follows:

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                                     Number of     Responses per       Total         Hours per     Total burden
            Form name               respondents     respondent       responses       response          hours
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Medicare Rural Hospital                       45               1              45             216           9,720
 Flexibility Grant Program......
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    Total.......................              45               1              45             216           9,720
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ADDRESSES: Submit your comments to the desk officer for HRSA, either by 
email to [email protected] or by fax to 202-395-5806. Please 
direct all correspondence to the ``attention of the desk officer for 
HRSA.''
    Deadline: Comments on this ICR should be received within 30 days of 
this notice.

    Dated: April 22, 2013.
Bahar Niakan,
Director, Division of Policy and Information Coordination.
[FR Doc. 2013-09946 Filed 4-25-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4165-15-P